It’s that time! Chriiiistmas time!! Is the excitement over the top? The countdown is on… and the official advent countdown is on starting Monday. Like this coming Monday. Like only five days away. 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 calender 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.
Before I get to it though… have you entered my giveaway for some awesome Plumb Notebooks yet? They’re amazing and the giveaway ends at midnight tonight… so you should hop over there!!
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 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 eachother’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 mine 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?
And to all my American friends, Happy Thanksgiving tomorrow! I’m excited to be heading to an American Thanksgiving dinner for the first time in my life- so I’ll be celebrating with you! I hope you enjoy the turkey and most of all- your loved ones :)
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Kara says
Nov 26 at 8:33 amLove 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)
Colleen Pastoor says
Nov 28 at 9:59 amHaha, 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 ;)
Anita says
Nov 26 at 12:33 pmI 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!
Colleen Pastoor says
Nov 28 at 10:00 amThanks 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!!
AIMEE says
Nov 26 at 6:24 pmCUTEST ever!
AIMEE says
Nov 26 at 6:26 pmALSO where DID YOU GET THAT NORIDC WASHI TAPE!!!!
Colleen Pastoor says
Nov 28 at 10:00 amThanks Aimee! The washi tape is from Michaels… and all their holiday stuff is already on sale :) SCORE!
Jordyn says
Dec 27 at 12:06 pmWhere do you get the favor boxes of that size?
Colleen Pastoor says
Dec 28 at 2:37 pmI got those from Michaels in the wedding section! They were on the bottom shelf right beside the square ones. Hope you find them!
Julie (Being Home) says
Nov 28 at 1:36 pmI 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
Colleen Pastoor says
Dec 01 at 9:32 amThanks so much Julie! I hope your Thanksgiving was wonderful as well :)
bre pea. says
Nov 28 at 3:48 pmAhhhh! 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!
Colleen Pastoor says
Dec 01 at 9:42 amPlease do! I’ve been meaning to do one for years now too, so happy to have finally gotten around to it :)
Jenny says
Dec 01 at 7:46 pmThis 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!
Colleen Pastoor says
Dec 03 at 10:02 pmThanks Jenny! I’ve been planning to for years, I’m thrilled I got around to it this year :)
Jessica@CapeofDreams says
Dec 02 at 2:24 amThis is super cute. I love the simplicity of it and the fact that you were more creative and didn’t just put chocolate inside.
Colleen Pastoor says
Dec 03 at 10:02 pmThanks so much Jessica! That’s not to say I didn’t put ANY chocolate in ;)
Meredith @ Wait Til Your Father Gets Home says
Dec 02 at 7:24 amThis is so fun and very unique! Thanks for sharing your idea with us this week at the Monday Funday party!!
Colleen Pastoor says
Dec 03 at 10:03 pmThanks so much Meredith! Glad you popped over :)
Lora@Craftivity Designs says
Dec 02 at 12:01 pmSo cute! This would be such a fun craft to do with a group of friends — and all go home with an advent calendar!
Colleen Pastoor says
Dec 03 at 10:10 pmYes! 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!
Amanda @ Dwelling in Happiness says
Dec 06 at 3:01 pmOHHH 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!
Colleen Pastoor says
Dec 06 at 9:12 pmAw, 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!
Carrie @ Curly Crafty Mom says
Dec 06 at 6:54 pmOh 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!
Colleen Pastoor says
Dec 06 at 9:13 pmThanks so much Carrie! I love your party- thanks so much!!
Katie @ Little House of Four says
Dec 07 at 11:24 amThis 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!
Colleen Pastoor says
Dec 07 at 9:29 pmAw, thanks so much for the kind words Katie! Love your girls party :)
Heather @ My Overflowing Cup says
Dec 09 at 7:59 pmThis is absolutely adorable! Thanks so much for sharing. Pinning.
Colleen Pastoor says
Dec 11 at 11:39 pmThanks so much Heather! Hope it comes in handy for you next year :)
Kala says
Dec 10 at 8:40 pmI’m loving this sooo much! Pinning it for next year :)
Colleen Pastoor says
Dec 11 at 11:49 pmThanks so much Kala! I saw your email, will respond soon- promise!