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Start a fun holiday tradition with your family by making an Easy Homemade Advent Calendar! This activity is so simple and requires very little prep — no crafting skills necessary!
Yes, I realize it’s early November. And no, I will not bombard you with Christmas posts from now until Dec. 25. But I did want to get this particular project up as soon as possible so that you all have plenty of time to execute it before December 1! I have actually wanted to make an advent calendar like this for over a year now, but last year it just didn’t happen. I delivered a baby in November, which kind of put a hold on some (or all) of my holiday plans!
So, here is the long-awaited Easy Homemade Advent Calendar. And I emphasize the EASY. Shall we get started?
When I was growing up, advent calendars were an annual tradition in our house. My mom always had one waiting for us on the first day of December, and we looked forward to opening one day at a time as we counted down until Christmas. My goal here is to recreate some of the same wonderful holiday memories for my own kids!
This calendar is homemade, but there’s really no “crafting” involved. I promise. Here are the supplies that I used:
– 24 Small Gift Boxes (I actually needed 48 since I made a calendar for each of my boys). I shopped around and ultimately decided on the Red Polka Dot Boxes and the Red Chevron Boxes from Oriental Trading. They were the perfect size and the perfect price ($3.50 for a set of 24) for the quantity that I needed.
– 24 Small Items to Fill the Boxes. I used sweets, which are definitely a big hit in our house. Again, the price is right and I could purchase them in fun holiday themes. Knowing that they would be popular with my boys, I ordered the Christmas Monster Candy, the Hershey’s Miniatures Holiday Candy Assortment, and the Holiday Lights Ring Pops from Oriental Trading.
– White Labels. To seal and label the boxes. I picked up mine from Target.
– Metallic Sharpie Markers. Fun holiday colors for labeling the boxes. I bought these at Target too.
– A Sheet of Paper. To write a letter from Santa.
– A Shipping/Postal Box. So that Santa can deliver the package to your child’s front door on November 30!
– A Big Bow. For the top of your box.
I started by filling each of the little boxes with a small holiday treat.
Then the little boxes were sealed and numbered from 1 through 24.
All packed up and ready to go!
I placed the little boxes into a larger shipping box,
and then wrote a letter from Santa giving each child very clear instructions!
The letter went in the box as well,
and everything was sealed, labeled, and tucked away until delivery time.
On November 30, Santa will deliver these packages to my boys and the holiday festivities will officially begin!
[Tweet “These Easy Homemade Advent Calendars are a fun holiday tradition for kids – no crafting necessary! #Christmas”]
Looking for other ways to get in the holiday spirit? Check out these previous posts:Â
 Homemade Christmas Ornaments
Homemade Mason Jar Snow Globes
Christmas Activity for Kids: Gingerbread Friends
Candy Cane Reindeer
Holiday Gifts for Pets: Homemade Dog Biscuits
The Polar Express Hot Chocolate with Marshmallow Stirrers
I love, love, LOVE this idea! I’ve been wanting to buy an advent calendar that I can put my own treats in (2 for each day since I have 2 little ones), but this is a way cuter idea. I love that the box is delivered from Santa and my girls would have so much fun opening a little box each day. 🙂 And what a great way to encourage them to be on their best behavior throughout the month.
So glad that you like it, Erin! Thanks for your sweet comments and for sharing it on Twitter!
Ohhhhh this is SUCH a cute idea, I love it!!! And what a fun way to present the Advent Calendar in a big box like that! So creative! 🙂
Thanks, Maria!!!
great ideas!
Thanks, Cheri!
Love the advent calendar! The DIY aspect allows you to put anything in it! Genius!
Thanks! So glad that you stopped by. 🙂
This is such a cute idea! I love it!
Love, love, love this, Blair! Thanks so much. Pinning it to my Christmas board.
Thanks for the pin, Heather! I hope that you get to make one too! 🙂
Blair, I love advent calendars, the whole fun of counting down to the magical time that Christmas is. This has been featured as one of my favourites over at Sweet and Savoury Sunday. Stop by, grab a button and link up again with us this week. Have a great day!
Thanks so much for the feature, Laura! 🙂 I love advent calendars too!!!
You not only have great recipes, but you have cute holiday ideas too! Love it. Thanks for sharing it on Merry Monday. Hope you can join us again tonight at 6pm PST.
Thanks, Erlene! 🙂
Thanks so much for sharing this!! We are very excited about doing this. Thanks again!