For years I have resisted the DIY advent calendar craze. However, when I was presented with a bunch of cool supplies from Martha Stewart Home Office with Avery, inspiration struck and there was no turning back.
To be clear, the reason I haven't attempted to make an advent calendar before was because I was afraid it was too much work at a busy time, and I couldn't decide on a theme: books, toys, candy, activities, oh my! It turns out it really isn't much work, a little making, but let's be honest - I love that! And the beauty of a DIY version? You don't have to choose a theme, it can be whatever you want! So, for my version I've got: books, movies, one little toy, some stickers, a few pieces of candy, and a bunch of fun yuletide activities.
I used the Martha Stewart premium journal to brainstorm ideas, and then once I narrowed them down, I assigned one to each day, marking it in the 2014 planner. Having it all organized in a planner means I won't be surprised (and unprepared) at each day's opening. It actually feels great to have decided when we will visit Santa, get our tree, etc. Plus, I feel like I won't forget anything I really wanted to share with Jude before the big day!
Okay, now the fun part - presentation. I sewed very simple bags out of fabric from my stash in three sizes: large for books, medium for DVD's/toys, and small for candy/activities. Not only does the fabric look cute, I can reuse it each year or repurpose the bags for wrapping gifts! To close the bags and mark each day I used name tags. Not only are they cute, they won't damage the fabric, and I can easily switch numbers around if our schedule changes. For the activities, I drew a little representation of each activity on index cards; I'm no illustrator, but I know Jude will get a kick out of them.
Once everything was packed up I simply lined up the loot on our "mantle". I love that the finished look is festive, but not frilly, and the colors of the fabric tie in nicely with the rest of the room. I couldn't resist adding this removable chalkboard, perfect for counting down the days until Christmas!
Full Disclosure: This post was sponsored by Avery. Thank you so much for reading.