Something that most people look forward to as Advent approaches is probably the Advent calendar. The joy of opening a new door every day and being surprised by the contents is great for both children and adults. So it's no wonder that people like to give their loved ones an Advent calendar. But this doesn't always have to be bought, because a homemade one can be wonderfully adapted to the taste of the recipient and can also be filled individually with everything your heart desires. Would you like one this year?DIY Advent calendarto give as a gift or even to use yourself? Then you can choose one of our ideas and make a creative and unique Advent calendar yourself!
Make your own Advent calendar with owls as motifs
An Advent calendar that is also decorative and decorates your home during the Christmas season? This is without question what you get with a model like thisin the shape of owls. And when you realize how easy it is to make this calendar, you'll fall in love! This is what you need to make an Advent calendar out of owls:
- Paper bags
- patterned craft paper (plain color is of course also suitable)
- round stickers or a large hole punch to punch out the eyes (buttons are also suitable)
- black paper (and smaller hole punch) or felt-tip pen for the pupils
- Stickers with numbers or self-cut shapes that you label yourself
- Glue, scissors
- String and clothespins
Make your own owl advent calendar – instructions
To get the shape of the beak, you must first fold the open edge of the paper bag. To do this, place it in front of you and press the two short sides of the opening inwards with your index fingers (as if you werewrap a gift). The long sides automatically roll inwards. Press the short sides in until the long sides taper upwards and fold everything so that it doesn't unfold again. Now fold the two tips forward to close the bag at the same time and get the owl's beak.
Now you can make the other elements for the owl Advent calendar yourself: For the belly you need oval shapes made of the patterned paper, from which you cut off a third of the lower part. You can use the first shape as a template for the others. Then glue the bellies onto the bags. Then make the eyes out of round stickers or stick punched out white circles on them and then the smaller pupils. AlsoButtons are suitable, which you can best fix with hot glue. Then number and fill the owls as you wish and hang them on the string with the clothespins.
If you like the owls, you are welcome to make other variations for an Advent calendar with owls. For example, how about this simple idea from the image above, for youUse toilet paper rollscan? The open ends are simply folded inwards and the rolls are then decorated with wings made of felt or paper and other elements. You can number the individual owls with cut-out numbers, stickers or you can label them freehand.
Make animals for Advent calendars out of bread bags
The variantwith the bread bagsBy the way, it's not just suitable for owls. In principle, you can choose any animal to make such an Advent calendar to fill. It is the additional elements that define each animal: rabbits, for example, need long ears, foxes need pointed, triangular ears and a bushy tail, and mice need round ears. Be creative!
Make a city advent calendar
If you would like to make original Advent calendars yourself, this is a small town or ratherVillage a really great idea. Without question, this variant is one of the most likeable Advent calendars, as they also make wonderful Christmas decorations. You can complement the crafted houses with small trees, cotton wool or a white blanket (for a snowy landscape) and create a real eye-catcher: This is how you make the houses:
- brown construction paper or thin cardboard
- tape
- Ruler, pencil, scissors
- Craft knife and suitable base
- Stickers with numbers or felt-tip pen for labeling
Making an Advent calendar – instructions
Cut out a rectangle of any size from the construction paper. Fold it in half once and then fold the two halves in half to create the four sides of the house. Then design the shape of the roof by using a ruler to measure the center point of the second and fourth sides of the house, mark it and then cut it out. Now you can use the craft knife to cut out windows and doors. Then tape the two ends of the rectangle together and you get the house.
Finally, you need a roof. To do this, measure the width and length of the opening at the top and then cut a rectangle from the same construction paper that is slightly larger than these measurements so that it overhangs a little on all sides. Fold the rectangle in half and tape it to the house. You can nowmore housesMake your own in different sizes for the Advent calendar and label them with numbers. After setting them up, you can put a string of lights around them and illuminate the houses. Another variant would be to make a few more houses and then place them on LED tea lights to illuminate them from the inside.
Make trees for the Advent calendar with boxes
Trees for which you can use boxes of any shape are also a great addition to the village Advent calendar. Of course, you can also make your own Advent calendar entirely out of trees if you like it better. The trees are growing outdecorated pine conesmade and are intended to imitate fir trees.
- Boxes of any size and shape
- Pine cones
- Hot glue and craft glue
- Glitter
- Paint brush
- Cotton or fiberfill
- Numbers made of felt or paper (alternatively white pen or acrylic paint for freehand writing)
Make an Advent calendar out of boxes with pine cones
This Advent calendar idea is extremely easy to make, so your children can also join in. First, glue the pine cones to the lids of the boxes with hot glue. To do this, you must hold the cones upright until the glue dries. Then apply glue to the tips of the scales andsprinkle glitterabout it. Once the glue has dried, you can simply tap off any excess glitter.
Then tear the cotton or fiberfill into smaller pieces, spread glue on the lids around the pine cone and glue the cotton pieces in place. Now stick the numbers on the boxes or number them with a marker or acrylic paint and you're done! Then you can finally do thisFill your own Advent calendarwith any sweets or other gifts. The boxes offer plenty of space.
Make your own Advent calendar – gnomes made from toilet paper rolls
Find a cute oneAdvent calendar for children, you can make this Advent calendar out of gnomes. Normal toilet paper rolls are used as well as templates that you can find and print out below. For this simple project you will need the following things:
- The claw role
- Templates
- thin construction paper, crepe paper or tissue paper
- cord
- Scissors, tape
- felt-tip pen
Make an elves advent calendar – instructions
Print and cut out the templates. Seal one of the openings of the rolls with plain white paper (or tissue) by placing it over the opening, folding the sides over and taping it to the roll. Then wrap the gnomes around the rolls and tape the ends together in the same way. You can then label the snowballs that the elves are holding with numbers. Then cut another piece of paper to a length equal to the circumference of the roll. Fold one of the long sides inwards (see picture in the instructions above) and glue the ends together. Put the side with the fold over the roll and tie the other side together with string to create a pointed hat. You should now be able to easily remove the hatsthe gnomesto fill.
Make an Advent calendar – templates to print out
Gnome craft template for Advent calendar
Gnome with floral pattern
Make your own Advent calendar – idea with packages and bags
If you are looking for Advent calendar ideas that are particularly quick and easy, but still nice to look at, you can also make a simple Advent calendar yourself from packages. For this purpose, you can choose from the two variants shown in the picture above. You can use fabric bags or bread bags like in the example with the owls. AlsoMatchboxes are ideal.
You can paint and label the Advent calendar with bags as you wish with textile paint, while the bread bags can be decorated with acrylic paints, but also with simple felt-tip pens and markers as well as labels or stickers. In general, you can let your imagination run wild here.
Store in boxes
You can then of course hang the finished packages on a string (or on a wreath as in the example below). But how about another idea? A simple wooden box looks very pretty and is perfect to be converted into an Advent calendar. However, if you want to make an Advent calendar like this out of boxes, it is advisable to put the numbers higher up so that they are visible without you having to rummage through the box for a long time. Even small boxes canin a wine boxor any other type of wooden box to be displayed.
Tea boxes that are divided into individual compartments and only need to be labeled are also very practical for this purpose. Then you can put a bag or package with a gift or candy in each compartment. A DIY Advent calendar can be so easy!
Make a Christmas wreath
Or how about you have such a great AMake a Christmas calendar with packages? This is a wreath that you can bothsmall bags, as well as boxes can hang. With a few green branches, the Christmas decoration looks fresh and even more attractive, so that it remains an eye-catcher even after the Advent season. You need:
- Embroidery frame
- boxes
- sachet
- cord
- Band
- green twigs (e.g. rosemary, camellia or fir green)
- Textile pen
- Blumendraht
If you would like to make this Advent calendar yourself, first tie the greenery with wire to any part of the embroidery frame. Then you can number and fill the bags and boxes, after which you tie them to the ring with string of different lengths. Use the ribbon to tie a loop around the ring so you can hang it up, as well as a nice bow. It's finishedbeautiful Christmas wreath!
