• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Peanut Blossom
  • Welcome
  • Family Recipes
  • Let's Celebrate
  • Book Club
Home » Blog » Mom Life » Crafting » Spruce up your own Advent calendar

Spruce up your own Advent calendar

Nov 12, 2009 by Tiffany Dahle

1.9Kshares
  • Share
  • Yummly
  • Tweet

One of my favorite Christmas traditions is the children's Advent calendar. Every year, my mom would give us one of the paper calendars with little chocolates hidden behind each door. It was thrilling to be allowed such a treat first thing every morning for 25 days.

In recent years, more permanent versions of those calendars have been popping up in so many catalogs and stores. I love the little wooden doors and various shapes--houses, cabins, etc. Last year, I was inspired by a crafter on Etsy that had decorated an elaborate wooden house with items from her scrapbook collection. Her calendar was far outside of my holiday budget, so I set out to make my own:

I found the wooden base at Target for $29. The rest of the supplies needed are:

  • holiday paper of your choice--a little goes a long way
  • numerical stickers
  • 1 bottle of Mod Podge
  • sponge tip applicator

Lucky for me, my little square doors were exactly the same size as my Creative Memories square maker punch. I just looked at their site and can't find a link for you anywhere and am reeling with shock that they may have discontinued it.

I punched out enough little squares for each of the doors. Then I used a hole punch to make room for the tiny door knobs. I cut a small slit from the bottom of the square to the hole so the square would fit easily around the door knob.

Using the sponge tip applicator, I spread a thin even coat of Mod Podge onto the paper, slipped it over the door knob and held it firmly in place for a few seconds. Once all the papers were glued to the doors, I let it dry overnight.

The rest was easy peasy decorating with some bling-y stickers I found at the craft store.

My favorite tiny touch was the miniature paper wreath I use to mark which day we are on in the calendar. I found that in the sticker section and just stuck two wreaths back to back to make it sturdier.

Last year the peanut was too little to be giving candies to, so I just set this out for decoration. This year I plan to put it into full use. I think I'm going to do a mix of candy and small toy items vs. all chocolate. It will depend on what I find in my shopping spree.

Thought I'd share this with you now in case you want to try it yourself before Dec. 1. I'm sure these wooden calendars can be found just about anywhere now!

P.S. If you're looking for supply ideas for the materials I used to make this, you might be interested in these links:

  • A mat pad of scrapbooking paper, gives you a nice variety for little cost. A little paper goes a long way with this project.
  • The snowflake punch I used for decorative layering
  • The scalloped circle punch
  • Some simple decorative stickers
  • Glittery numerical stickers
  • Mod podge!

 

 

 

Share this:

  • Pinterest
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
Previous Post: « My digital camera, a word of caution
Next Post: Top 10 unique spices for your kitchen »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Stefanie McLaughlin

    November 12, 2009 at 5:29 am

    Oh wow! That is seriously awesome!!!

    Reply
  2. Zina Harrington

    November 12, 2009 at 9:02 am

    I read an article about putting notes in the pockets drawers. Nice things you and the peanut could do that day. Things like, call grandma, give dad a hug, the dog a bone, draw a picture for auntie, etc.
    The only reason I suggest this is because Lola went crazy last year about the candy. Almost to the point that it wasn't fun. She was demanding it 24/7. We actually had to take ours down from the wall for a day. 🙂

    Reply
  3. Julie Provost

    November 12, 2009 at 9:22 am

    This is just beautiful!
    Thank you for visiting my blog. We are in Germany with the US Army. We move back to the US in March.

    Reply
  4. Katie

    November 12, 2009 at 11:09 am

    Absolutely gorgeous. I remember the paper ones too - my next door neighbor always gave my sister and I one! Thanks so much for sharing.

    Reply
  5. carrie

    November 12, 2009 at 1:37 pm

    Oh! I just love this! I think I need one of these!

    Reply
  6. Moira

    November 13, 2009 at 12:20 am

    Bellissimo!

    Reply
  7. Renee

    November 13, 2009 at 6:15 pm

    SO. CUTE. Thanks for sharing; I love it!

    Reply
  8. Cheryl

    December 02, 2011 at 1:10 am

    This is one of my favourite advent calendars! Absolutely gorgeous. Thanks so much for sharing it!
    I hope you don't mind but I even posted it on my FB page http://www.facebook.com/EasyFreeSantaLetters

    Reply
  9. sarah chapman

    November 05, 2012 at 6:50 am

    What was the wooden drawer thing that you found at Target called?? I would love to try to make something similar!! It is beautiful!

    Reply
    • Tiffany

      November 05, 2012 at 6:59 am

      Hi Sarah, It was actually a wooden Advent calendar with little doors. The usually carry them each year but the designs and colors vary from year to year. I didn't like the original numbers on the doors but the white went well with my furniture. So I spruced it up. If you find one you could always paint it before starting if you don't like the base color. Good luck!

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Prepping for the season » Peanut Blossom says:
    November 2, 2012 at 8:58 pm

    [...] not too late to customize an Advent calendar to your own home decor style. Check out my tips at this post here. I love filling our calendar with stickers to decorate paper Christmas trees we keep on our [...]

    Reply
  2. Counting down to Christmas » Peanut Blossom says:
    October 20, 2013 at 7:28 am

    […] that it is officially December, it is time for our Advent calendar to return. The Peanut and I had so much fun with the stickers I filled it with last year that I […]

    Reply
  3. 50 Amazing DIY Advent Calendars says:
    December 11, 2013 at 1:52 am

    […] DIY Advent Calendar From Holiday Paper via peanutblossom […]

    Reply
  4. Stopping to smell the poinsettias - Peanut Blossom says:
    March 25, 2015 at 9:31 pm

    […] Advent calendar is going along so well. In the end, I took reader suggestions and filled it with stickers […]

    Reply
  5. When they open this Advent calendar, they won't even miss the candy! says:
    November 9, 2015 at 12:44 pm

    […] ago, I personalized my wooden door style calendar to make it fit with our home decor. I get giddy bringing it out each time. I knew right off the bat […]

    Reply
  6. FREE crochet pouch pattern any beginner can make in time for Christmas says:
    December 11, 2019 at 11:25 am

    […] made two gift bags, one for each of my girls. We’ve been using our homemade Advent calendar forever but this year I have been giving them holiday socks that didn’t fit inside the tiny […]

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Hi, I'm Tiffany! I'm a mom to two sweet peanuts and author of two bestselling cookbooks for kids. I love to celebrate the seasons and make time for monthly book club fun.

More about me →

Popular

  • The best book club picks for 2021 for busy women who want FUN books
  • 10-minute Trader Joe's meals: the best busy night dinners in a hurry!
  • Make ahead breakfast burritos are magic on busy mornings
  • The only homemade chicken soup you need this flu season

Footer

↑ back to top

About

  • Privacy Policy
  • Disclaimer

Newsletter

  • Sign Up! for emails and updates

Contact

  • Contact

Copyright © 2021