Fun Keepsake DIY Advent Calendar Ideas

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We love making DIY Advent Calendar Ideas – whether you are making them WITH the kids or FOR the kids, a homemade advent calendar makes a great family keepsake! This is part of our extensive list of fabulous Christmas Crafts for Kids.

Advent Calendar Ideas and Activities - If you like making your own Advent Calendar, now is a good time to start browsing and planning, so you have plenty of time to get it down in a nice and fun (and not stressful way!!). So many great ideas here to suit all interests!
First shared in November 2013, updated and republished for your covenience!

DIY Advent Calendar Ideas

We are hurtling towards the most magical season of the year: Christmas.

Explore these Advent Calendar Ideas to see how you can make the big “count down” to Christmas special. Remember, advent calendars do NOT have to be about chocolate and toys and gifts… from decorating windows and branches to filling your advent with activity ideas.

Ideas to put IN your Advent Calendars

I have put together some creative advent calendars for you:

Preschool Christmas Countdown ideas

24 Wonderful Craft Activities (with some alternatives if certain supplies “tricky) to make with “PRESCHOOL” this Christmas. This includes a CLICKABLE Advent Calendar PDF plus “tokens” you can pop into a physical advent calendar.

creative christmas countdown

24 Wonderful Craft Activities (with some alternatives if certain supplies “tricky) to make with “Kids” this Christmas. This includes a CLICKABLE Advent Calendar PDF plus “tokens” you can pop into a physical advent calendar.

homeade advent gifts

Ideas for making small gifts to put in your own DIY advent calendar! These include childhood favourites such as bath bombs, recycled crayon shapes, DIY bouncy balls and many more fun little makes!

How about organising a Living Advent Calendar in your community? This is a wonderful way to connect with your neighbours and brighten up the dark winter days.

Advent Calendar Ideas

Many of these ideas are shared in the video linked below.. but in the meantime..

Let’s start things of simple, with some lovely Christmas Advent Calendar Coloring Page. Print… and color. Lots of daily fun in your holiday season countdown.

Super Simple Advent Calendar

Paper cup Advent Calendar – this one is super easy to set up and there is plenty of space for small gifts!

Simple advent

Similarly Little Bags in a Basket can be used in different ways – hang on some twigs, hang as a garland etc. One simple “craft”, with 4 ways to display!

photo-advent-calendar

Best memory maker – the Photo Advent Calendar! I love this advent calendar ideas, as it is all about making memories with the kids. A wonderful way to “force” yourself to print off some photos from the year gone by and also remember the best bits! The kids adore this one!

Adorable set of crochet ornaments - make these as individual crochet stocking ornaments or as a stocking advent calendar! So cute and easy!

How cute is this Stocking Crochet Pattern? Make 24, either in different colours or all in red.. and you have the most adorable little advent calendar to keep!

Printable Countdown Snowman – one printable, lots of ways to use it – from Bookmark to greeting card!

advent calendar ideas

Another photo based advent calendar idea, is this Artwork Advent combining photos from the year with your children’s artwork. We gave this one to Granny as a gift and she LOVED it!

advent calendar

These Felt Stars (video 3min 40sec) are from my Red Ted Art, Cute and Easy Crafts for Kids book! Hope you like them!

TP Roll fairy house

Toilet Paper Fairy Houses – these are a great craft to involve the kids. Make 24.. add numbers and you have yourself an Advent Calendar display!

Here are more Advent Calendar Ideas from around the web!

Book Bairn has a lovely book advent calender idea.. this is a great one for little ones when still building a picture book library. Go to a school fair and stock up on second hand books!

Christmas-Advent-Calendar

Here is a handy Free Printable Calendar from Living Locurto. Nice and easy and looks great!

advent calendar idea

Tinkerlab has some simple homemade envelopes (+activity ideas) that the kids helped make.

advent calendar

Check out this super sweet paper doll advent calendar (+ activity list) from The Artful Parent.

advent calendar ideas for kids

The Artful Parent also has a wonderfully arty Christmas Tree Calendar.

peg advent calendar

Kirsty Wiseman shares this wonderful Peg Calendar on http://limegreenbogiegirl.blogspot.com/ (Update: unfortunately this post is no longer available – they have stopped blogging!)

advent calendar with no toys

I have always adored this Advent Calendar from se7en , as it reminds it isn’t about “things”, but about just looking forward to the day and seeing the decorations being revealed.

Advent Booties

The Madhouse shares adorable little Advent Calendar Boots (+activity ideas).

advent calendar tree

I love the simplicity and yet festiveness of this Advent Calendar Tree from The Imagination Tree.

felt advent calendar idea

Similarly, The Imagination Tree’s simple but effective felt pocket calendar.

advent calendar ideas

And just one more…. this gorgeous TP Roll Advent Calendar via Fun Crafts Kids!

Me and My Shadow shows the “classic” matchbox calendar – decorate and “throw” into a vase and done! (10min 34sec)

Me and My Shadow also has some super cute upcycled “mittens” hanging from a stick. I love that they make looking for the stick an annual tradition.

Kids Chaos shares sweety paper bags and simply decorated pegs (including free printable!!) which is great for older boys!

30. And finally.. we have a fab Count Down Printable for you to check out!

More lovely Christmas Craft Ideas here: