Young House Love

Home Decorating & DIY Tutorials

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How To Make An Advent Calendar

We’re still working away on the kitchen, so we’ll have update post #561 for you soon (kidding, it’s probably more like #19 or something – but still). This week we’re hoping to share lots of major progress (new counters and a working sink again – finally!). In the meantime, it’s about time we got into the holiday spirit. There’s just something special about spending our first real Christmas in our new house that makes us want to go all out. We moved on the 13th of December last year, so we were technically here for last year’s holiday season, but we were living out of boxes and Clara was too young to really get excited about all of the magic that makes the season so special. But this year it’s on! So I kicked things off by making a little advent calendar to enjoy with Clara:

DIY Advent Calendar 1

DIy Advent Calendar22

Oh but here’s how it looks from her point of view (gotta soak up the days that she’s shorter than me, because I’m sure they’re numbered):

Advent Cal Claras View

This little holiday project was only $7.99 because I used things that we already had and only purchased one thing: this scarf hanger from Ikea:

Ikea Hack Advent Calendar

Allow me to paint you a picture of me at Ikea when the idea slowly hit:

  • I walked by said scarf hanger.
  • I thought to myself “self, there has got to be some other fun use for that.”
  • I stood there with my mouth half open staring at it for a good three minutes.
  • Then realized that it had 28 openings, which is pretty close to 25…
  • … which brought me to the idea of an advent calendar, which I had been meaning to make for the bean.

I decided the three extra circles could be “free spaces” and the rest of them could sport numbered tags and ornaments. Bam: instant advent calendar. It’ll be a fun daily activity to do with Clara (we’ll hang an ornament a day on the tree together as we work our way through the calendar).

Advent Calendar Detail

I actually whipped it up on December 2nd (procrastinate much?) but alas, we have yet to set up our tree (another sure sign of procrastination). So we’ve been admiring the ornaments as each day ticks by… hoping to get the tree up within the next few days so we can “catch up” and hang five or six ornaments on the tree all at once. Then we can go day by day from then out…

As for how I made it, I just took metal ornament hooks that we already had on hand and stuck various ornaments through them (if they didn’t have hooks already). Then I looped each hook over the circle or bar above each circle (all of them had circles above them except for the top row which had that bar). That way each ornament hung into the circle under that and was sort of framed that way. And of course we worked in some quirky ornaments in honor of our other kiddo (Burger). There’s the hamburger ornament that we found on clearance after Christmas last year at Michael’s for 50 cents:

Advent Hamburger

And the snowflake frame with his cute mug in it from a few years back:

Burger Picture Advent

And of course there’s a disco ball since we love to dance (that one doesn’t have anything to do with Burger, except he might get picked up and swirled around the room in celebration after we hang it).

Disco Ball Advent

As for the tags, I just cut a tag-ish shapes out of cardstock 25 times (using the first one as a guide and cutting around it like a template to make the other 24). Then I used a hole puncher to allow them to slip over the ornament hooks. But before adding one to each ornament’s hook I googled around for a nice font online (and found this one). So I glanced at it while sketching each number onto my cardstock tag with a pencil (it’s nice to have type inspiration nearby when you’re free-handing something – just for reference):

Number Tags 1

Then I just traced over each sketched out number with a pen once I liked the shape.

Number Tags 2

They’re definitely not perfect, but they’re pretty cute:

Advent Calendar Detail

Oh and I hung it with a removable 3M hook thing, so I wouldn’t have to make a nail hole in the front of our coat closet door:

Adventcalendar Hook

So we hope to have a bunch of fun holiday stuff going on for the next few weeks among kitchen updates and other projects. Count on posts about tree decorating (we’re doing a tabletop one and a full sized one) and even some outdoor stuff (we’re bound and determined to hang lights and really get festive). Oh and not to mention that Mrs. Limestone sweetly invited me to partake in her fun little Secret Santa thing with some awesome fellow bloggers…

Secret Santa Graphic

… which means I have to make a few gifty goodies and secretly mail them to someone (can’t tell you who) and see what turns up from another mystery blogger. Here’s everyone that’s in on it:

Should be fun, except that I have total stage fright and can’t think of anything creative to send. Here’s hoping a few days of advent-calendar-ing get my juices flowing. I wonder who has me. Any guesses? We’ll have to try to figure it out together when something shows up!

Oh and speaking of holiday stuff, West Elm asked us to round up a few of our favorite items over on their site (we weren’t paid or perked, it was just for fun). So you can check out our picks here and then click the arrow to scroll through all of our dorky quotes.

West Elm Picks

But enough about us. Have you started decorating for the holidays? Are you totally done already? Are you advent-calendar-ing? Have you ever used something from Ikea in an unusual way? How about Secret Santa experiences? Did you manage to give the perfect thing? I’m just hoping I don’t totally choke.

Update: You can check out all of our favorite holiday decor finds here – many of which are under $15! 

Comments

  1. Luke says

    I have a sweet little advent calendar I got from Starbucks a few years ago – it’s red and in the shape of a tree. Each day you pull out a numbered drawer and turn it around, and it makes a picture. It lives on my desk at work since I spend most of my time here…

    My apartment is totally decked – this year I went with really dark red, silver, and crystaline ornaments and an over the top wreath in front of an oversize mirror.

    Reply

  3. Donna says

    Just got my young daughters the Kidkraft Bright wood kitchen, and a neat pizza parlor set and sandwich from Green Toys to add to it! But, still LOTS more to do… the clock is ticking!

    Reply

  4. Beth says

    I am so excited to see the owl measuring cups on West Elm!!!!!!! I saw them on Pinterest (or some other place) and could never find where to buy them!!!! THANK YOU GUYS for picking them out!

    Yes, I am super insanely excited over animal measuring cups…..THEY ARE SO CUTE!

    Reply

  5. Ginny says

    Love the calendar!

    I have a request for some posts :) We’re working towards a bathroom remodel and struggle with the project organization and details. How do you keep with all the information needed (making sure you have the correct measurements, samples to coordinate colors, etc, with you when you need them), and how do you orgainze the million catalogs, price sheets, samples, that come with searching for the perfect (fill-in-the-blank – floor, cabinet, fixture, paint, etc.) We seem to get bogged down in all that!

    Also, living with a torn up house, how are you cooking, cleaning, etc to work around the remodeled space?

    Thanks!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Haha- I wish I had the secret to staying organized! I just keep all the tear sheets and invoices and receipts and estimates in one labeled folder (ex: kitchen reno – 2011) and go through them to find things as we go. We typically just try to tackle one small step of the giant project at a time, so it keeps us from forgetting things or getting overwhelmed. It’s easier to focus on smaller things, you know? As for cooking and cleaning, we still have access to our fridge and stove and dishwasher (along with all of our cleaning stuff) so we just try to stay on top of cleaning and keeping the area safe for Clara and cook as much as we can at home (which saves us money, and we’re cheap!). Haha. Hope it helps!

      xo,
      s

  6. Christine says

    That little dealy from Ikea gets me thinking of all the things you could use it for, too. Do you think it could be used for jewelry? For necklaces, and could earrings be stuck into that fabric covering? It’s so great for Clara that you MAKE her all of these things! And the new countertops are there?! Can’t wait to see them… and that gorgeous tile on the wall, too!

    Reply

  8. candace says

    What an awesome idea, Sherry! And I am totally amazed you free handed those numbers, they look perfect to me! I love the idea of an Advent calendar – I may have to do that next year :)

    Reply

  9. seansmom says

    Great idea for an advent calendar. We always had one for our son when he was growing up and he enjoyed it so much. Ours was also of the “non-candy” variety.
    Got the tree up, the house decorated, shopping all done, and only one more home-made present to finish. I hate running around at the last minute, so try to have everything ready by then end of the first week of December. Some years it works and some it doesn’t…ha ha!

    Reply

  10. Karen F says

    you are so creative – love the calendar!!
    I also love the owl measuring cups. I might not be able to wait until Christmas for those!!

    Reply

  13. Firesparx says

    We moved into our new house Dec 28th last year so this is our first Christmas in our house (yipee!). I wanted to go all out decorating but it turns out that the decorations I owned in our little 2 bedroom bungalow don’t go very far in our bigger house! A good excuse to go Christmas decor bargain shopping after the 25th…

    Reply

  14. kalibrooke says

    So cute! Though I admit that the first thing I thought when I saw that first photo was “I can’t believe that doorknob’s not ORBed!”

    Reply

  15. laura says

    I love how you look at things and try to see the new use out of them…that’s so creative! You’ve inspired me to look at things differently (well, at least try!) and be more creative that way. Love the calendar!

    Reply

  17. Mary McG says

    I made a paper chain advent for my 3 year old this year. It was paper that I already had on hand, and I found a PDF of scripture verses that you put on each link. It is so fun to see him get exced for the holidays. I bet Clara will love it!

    Reply

  18. Amanda says

    Wow! That advent calendar is gorgeous! When I first saw it I thought, “That must have been so hard to make!” but you make it seem pretty simple! I hope Clara enjoys it!

    Reply

  19. arianna Bird says

    LOL – I love how west elm made it sound like the Blog is Sherry’s and John is an after thought! Someone needs to re-write that!

    Reply

  20. Heidi P. says

    I love your advent calendar! I’ve been saving my milk lids (after running ’em through the dishwasher) b/c they’re green and red (1% for me and vit.D for the toddler) in order to make some sort of advent calendar with them. Not sure yet exactly how it’ll come together, so it might be something for next year. We shall see! Also I was going to ask if you bought the ornaments in matching house colors or if you sprayed ’em, but it sounds like that’s how they came. Is that right?

    Aaaand, I’m in charge of the 8-12 yr old girls at my church and we did an activity recently using your painted ornament idea! The girls LOVED it. Here ’tis:
    http://dhperezfamily.blogspot.com/2011/12/paint-swirled-ornaments.html

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Oh yes, the ornaments came that way! They’re sold at Target every year (in each color for $1 for four of them). Hope it helps! And those ornaments look great! Love them!

      xo,
      s

  22. Annie says

    I can’t tell you how many times I have stared at that scarf holder at Ikea trying to think of other ways to use it. I’ll definetly be “borrowing” this idea next year…Thank you!

    Reply

  23. Sarah says

    Sherry,
    Did you see the pillow on Joss and Main that matches your curtains in the dining room?! I want to get it just to have a little piece of Young House Love in my own home!
    xoxo,
    Sarah

    Reply

  25. Katie says

    What an amazing advent calendar! We have an advent calendar from husband’s grandmother, but this makes me want to make my own anyway! I guess nobody can have too many advent calendars, right?

    Reply

  28. Bella Daylight says

    Hi, I love the idea with the ornaments.

    Personally I prefer the candy ones though :) They are the most common ones in Austria anyways. I think a would’ve thrown a tantrum as a child if I had been denied one haha

    I still make one for my boyfriend every year and usually get one myself.I just wrap candy into satin paper and glue on some numbers
    What makes Austrian children’s eyes light up tomorrow though is “Saint Nicholas day”. It isn’t a real holiday but kids usually get a chocolate Nicholas (who looks like a cross over between a Bishop and Santa) and mandarines or apples and peanuts and a small present like a CD or something like that.

    Reply

  29. tracy says

    you may have already answered this, but did it come with the great crochet look (from IKEA??) or did you crochet over the plastic rings?? i was going to make one of those, but will totally buy that one instead!!

    Reply

  30. Becca says

    I do secret santa through a forum that I’m on… I fell in love with those swirl glass ornaments you made, so I did some of my own and personalized them with the names of the recipients and some silver glittery snowflake stickers :)

    Reply

  31. Jessica says

    Clearly, I have to spend more time on the Ikea website, because that hanger is genius and perfect for scarfs and leggings! But to turn it into an advent calendar? Beyond adorable! I envy your creativity!

    Reply

  32. Tirsa says

    Such as sweet idea! I actually have that very scarf hanger somewhere in a box waiting to be unpacked. I’ll definitely copy your idea for next year. In the mean time your beautiful wall of frames (I love it so much!) reminds me I MUST put pictures and paintings on the wall asap. :)

    Thanks for all the inspiration!

    Reply

  33. Lynn @ SafeBeauty says

    I love nearly everything you put on your West Elm picks. I was just also thinking of those things which ones could I actually duplicate for half the cost. Alphabet candle holders perhaps?

    My best, Lynn

    Reply

  34. Melissa E says

    Looks like it’s time for another Ikea Hackers post!

    That’s where I first found this blog a long long time ago and I’m so glad I did (‘Cause it’s super duper).

    Reply

  36. Monika says

    I really like your idea of putting an ornament on the tree each day.

    What I’d like to know is if your inspiration for the title of the post was from this:

    Reply

  37. Tiffany T. says

    Oh honey you needs to be asleep now..But I really like this calendar thing..not usually into advent calendars but as they go this ones cool! Also I was surprised to see you had not “orb”ed? the door knob..ahha. I saw a pinterest thingy on that, and was like, hey sherry would dig this. We readers really appreciate yall, keep up the awesome work!

    Reply

  41. Ellen says

    I’m late in commenting here about this, but I saw the newest West Elm catalog a day before you posted this, and had seen that page with the colored tea light candle holders and thought “Those are YHL house colors! I betcha they’d like this.” And then look, they show up in your WE picks!

    Reply

  42. Lauren says

    I have to say I have been stalking, er, I mean following you three for quite some time. I’m always impressed with the next project and idea that you come up with and I absolutely loved this idea. I also follow DesignSponge from time to time and saw that they just posted a similar DIY advent calendar idea that I thought you and your followers would enjoy: http://www.designsponge.com/2011/12/diy-project-falling-stars-advent-calendar.html

    Thanks for all that you do and keeping me inspired daily!

    Reply

    • Amy Mendelson says

      OMG! am having the HARDEST time deciding on a paint palette for my home. I love yours, and am SO GRATEFUL that you replied. Rest assured that I appreciate your response, and my husband will be so glad too, when I finally tell him we HAVE our color!!
      (jeez, I sure hope it looks as good on my walls as it does on yours!) I feel like I’ve found the elusive holy grail!
      Again, thanks! (a million!)

  44. Caitlin says

    Wow, everything that I have read so far on your blog, is absolutely amazing. I wish I could have your style ! Everything looks so pretty, and modern, and you make everything work ! You should get a show decorating houses, or rebuilding houses or something, cause your work is ah-mazing !
    -Caitlin

    Reply

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