DIY Christmas Advent Calendar

Looking for a fun countdown to Christmas that the kids will love, then we have you covered with this easy budget-friendly DIY Christmas Advent Calendar.

Christmas is a big deal at our house. It always has been. For as far as I can remember, we have had some type of advent calendar leading up to Christmas.

Even when I was out on my own and in my little studio apartment on my own, I remember my Grandma sending me a Christmas advent calendar of some sort to hang as part of my holiday decor.

What is an Advent?

From what I have read up on the true history and meaning of advent, it started as a season for Christians to anticipate the "coming" of Christ. It would seem the "coming" of Christ has sort of changed meaning over the years and now refers to the birth of Christ.

I really want my children to look back on the holiday and the days until Christmas with joy. Each year I'm looking for new advent calendar ideas to start in December. Some of the fun ones I've made in the past.

HOW MANY DAYS ARE IN AN ADVENT?

There are two thoughts on this and that depends on you and your family.

The first says 24 days in an advent. That refers to the days leading up to Christmas starting on December 1st.
The second says 25 where they are celebrating the actual day of Jesus' birthday.

I have advent calendars with both 25 and 24 days. The engineering side of my brain loves the 24 because it's even and I can create pretty calendars with symmetrical looks. Then on the other hand I love the idea of making the 25th day stand out and celebrated and making for one last present to open on Christmas morning not under the Christmas tree. Plus it makes a fun topper to a tree or house or whatever type of DIY Christmas Advent Calendar.

Supplies Need to Make a Fun Advent Calendar

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Directions to make DIY Boxes Advent Calendar

Start with putting your boxes together.

Fill your boxes.

What To Include In Your DIY Advent Calendar?

In my opinion, you can put whatever you would like in your advent calendar. I have seen ones with candies, ones with notes, ones with wine (oh hello), and one's legos. It truly depends on the audience.

Our advent is for kids and so for this particular one, I filled each box with two chocolates. One for each child.

Once you filled your box, wrap it up. I am in love with pom-poms and so I wanted to make a pom-pom for each box, but you could simply tie a simple bow with yarn or ribbon around each box.

Next, you want to number your boxes. I used stickers but you could simply use a marker and write the numbers on the side of each box as well. Next, it's time to tie the boxes to the dowel.

Simply tie one end of the yarn to the box and then the other side to the dowel. I used a simple double knot. The lengths are quite random. The longest was no longer than 2 feet.

If you are looking for a shortcut, then I would cut each yarn at 2 feet and then tie each box at the desired length.

Lastly, add a piece of yarn to each end of the dowel in order to hang the advent calendar. I used a piece approximately two and a half feet.