Are you ready to start the countdown?! Come December 1st, it’s time to break out the advent calendars and find a little surprise every day as you count town toward Christmas. Advent calendars were a staple of my childhood, so I still try to make a DIY advent calendar every year to make the countdown more fun! This time, I used plastic fill-able ornaments to make a hanging ornament advent calendar that’s easy to open and reveal a candy or small trinket inside (my parents often used to use give my pennies). With a variety of sizes and colors, you can use materials that fit your style and hang it anywhere in your home for a Christmas decoration that’s functional and FUN!
Use colored crinkle paper filling to “hide” anything you put inside of the ornaments. Although it can be more difficult with small pieces, you can add really small candies, pennies or even just a fun quote. I just think of advent calendars as something fun to look forward to opening every day, especially when Christmas brings so much anticipation!
Make this simple ornament advent calendar for yourself, your spouse or your kids. Who said adults can’t enjoy advent calendars?!
Materials:
- Branch, about 12 inches
- String
- 24 fill-able ornaments, variety of sizes
- Crinkle paper
- Clear fishing line
- Scissors
- Vinyl numbers or number stickers
Step
Tie a string either through the wood or around each end, leaving enough slack for the advent calendar to hang from. (I twisted it so that the tied end was inside of the wood.)
Step
Arrange the numbers in order from 1-24. You can use store-bought stickers or make your own with a machine like a Cricut or Silhouette and vinyl. They may need to be different sizes to fit different sized ornaments.
Step
Place the stickers on one half of each ornament, keeping sizes in variation. Fill each with a surprise and surround it with crinkle paper and snap the ornaments closed.
Step
Cut varying lengths of clear fishing line, thread it through the hanger of the ornaments and tie the ends together at the top branch. Repeat from 1-24, hanging each ornament at a different height. Otherwise, they will all bulk and clink together at the bottom.
Note, the easiest way to do hang the ornaments is to work on it while the branch is hanging on a doorknob or hook.
Once all of the pieces are hung, you can trim excess fishing line and hang it in your home for the start of the month!
I’ve been counting down to Christmas since Halloween, but I guess the countdown OFFICIALLY starts in two weeks!
