Advent Calendars are an essential party of our family's Christmas traditions but I am in two minds about them ...
... I can't quite decide whether to stick to the simple versions from my childhood that certainly didn't include a daily gift or even chocolate ...
... or whether to embrace so many of the beautiful ways that there are for sharing a very simple gift every day ...
Whichever, I do ... I've got a few ideas that will keep my options open ... I know that my daughter will be beyond excitement if I can produce anything that comes close to these beauties ...
... which with a bit of luck even my limited craft skills will manage as most of them are super simple to make ...
I do hope you enjoy these ideas as much as I have ... and if you're looking for more Christmas inspiration, do check out the hundreds of brilliant Christmas links from other bloggers at the bottom of this post ...
... and of course feel free to share your own ...
Brown Paper Packages
Brown paper packages wrapped up with string and hung on a branch from Englemor ... definitely one of my favourite things ...
... Little Green Shed added a few beautiful red packages to her branch for more colour ...
... Silly Old Suitcase has more parcels but this time tied to a hanger ... who knew those old things could look so good?!
Lovely Little Bags
A wonderful re-usable alternative to packages are little bags which could be hung to branches or to a simple twig arrangement like Design Mom or a fabulous branch made tree like Deas Og Mia ...
Peg It!
There are lots of ideas around involving pegs ... I suspect they are going to feature on mine ... Creek Line House has a simple idea for pegged goodie bags and Yellow Bliss Road has some lovely printable bags ...
Charm Design also has lovely bags but tied rather than pegged onto this beautiful branch ladder ...
Envelopes
If you're not so keen on a daily gift ... however small ... envelopes with personal messages, jokes, photos or a piece of scripture are a lovely idea ...... they can be arranged super simply but effectively as these from A Few Things From My Life or Martha Stewart style to form a shape ...
... or hung beautifully on string from an old frame ... definitely an idea I will be borrowing ... like Lil Luna or simply arranged in a bucket like the Workman Family ...
A Daily Decoration
Another alternative to a daily gift is a daily decoration that can then be hung on the tree ...for lovely ideas on how to do this check out Imperfect Blog ...
... and A Pretty Life in the Suburbs for Whipperberry ...
... obviously the decorations don't have to be new ... and there are loads of lovely easy ways you can make your own home made decorations including lovely salt dough numbers like these from The Waterfalls ...
Countdown
... and there are other simple but fun ways the children can countdown to Christmas by hanging numbers ...... Brenda Johnston has magnetic numbers on a baking tray whilst Two Peas in a Bucket has tied numbers to a cooling rack ...
... Huckleberry Love has very prettily hung numbered gift tags within an old frame ...
Big Ones!
Big advent calendars that children can really interact with are a fab idea including these two giant trees from I Can Teach My Child and Oh Happy Day and this house from Quince Living ...
Small & Simple
But for older children will also appreciate small and simple like this jar of felt balls with a message from Poppy Talk ...
Or this paper chain from Christmas Your Way ...
Or this paper chain from Christmas Your Way ...
Mini Boxes
And if you want to include a very small gift a matchbox calendar like this one from A Little Bit of Quiet is perfect ...
Cardboard Roll
But if you don't have the time to make the boxes you can produce a similar effect with the inside from paper towel rolls as illustrated by Serenity You ...
0 comments