December can be a crazy month. It’s easy for your calendar to fill up fast, whether it’s with holiday parties, shopping, or watching Home Alone at least three times before Christmas.
If you’re like us, you can’t get enough Christmas – it truly is the most wonderful time of the year! We try to savour every moment and jam in as much Christmas as possible. Our fave part is definitely gift-giving. We’re always looking for fun and crafty ways to gift to those nearest and dearest.
Which brings us to our DIY Advent Calendar. Advent calendars have been around for a long time, and there’s a ton of variations. The inspiration behind our advent calendar was to be able to give a little gift each day of December so it feels like Christmas every day. Trust us, this is totally going to be your new holiday tradition.
Not only can our advent calendar be reused each year, but you can fill it with anything you like. Once you choose your lucky recipient, you can load it up with all of their favourite things (we’ve got some bright ideas below).
- Over the door shoe storage
- Card stock paper
- Glue gun and cartridges
- Scissors
- Craft supplies for decor (markers, felt, buttons, jingle bells, pom poms, etc.)
- Stuffing, so your gifts peak out a little (tissue paper, clip on poinsettias or any other holiday style flower, holiday greenery, etc.)
All you need to do is number each pouch 1-24. We used card stock paper so we could have a secure base to glue anything we decided to each number card. You don’t need to make each pouch different, but that was the most enjoyable part of this craft for us!
And don’t worry guys, if drawing isn’t your thing, buying stick on numbers, or downloading printable numbers are totally an option!
Now onto our little presents…
In true Best Day of the Week fashion, the gifts were a mix of all the things we like to indulge in plus a few practical winter wish list items. For us, there ends up being at least one craft cider or beer per row, and a ton of 4:20 paraphernalia but that’s just our style. Here’s 24 suggestions to get you started!
- A novelty deck of cards (our hot guy trading cards are a really great choice)
- A cool bottle opener
- A pair of socks
- A small box of chocolates
- A cocktail shaker
- A winter hat
- Cocktail swords. We like these ones.
- A bottle of craft beer
- A pair of mittens or gloves
- A pack of essential oils. You really can’t beat Saje for this.
- A bottle of Smirnoff Ice (if you’re not familiar with the idea of “Icing” someone you’re missing out. Learn all about it here)
- Holiday socks
- A can or bottle of craft cider
- A holiday candle. Bath and Bodyworks always has your back here.
- Cocktail strainer
- An incense holder and incense
- A face mask (or a DIY sugar scrub. You can check out our recipe here)
- Another bottle of craft beer
- Coffee beans
- A pack of gourmet candy canes. Jelly Belly has some cool ones.
- Santa hat
- A small Baileys bottle to add a holiday kick to your coffee
- Another bottle of craft beer
- 24K rolling papers
Throw on a holiday classic, get your coziest clothes on and sip at your holiday drink of choice to get into the spirit… this is a big craft but it’s so rewarding.
Speaking of holiday drinks, we’ve got the perfect pairing for you: winter sangria. With prosecco (always), Goldschläger, Triple Sec, orange and cranberry juice, this drink is literally Christmas in a cup. Grab the recipe here.
These calming Christmas jams will easy you into the holiday season.