Count down to Christmas with this DIY magnetic advent calendar idea! Perfect for small spaces, this advent calendar can house small gifts, treats, or be an activity advent calendar and leaves no holes in the wall- perfect for renters!
It’s that time! Chriiiistmas time!! Is the excitement over the top? The countdown is on… and the official advent countdown is on starting December 1st if you’re an advent calendar family!
I hope that gets you excited and not stressed. I’m somewhere in between right now, but fun projects like this are helping me get more excited. Growing up we always had the best advent calendars. My grandma made us a felt advent calendar and my mom filled it with all sorts of goodies. I’d love for my kids to have that same experience… but they’re not old enough to get that yet, so I decided I’d put one together for my Hubby instead.
A girlfriend and I got together last week and crafted these- I’m so happy with how they turned out! We were inspired by this envelope tree advent calendar but wanted to be able to put little treats in so decided on little boxes instead. The trouble with cute little boxes? Tape doesn’t hold them onto my wall… especially not with goodies in there. Since I wasn’t ready to put 24 holes in my wall to hold the boxes on I had to get thinking.
When I saw this advent taped to the fridge I thought… magnets! And it worked like a charm :) So if you’re thinking of making one of your own here’s what you’ll need:
- Favor boxes (mine are 2″ x 3″)
- Magnets (you can get them from the dollar store- 8 to a pack)
- Markers for numbering
- Decorations- Washi tape, bakers twine, bells, kraft paper, plaid fabric, pom poms etc.
- Goodies to fill your calendar
Wedding favour boxes are super quick to assemble so they come together quickly. Mine came in a box of 100 but since I was sharing with a friend (and I had a 50% off coupon) it was worth it to get that size. When they’re all assembled, you can get to numbering them and decorating!
I used washi tape on a lot of them (I love that nordic reindeer!) as well as gold and bronze sharpies. I decided I needed a bit more dimension to a few so I brought out the bakers twine and some plaid material I had kicking around.
The kraft paper is actually packaging labels (you can buy a roll at the dollar store and it has adhesive on one side- no gluing required).
I had fun playing around with lettering and numbers- I tried to make them all different styles. It was great to do this with a friend so we could copy each other’s ideas.
Once you have them all decorated you can have fun filling them. Instead of spending a bunch of money on treats to fill them (I did put treats in some) I used the washi tape to dress up some card stock and put activities in a lot of them. Which is probably a good thing, because nobody needs that much candy… but sometimes I need a reminder to take a break and have a date night.
But maybe check it against your calendar to make sure you don’t have a daytime activity planned for a work day!
So once you’ve filled your advent boxes, you can put them on your fridge! It took two of the craft magnets per box to get them to stay without sliding. I also used some of my regular magnets which held a bit stronger so those ones only took one. I arranged my advent calendar to look like a tree and love the cheer it brings to my fridge now.
That’s it! Pretty quick and simple but it will give you something to look forward to every morning until Christmas. So well worth the time if you ask me. I’d love to know if this is a tradition you look forward to! Do you stick to the chocolate ones or do you like to craft something a bit more special?
How to display an activity advent calendar
Other than this magnetic advent calendar, I have created my fair share of advent calendars over the years to house activity cards. I love to switch activities instead of chocolates. You can find a large list of ideas if you would like to do the same right here.
The last few years, I’ve stuck to my free printable mini envelopes displayed on our dining room mini tree, but here’s some ideas for you!
Want TO SNAG MY printable list of ADVENT ACTIVITiES? GRAB IT HERE!
Pin this for later!
Don’t have time to take on crafting an advent calendar right now? Planning to make one for your family next year? Pin this so you can come back to it! Plus, pinning or sharing on FB helps this post reach more people which helps me be able to keep sharing with you. Thank you!
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Love it! I’m totally a “traditionalist” and we’ll just do the chocolate advent calendars, but this idea is so great and fun! (And I’m also glad that we’ve just finished off the Halloween candy in time to bust out the Christmas chocolate, haha)
Haha, we still have some Halloween Candy kickin’ around. I’m not a big fan of it for the most part though. But the chocolate was gone a looong time ago ;)
I love the idea of having things like date night and playing games in there! Such an affordable alternative to goodies and some wonderful quality time as a huge bonus. Your hubster is a lucky man!
Thanks Anita! We’re all about affordable right now and I agree- quality time is a huge bonus. It’s easy to let that slide during this time of year when we’re so busy!!
CUTEST ever!
ALSO where DID YOU GET THAT NORIDC WASHI TAPE!!!!
Thanks Aimee! The washi tape is from Michaels… and all their holiday stuff is already on sale :) SCORE!
Where do you get the favor boxes of that size?
I got those from Michaels in the wedding section! They were on the bottom shelf right beside the square ones. Hope you find them!
I love this idea and they way you decorated the boxes is adorable. Thank you for sharing and I hope you has a wonderful Thanksgiving. :D
Thanks so much Julie! I hope your Thanksgiving was wonderful as well :)
Ahhhh! This is so dang cute!!!! An advent calendar has been on my list of holidays crafts for many years now. I might just have to use your idea for inspiration. You are so good!
Please do! I’ve been meaning to do one for years now too, so happy to have finally gotten around to it :)
This is an adorable idea! Maybe next year I’ll finally get around to making an advent calendar… I’ll pin this idea so I don’t forget! Thanks!
Thanks Jenny! I’ve been planning to for years, I’m thrilled I got around to it this year :)
This is super cute. I love the simplicity of it and the fact that you were more creative and didn’t just put chocolate inside.
Thanks so much Jessica! That’s not to say I didn’t put ANY chocolate in ;)
This is so fun and very unique! Thanks for sharing your idea with us this week at the Monday Funday party!!
Thanks so much Meredith! Glad you popped over :)
So cute! This would be such a fun craft to do with a group of friends — and all go home with an advent calendar!
Yes! Friends make any craft better. I had so much fun creating this with a girlfriend- I’d love to make a mini party out of it next year… now you’re giving me ideas!
OHHH this is so stinkin’ cute, Colleen!! I love that they’re magnets, so clever!! And, I’m totally jealous of your gorgeous handwriting!! Wanted to let you know also that we’re featuring your lovely advent calendar at our Motivational Monday link party!!! Thanks so much for linking it up with us!
Aw, thanks so much Amanda! I’ve just started an obsession with handwriting and have asked for an e-course for Christmas (fingers crossed!). And you girls are so sweet- thank you for the feature!
Oh my goodness this advent calendar is so unique and cute! I really love how you used markers to do different designs on each box. I love the ones with gold and the houndstooth ones! We will be featuring this on Motivational Monday tomorrow evening. Congrats!
Thanks so much Carrie! I love your party- thanks so much!!
This is one of the cutest Advent calendars I’ve seen. My kids would LOVE it! Thanks so much for linking up to Your Designs This Time. Your amazing project will be featured this Monday and pinned to our Features and Favorites Board!
Aw, thanks so much for the kind words Katie! Love your girls party :)
This is absolutely adorable! Thanks so much for sharing. Pinning.
Thanks so much Heather! Hope it comes in handy for you next year :)
I’m loving this sooo much! Pinning it for next year :)
Thanks so much Kala! I saw your email, will respond soon- promise!