Advent calendar and printable activity list

Gone are the days where I will putting little pieces of candy in our advent calendar for the kids. They really don't make the boxes big enough for 3 Hershey kisses anyway!

Thanks to Pinterest I found a lot of awesome advent calendar inspiration.

I wanted something that I could use again, store easily but also create one using several craft items I had around the house! This one cost me less then $7 to make thanks to Michaels coupons and sales!

Here is how you can make your own:

Supplies needed:

cardstock

2" scallop paper punch

1" round paper punch

number stickers

burlap (other fabric or even wrapping paper would work)

16 in x 20 in foam board

hot glue gun

embelishments

ribbon or twine

flat thumbtacks

Using a piece of foam board leftover from a baby shower last year I covered it with burlap from another holiday project that I'll be posting about soon! I attached the burlap to the foam board with scotch tape and hot glue.

I added a bit of twine to the edges for some additional color.

I love the Martha Stewart cardstock that I found at Michaels! It's the perfect combination of colors to fit into our existing holiday color scheme. I purchased the 6.75 in x 4.75 in mat pad to minimize the amount of cutting I had to do.

Cut your paper 4 inches wide. Fold each side in about half an inch and the bottom about 1 inch to make a "pocket." Seal with tape or glue (I used tape).

Arrange your paper pockets. I made mine into a pattern. Symmetry is important to me!

Secure the pockets to the foam board with the thumb tacks.

Use your paper punches to punch out 24 round circles and 24 scalloped circles. Attach your number stickers to the circles.

Now it's time to decorate the pockets using the embelishments. The set I got at Michaels was from Recollections and it had a vintage-y feel to it.

I printed up a list of fun activities to do each day. Some of them are pretty simple (since I work during the week) and I planned out more elaborate ones to do on the weekends.

Some of the activities on our schedule include:

Having a North Pole Breakfast (arrival of our Elf on the Shelf)

Writing a letter to Santa Claus

Inviting neighbors over for a Christmas treat and hot cocoa

Taking cookies to our local fire department

Helping pick out toys for the children's hospital

Make a holiday card for a friend and mail it

If you want to print your own activity cards click HERE and HERE!

Some of the activities go together with my Elf on The Shelf Ideas as well!

If you try out some of the activities or make your own advent calendar post a comment and a link to your blog post! I'd love the check it out!

Happy Holidays!

Design, Dining and Diapers

The 36th Avenue

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