DIY Project: Advent Calendar

Christmas is hands down my favourite time of the year. I get to decorate and gift the people I love. I get to put emphasis on traditions, which I hold close to my heart. I get to bake and eat to my heart’s desire. I get to write thoughtful and reflective words in beautiful cards, and finally, I get to craft my heart out. 

Spending this time in Berlin feels extra special because of the Christmas period. Germany absolutely rocks at making Christmas memorable and special! The Christmas markets are out of this world, the treats are to die for (Lebkuchen, Baumkuchen, Stollen, Marzipan…you name it), and there is a strong emphasis on traditions not just on Christmas itself, but the entire lead up to the event. Every week a new Advent candle gets lit, on the 6th of December we celebrate St. Nikolaus and of course, every day in December is special when you get to wake up to a homemade Advent Calendar.

This year it was particularly important to me to make Noah a thoughtful Advent Calendar. One that was just for him. Last year he was only 11 months old and we were bouncing around the world in December so it was hardly an option for me. This year we are not only in one spot for the month (that is rare for us these days and I have our baby girl – due in December – to thank for that one), but Noah is going to go from being a single child to a bigger brother. That’s a massive transition for any first born child and I want to ensure he feels extra special this month. I’m setting the bar high in terms of content this year (every day he gets to unwrap a new Schleich animal), but since he’s still so young, I can certainly re-adjust the expected daily contents of our families’ advent calendars for the years to come. My mama always put a few sweets in a beautiful hand sewn bag every day for us kids and we couldn’t have been happier!

I had so much fun crafting away and I wanted to share some pictures with you for future inspiration. The beauty with a project like this is that you can make it your very own and completely adjust it to the person you are gifting.

The things you’ll need:

-       Wrapping paper (white and original kraft paper)

-       A few paper and hessian bags - To mix it up.

-       Washi tape - I used a few variations of gold.

-       Tape

-       Scissors

-       Tags

-       Numbers 1-24 – You can of course just write the numbers on the package itself and save yourself having to source tags and numbers to glue.

-       Super glue

-       Stickers - If you feel like adding some sparkle.

-       Ribbon and string - If you want to hang each little package from a stick or a railing.

Because one advent calendar wasn’t enough for me (go figure), I decided to create one for my lovely cousin as well. I had SO much fun with hers as well because I got to get lots of little goodies that I would love for myself. It is so easy shopping for girls! Everything from underwear, to nail polish, to chocolate (of course), cups, bath salts and the list goes on. And on the back side of each tag, I wrote a small hint/saying related to what is underneath the wrapping. I think she may just love it :)