An Advent Calendar

Hey guys.

I wanted to pop in today to share with you an advent calendar I created last week.  I had been seeing a few pop up on Facebook and Pinterest and was feeling inspired.  Plus, I have REALLY been wanting to make one for, well, forever, but always find that by the time I decide I want one, it is already mid-December and there's no point.  On December 1st, I decided to go for it! (that's right, I'm a professional procrastinator) I dropped ALL of my duties for the day and didn't stop until it was done.  I worked from 9 am to about 5:30 pm straight, only stopping for lunch.  I recruited the help of my 4-yr old to help choose embellishments (although I think she may have slowed the process a bit).

So, what did I go with?  That in itself was a tough decision since there are so many cute options.  In the end, I decided to use what supplies I had on hand so I wasn't spending any money on it.  I had a scrap pack that was Christmas themed from several years back and thought this would be a perfect chance to use it up.  I was actually quite surprised at how much Christmas stuff I had on hand.  The winner was an envelope style calendar that hangs on a string.  That way I could stuff whatever small items I could find into those envies.

Wanna see it?   Ok, but I apologize for the crappy photo quality - it's in a dark hallway of my home and the lighting stinks.

Here is the entire banner, every single envelope is different:

And some up-close shots:

I had several tiny clothespins in my stash to help hang the envelopes, but as you can see, I ran out and had to switch to binder clips.  I'm not even sure if you can still buy those tiny clothespins anymore or where you would get them?

It was definitely slim pickins on supplies at the end - I even ran out of 2's and had to use a "Z" instead.  Since our family focuses on the Christian themes of Christmas, we thought it would be best to include an activity of some sort in each envelope that the kids had to complete before they were able to have the prize.  Our activities included things like, looking up verses about Jesus' birth, answering questions regarding the Nativity, or things they can do to encourage or show kindness to others (my son really struggled with the one where he had to hand out a compliment to every family member).  It has been incredibly rewarding for me so far and I'm glad that I took the time to do it.  I guess in my haste to complete everything, I sacrificed quality because small pieces have been falling off every day!

By the way, I traced, cut and glued every one of those envelopes.  If you're going to make one, I HIGHLY recommend buying pre-made envelopes and just covering the fronts.  THAT is what took me so long to make.

I hope you are feeling inspired to make your own now.  Even if you start late, you will then have it for next year.  Don't put it off like I did, it is so worth the effort!