Christmas Countdown Ornaments as a DIY Advent Calendar

by sarahbagley on November 29th, 2018 | No Comments »

I distinctly remember my mom buying my sister and me those advent calendars with the boxes you punch out, revealing a candy piece each day. I LOVED those calendars. I was always so excited for Christmas and could not wait to punch out one of those boxes every morning.

I want to carry on that tradition with my kids, minus the candy. I also wanted something we could use year after year. When I saw this cute Christmas Tree frame and wooden ornaments, I knew exactly what we could do.

Homemade Christmas Countdown Ornaments

Supplies for Your DIY Advent Calendar

Christmas Tree Frame with attached chicken wire. I found this at Joann Fabric.
25 Small to medium sized wooden ornaments.
Ornament hooks, whatever color you like.
Paint. We selected white, silver, and gold. But you can go with whatever colors you prefer.
Paint brushes.
Parchment paper or butcher paper to protect your surfaces.

How to Make Your DIY Advent Calendar

Spread out your parchment paper or butcher paper (Do not use newspaper! The paint will stick to it! I placed parchment paper over top the newspaper.). Place your Christmas Tree frame on top of your work surface and paint the frame. Allow to dry.
While the frame is drying, paint the ornaments. We kept our colors to three to keep it simple. Allow to dry completely.
When the frame is dry, hang it up in your house. Maybe on the pantry door or another area in your kitchen or family room.
Use ornament hooks to hang your ornaments, one for each day.

You could number your ornaments, but I wanted to keep it simple and to let Kate select the ornament she wanted to hang each day (as opposed to having to hang them in number order). I love how simple but cute it turned out. Kate loved painting the ornaments and deciding which one she wanted to hang.

If you can't find a frame similar to mine, you could use any frame, discard the matting, and attach chicken wire to the back with a staple gun.

Do your children love advent calendars? How do you count down to Christmas?

Bio
Latest Posts

sarahbagley

Sarah Bagley is a wife, mother, and owner of a garbage-eating coonhound. She's a recovering perfectionist who believes being B+ is totally good enough and produces a weekly podcast where she interviews guests about what being B+ means to them. Sarah love getting up early, the color orange, and strong coffee.