Making a custom advent calendar doesn’t need to be difficult – so here are a few ideas for a DIY advent calendar!
Ideas for a DIY Advent Calendar
Growing up, we always had advent calendars with little chocolates in them. It certainly wasn’t the most high-quality chocolate in the world, but the taste is so nostalgic of Christmas – even to this day – and I’ll never forget the excitement of waking up every morning and immediately eating that day’s piece of chocolate.
This year I decided to make a custom calendar for my kids, full of treats and holiday activities that were customized to my family. I’m so glad I did because I think the boys will have so much fun with this!
I decided to sew an advent calendar using this sewing pattern, and it was really simple and easy to follow. But if you don’t have time to make your own, here are a few others that would make great alternatives:
Cute Holiday Advent Calendars
- Santa Felt Advent Calendar – Pottery Barn – $79
- Advent Calendar – Gathre – $99
- “Merry Christmas” Advent Calendar – Target – $15
- Nutcracker Advent Calendar – Anthropologie – $68
Sewing a DIY Advent Calendar for Kids
Sewing Pattern Choice
I chose this sewing pattern because I wanted one that could be used for multiple occasions – not just for the holidays. I’ll be able to use this organizer in the playroom for craft supplies, games for the kids, etc.
I also decided to make custom cards for this calendar because I wanted it to be specific to some of our family’s holiday traditions! I was able to include things like taking a trip to the Christmas tree farm, buying gifts for Giving Hope (our church’s Christmas outreach), and attending our Christmas Eve services. There are lots of great places to find ideas and inspiration, and I’m so glad I compiled my own for this year!
How to Make a DIY Advent Calendar
Supplies you will need…
- Fabric (for main body and bias binding, if adding) – I went with a simple beige canvas fabric from Joann. This way, I could use it for any occasion, not just for the holidays!
- Fabric shears/rotary cutter – I love my Fiskars shears and rotary cutter, they will always be a go-to! I definitely used my rotary cutter to cut the fabric for this project more so than my shears.
- Printer (for pattern and custom cards)
- Thread – Just choose a thread that matches the color of your fabric. You will be top-stitching with this fabric so keep that in mind!
- Sewing machine – I love my Singer machine. It’s very affordable and easy to use.
- Wooden dowel (for hanging) – Just a simple one from Walmart will do. I got one that was 36″ long and had Noah cut off the excess.
- Twine (for hanging) – any color you want to use!
Step 1 – Choose/cut out your fabric pieces
First, you’ll want to cut out your fabric pieces according to the pattern. I went with a basic canvas fabric from Joann. You can choose any fabric you’d like to, but something plain is best so you can use it for multiple occasions!
Step 2 – Sew together
The great thing about using a sewing pattern is that most come with step-by-step instructions, with images. This one was very helpful, but I did make a mistake along the way. I sewed the pockets on upside-down which meant that I had all of the raw edges showing. The bad news was that I didn’t realize I had gone wrong until I had sewed all of the pockets on like this.
Instead of ripping out all of the seams, I decided to make some bias tape binding to enclose the raw edges. This meant I could use a more festive fabric, which ended up turning out better than I’d hoped!
Step 3 – Print/glue the cards together
As I said above, I decided to make custom card for this advent calendar because I wanted to do activities that were more specific to our family traditions. I made these on Canva and I’m so happy with how they turned out!
I printed the front and back images and then glued them together.
Custom DIY Advent Calendar Cards
If you’re interested in receiving a FREE download link to the advent calendar cards I made, click here.
You’ll be able to see things like bake sugar cookie cut-outs, decorate gingerbread houses, and of course bake cookies for Santa. Speaking of, here are some cookie ideas for you (pictured above):
I also included things like taking a trip to the Christmas tree farm, painting nutcrackers, wearing Christmas pajamas, etc. I think you’ll find things your whole family will love!
Instructions for DIY Advent Calendar Cards
For these cards you’ll need to download them, then print them out (I used cardstock). I kept the fronts and the backs all separated so that you could decide the order in which to do the activities based on your family’s needs! Simply cut them out and glue them together.
I hope you all use these ideas for a DIY advent calendar to make memories with your kids this year. There’s nothing better than being the ones to make the holidays feel magical for your kids!
If you have any questions about the advent calendar or if you’d like to get in touch, feel free to email me at sarah@sarahsdayoff.com or leave a comment down below!
AMAZING. Can’t wait for the kids to have so much fun with this.
Yay! Let me know how they like all of the activities!