DIY Advent Calender

11/29/2013

It’s that time of year!!! Yippee! I just got back from a Cuban family vacation and instead of blogging about traveling with kids, I’m going right into Christmas! My daughter is two and a half this year. Which means she is now old enough to understand the holiday more and Santa and counting down until he comes! So I made a giant advent for the fridge. But it’s not just a countdown, there’s a little added bonus surprise. A learning lesson. This is where my mother would roll her eyes at me and tell me “not everything has to be a teaching lesson” and my response would be, “if it’s fun, why not?” So here it is!

I realize I could have bought a simple classic one from the store for about $4, but this wasnt that expensive considering the size and extra lesson!

First here is my supplies. Simple.

• Poster board $0.50
• Mini cards with envelopes $6.00 (got at London Drugs, but I’m sure could be cheaper at Michaels with a coupon.
• Chocolates $10 (again could be a lot less expensive, but I liked the design on these ones, plus the quality of the chocolate)
• Hot glue, pen and marker are the only things missing from this picture.

Yeah so I had to taste the chocolate, to um make sure they were safe to eat. Because I’m an awesome mom and my children’s safety is top priority. 😉

Next I wrote a number on the inside of each card and drew objects corresponding with each number. I started with cute drawings, but 16 mini trees was a lot. So double digits plus got simple shapes. Here is where there is the learning lesson. Each day we will count the objects to the number corresponding with the date.

In went the card and chocolate into the envelope.

I put the numbers on the envelopes and attached them to the poster board. I realize I could have made the rows a little more straight and I should have paid attention to the envelope color before buying the same color poster board, but that’s life as a busy mom right? Perfectly imperfect. I used hot glue to attach the envelopes to the poster because of durability (and that the glue/tape art supplies is in the sleeping toddlers room)

I highlighted the 24th with some cuteness and a “one sleep”. In case you are wondering why the 8th is also highlighted; it’s because that’s when Daddy is home next. 🙂

Next year I might be ambitious and try one of those super crazy constructed ones I see on Pinterest dream Christmas board, but this is a personal enough touch for my tot this year. She will love it and that’s what matters to me most!