Making Advent calendars for daycare centers: Creative craft ideas and tips for filling them

It's already November and what does that mean? The most beautiful season is just around the corner! Especially during the Christmas season, anticipation is the best kind of anticipation and for most of us, an Advent calendar is simply part of Christmas. Making an Advent calendar for daycare is an excellent way to sweeten the wait until the holidays for your little ones! What can you fill an Advent calendar for children with?

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24 days, 24 surprises – an Advent calendar is always fun and the countdown to Christmas has officially begun for us! Instead of buying the ready-made stuff from the supermarket again, how about making an Advent calendar for daycare for a change? This is not only much more creative, but will also bring immense joy to the recipient. And since it doesn't always have to be chocolate, we have a few great ideas for you on what you could fill an Advent calendar for children with.

Making an Advent calendar for daycare: Creative DIY ideas

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Would you like to do something special for the children this year? Use the run-up to Christmas to make an individual Advent calendar for daycare. We know that not everyone has the crafting skills like Santa Claus and his elves. You don't have to - our instructions are actually super simple and will be perfect for even the biggest DIY beginner.

Make crackers as an Advent calendar

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Don't throw away the paper rolls, because you'll soon see how you can use them to make a really great and simple Advent calendar for daycare. Crackers made from toilet paper rolls are filled with a variety of things and then beautifully packaged - every child will look forward to it, we promise!

Materials required:

  • 24 toilet paper rolls
  • Wrapping paper of your choice
  • Gift ribbon
  • Pin
  • 1 scissors
Photo: pixabay

Directions:

  • First, cut the wrapping paper into large pieces, making sure that they are longer than the toilet paper rolls.
  • Then fill the toilet paper rolls with the small gifts and wrap the wrapping paper around.
  • Twist the protruding ends together and close with colorful ribbon.
  • Now the fun begins - decorate the crackers to your heart's content and don't forget to put the numbers on them.
  • Finally, hang it up and you're done - it's that easy to make an Advent calendar for daycare.

Make a home advent calendar for children

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And here's another great idea how to do itempty toilet paper rollscan make a unique Advent calendar for daycare. It's a little more complicated, but it's worth the time - we promise!

Materials required:

  • 24 empty toilet paper rolls
  • An old box or a large piece of cardboard
  • A few sheets of colored and white paper
  • Hot glue gun
  • Craft glue
  • Scissors
  • Pencil
  • felt-tip pens
Photo: Kiwitanya/envato elements

Directions:

  • First, use the toilet paper rolls as a template for the doors made of colored and white paper. The colored circles should be slightly larger and the white ones smaller.
  • Cut out a total of 48 circles.
  • To determine the extent of the back of the house, place the toilet paper rolls on the cardboard. How wide or high the house is is entirely up to you.
  • Mark the back with a pencil and then cut it out. If you want a front for the house, use the back as a template.
  • Also measure and cut out the side walls and roof using the existing parts.
  • Paint and decorate the house parts to your heart's content and glue them together with the hot glue gun.
  • Lay the house open side up.
  • Coat one end of the toilet paper rolls with craft glue and press on it.
  • Let the whole thing dry lying flat for about 30 minutes.
  • In the meantime, for the doors, glue the small circles onto the large circles with craft glue and write the numbers on them.
  • Next, fill the rolls with the surprises.
  • Apply glue to the front edges and glue the doors.
  • Finally, let it dry thoroughly and your home advent calendar for children is ready!

Advent calendar made from paper bags

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Are you looking for cheap and simple ideas for a cute Advent calendar for daycare? Then grab some paper bags and let’s get started!

Materials required:

  • 24 paper bags or thin cardboard box
  • Scissors
  • Pin
  • Glue
  • Gift ribbon
  • Any stickers, glitter or other embellishments
  • punch
  • Tacker
Photo: pixabay

Directions:

  • First, fold the ends of the paper bags over and attach a clip to the bottom to hold them together.
  • Paint and decorate the paper bags to your heart's content and fill them with small gifts.
  • Make a hole with the hole punch, thread the ribbon through it and close the bags.
  • Either hang the finished bags on a branch or something similar or place them directly in a nice basket. A quick tip – to make this even more fun, you could mix up the bags and have the children look for the correct number.

Advent calendar boxes

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No time for complex DIY projects? No problem – we have the perfect solution for you too! To make a beautiful Advent calendar for daycare, all you actually need is 24 small gift boxes and a matching basket. Instructions are not necessary at all. Simply decorate the boxes to your heart's content, fill them with gifts and close them. And that’s it – it’s that easy!

Foto: maria_symchychnavr/envato elements

Each of us has at least one empty folder at home. This Advent calendar for children ignites as soon as you open itthe anticipation of Christmas! The crafting effort is relatively small, but the surprise is even greater. Decorate the folder with Christmas elements as desired. After that, arrange the small cardboard boxes with the gifts inside and secure with double-sided tape.

Cup as an Advent calendar for children

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Do you have a few cups lying around at home? Then use these to make an Advent calendar for children. In the small cups you can wrap both smaller and larger gifts that will definitely sweeten the little ones' Advent season.

Advent calendar made from envelopes

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How about giving the kids time instead of stuff for a change this year? For example, several envelopes with matching cards with nice activities written on them are perfect for this. Whether baking cookies together, going to the cinema orfunny Advent calendar sayings– let your creativity run wild.

What to fill Advent calendars for children with?

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You already know how to make a simple Advent calendar for daycare. But now the question arises – what should you fill it with? EveryEating chocolate every day, is not a good idea, especially for small children. Depending on whether it is an Advent calendar for girls or boys, various little things come into consideration. However, remember - not all girls are interested in princesses and not all boys want to be police officers. To make the little one happy, pay attention to the child's interests first. And if you still can't think of anything, here are a few suggestions for what you can fill an Advent calendar for children with.

  • Homemade Christmas cookies
  • Small toys that the child would look forward to
  • Vouchers for shared activities
  • Various stickers or collectible images of celebrities or favorite athletes
  • Watercolors, brushes, beautiful colored pencils and other things to stimulate the child's creativity

Also read:Make angels with paper: Make these cute DIY angels for your Christmas tree yourself!