A couple years ago, I made an advent calendar for the kids out of a bunch of mismatched socks I knew I was never going to find matches for.
It was a little bit cheesy, but I spent zero money on it and the kids loved it.
It lasted for two years before it fell apart.
I wanted to make another one this year, but I needed it to be inexpensive. Plus, I wanted it to last for a few years, and I didn’t want it to take too long to put together.
I also wanted it to be mostly an “activity” advent calendar.
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So here’s what I got:
- a plastic over the door shoe holder ($8.99)
- 2 packs of 12 goody bags from the dollar store ($2)
- ribbon from the dollar store (I only used two — $2)
- 8 x 5 index cards (already had those)
- foam stars (already had those)
I spent a total of $13.
First, I dressed up the shoe holder.
Then I cut the index cards in half.
I numbered half of them 1 – 24.
On the other half, I wrote the activities/treats I planned for the calendar.
I chose from this list:
Make Christmas Cookies
Go to the movies!
Make Christmas ornaments
Write someone a Christmas card
Watch Polar Express
Watch Rudolph
Watch Home Alone
Play Christmas Charades
Candy cane!
Donuts and hot chocolate for breakfast
Make gingerbread houses
Go into NYC!!!
Kent gingerbread festival (free)
Lights at Hubbard Park (free)
Deliver cookies to neighbors
Perform a random act of kindness
Give each family member a compliment
Sing Christmas carols at nursing home
Make snowflakes
Make a paper chain
Color in a Christmas picture
Take a nature walk – find pine cones (to make Christmas decorations later)
Make your own wreath
Next I took the list of activities and looked at the calendar for December.
I planned the activities around basketball games and swim meets and wrote them all down in my journal so I’d remember what I had planned for when.
Then I put the index card and any other stuff necessary into each bag.
I found some movie tickets someone gave us a few months ago. The kids are going to go crazy when they get that one because we never go to the movies.
Last year we did Christmas charades and laughed so hard.
The bags come in handy for the charade picks, and they also keep each day a surprise. But because I’m no dummy, I taped them shut, too.
Then I slid each bag into its corresponding pocket.
How cute is that?
Easy, quick, inexpensive, reusable parts (I’ll just have to replace the bags and some of the activities next year), looks good on the door, and it should last a while!
If you want to make this for your family but don’t have all the supplies and want to save yourself some time, here are amazon links to everything you need:
Enjoy!
I really love this idea but don’t think I could keep up. I’ve only got three kids, too. You must be super organized. My hat goes off to you!
Love this idea! Enjoy it!