DIY advent calendars we love – 11 of the best on Etsy
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Now, more than ever, we need to find simple, creative joy in our everyday lives. When it comes to getting ready for Christmas, there’s nothing like an advent calendar for bringing simple everyday pleasure. So I decided to make my own DIY advent calendar this year. As well as the creative enjoyment to be had over the coming weeks, I’ll be making something to keep and love over the years. Surely that’s what Christmas is all about?
I started browsing the Advent Calendars on Etsy UK for myself. I found some really beautiful and creative ideas… so I decided to share these with you too. Hope you find something that you enjoy making and that brings some seasonal everyday joy into your life. Maybe something that becomes a much-loved Christmas tradition for years to come. Because tradition – whether it’s sticking to old ones or creating new ones – is one of the loveliest things about Christmas isn’t it?
DIY advent calendars we love from Etsy
1 Kraft Paper DIY advent calendar houses
This advent calendar set by Taras Wonderworld on Etsy and includes 24 kraft paper houses in 3 different designs. The kit contains everything you need – including 24 white wooden pegs, gold paper tags with 1-24 printed on them in white, 24 pieces of white twin with a gold thread and 24 white tissue papers. Fun to make and ready to fill with little treats and surprises to add joy in the run-up to Christmas. As well as chocolates or sweets, you could add in Christmas decorations for hanging on the tree, little toys, hand-written messages… the possibilities are as endless as your imagination. Such a lovely, creative project to put a smile on the faces of your loved ones. All for £8.95!
2 Christmas Village House DIY advent calendar
Ready for you to cut and assemble, these beautiful Christmas houses are printed onto recycled thin card. The set includes 25 Christmas activity ideas to put inside your houses, along with any treats or surprises you’d also like to add. Once filled, you simply tie up each house with the pieces of string (supplied.) Here’s a helpful tutorial to give you a really clear idea. If you’re in a rush to get making, there’s also an option to choose a printable download that you can print out at home.
3 Fill your own advent calendar hessian stockings
How sweet are these printed hessian stockings ready to be filled with little treats and hung up with tiny wooden pegs? Each kit contains 24 hessian stockings, 24 pegs and 3 metres of twine to hang them from.
4 Light-up fill your own wooden advent house
I love this nordic 3d recycled wood personalised advent house – with 24 drawers ready for filling. Love the magical touch of adding LED lights. Definitely one to fall in love with as the years go by.
5 Fill your own advent village houses
The kit includes 25 houses, shops and carousel fillable boxes, as well as five trees and ribbons. I love this idea of adding your own piece of dowel to create an advent wall hanging.
6 Personalised advent calendar – chocolate orange & chocolates
This is a great idea – perfect alternative to chocolate calendars! Fill with your favourite chocolates for days 1-24 and add a Terry’s Chocolate Orange for the big day! Choose from 4 designs – Christmas tree, Santa, Unicorn or Reindeer with antlers. Laser cut in unpainted MDF ready for you to paint, glitter and decorate or leave as is.
7 Decorate your own advent calendar tree
The perfect create your own advent calendar. This tree-shaped stack of kraft brown drawers comes plain and ready for you to decorate and make your own. There are so many lovely sticker sets to go for if that appeals. Or why not paint on your own design, or decorate with stuck-on seasonal finds?
These stickers are really lovely and would work well with the brown paper…
As are these:
8 Paper Angel advent calendar kit
This beautiful alternative advent calendar includes 24 different paper angel templates. Simple to assemble, you can either hang up your angels or sit them along a mantelpiece (and sit on top of little treats maybe…)
9 Fill your own advent calendar house
Another great find, this fill your own cardboard kraft advent house has 25 wooden pullout drawers to fill with treats. It’s pretty as it is, but you could also decorate in your own way too. There’s also a personalised version, where you can have a name added at the top in gold lettering. A lovely advent heirloom in the making…
10 Advent forest leaf countdown calendar
Love these pretty paper tags with gold foiled leaf designs. Each kit contains 24 tags and 24 mini pegs ready for you to add to your own simple paper bags.
11 Fill your own fabric advent calendar
What I love about this beautiful fabric advent calendar is that it’s handmade from unbleached cotton and individually embroidered in Sussex. Love the idea of filling up the pockets with little wrapped gifts and seasonal finds. Something different for each one so you can count down the days in style. An heirloom piece to be loved more as the years go by.
INFORMATION
Find more seasonal Christmas ideas in the MAKE section of the blog, including:
Christmas Wreath DIY ideas & tutorial
How to knit a Christmas stocking
Christmas gift wrapping ideas, ethical and natural
Christmas flower arrangements – simple rustic DIY ideas to try
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These are absolutely incredible, how have I never seen anything like this and why on earth did I not think to do it myself!! Kicking myself right now.