Advent-erous Ideas to Countdown to Christmas

Seriously, no sooner after the bird was cut and served my darling little Diva asked was Christmas tomorrow.  I told to her no, but it will be here soon.  Mistake.  The next day, the same question and then about 2-3 times a day, we were asked, when was Christmas was going to be here. 

Now, I will be honest, the job that pays me has had me on lock down, and I have not been in the mood to entertain one person for Christmas (gasp) .  However, the constant questioning and curiousity and excitement that my has for the Little Baby Jesus' birthday (OMG - allow me to digress - I just found some candy canes that someone left on my desk - SUGAR FIX) really started to put me in the mood to make the holiday special for her.  So, I decided to start with giving her a visual of how many days it would be until Christmas.  So I created an advent calendar for her and I thought I'd share it with you. 

Now, it's nothing fancy, but I was able to put my Cricut to work for once.  Basically, I took a cork board and covered it with gift wrap, painted the frame, cut mailing envelopes in half, glued the numbers to the front, one of them has a Merry Christmas stamp for the big day, and each envelope is attached with doublesided tape and filled with gumballs - something both of my kids love.

It's not too late for you to put up a calendar of your own.  You can either purchase on at the store or make one really quick and easy.  Here are some ideas for inspiration.

This was on Country Living - I like the idea of matchbooks and you can hide little pepperments or chocolate coins in them - maybe even a folded dollar bill or quarter!

Found this one on the Better Homes and Gardens site and it's sort of like the one that I made but a bit more casual, hanging the envelopes with string.

This was made by Shelley at Fresh & Fun - she even offers a tutorial - this is where I got my original inspiration for the calendar I made.  I decided to use envelopes because I didn't want to buy the favor tins.

This is another BHG ditty.  I liked this idea a lot - but my wallet didn't.  Here individual gifts are placed on a

tiered stand and opened each day.

 

If you're a FOM - Fan of Martha, you might have seen this advent calendar on her show.  It's a cute idea and I almost did it - but there are those metal tins again! 

BHG had this playful calendar and it would be a really cute idea to hand in your kid's room.  Just use scrapbook supplies and  paint an inexpensive or old  baking tray!

Here is a good idea found from Pottery Barn, hang tags on a canvas board and add ornaments - each day a new ornament is added to the Christmas Tree.

Here is a super easy idea.  Basic white coin envelopes attached to a string with clothespins and numbered labels.

Here's a fun idea that your kids could help with - also found on the BHG site.  Cut leaf shapes & stars, assemble to create a decorated Christmas tree and attach peppermint candies!

Here is another adorable idea from Martha.  Cut out stocking shapes and either hang from a decorative ribbon or potted tree.  This would work well for an office area or even an entryway.

I know Thanksgiving was last month, and honestly, I wasn't in the mood to set the table after cooking all that food, but again, I did it for my baby girl.  Here's  a picture of the place setting I whipped up.  It's definitely not fancy, but something quick and simple!

I have plenty more to share with you.  I have a baptism cake, red velvet cupcakes and paper chains & snowflakes that I'm working on.  Lots of fun stuff!