Holiday Planning & Ideas Christmas 12 Creative Advent Calendars You Can Make to Count Down the Days Until Christmas Prepare to count down the days until Christmas with a charming Advent calendar you can craft at home. By Alexandra Kelly Alexandra Kelly Alex is the senior home editor for Martha Stewart. She has over 10 years of experience producing digital content in the home and lifestyle space, ranging from cleaning and organizing to etiquette and home design. Editorial Guidelines Updated on November 6, 2023 Close Photo: Seth Smoot For many families, opening 24 Advent gifts is one of the best parts of the holiday season. Now's the perfect time to start gathering gifts to be opened throughout December, as the start of the Advent season is fast approaching on December 1. As the countdown to Christmas begins, you can keep track of the passing days by marking them on a handmade Advent calendar. The tradition originates in mid-19th century Germany when people would mark their doors with chalk or light candles to count the days leading up to Christmas. Today, most Advent calendars include paper doors that open to reveal an image, gift, or sweet treat. Your calendar can incorporate a theme, too, like family photographs, kids' toys, or treats for your pets. And just like your Christmas gifts, the Advent calendar can be another way to show appreciation for the people in your life. No matter how your calendar is crafted, it's meant to get everyone into the holiday spirit. Let these handmade Advent calendars inspire you this season. Celebrate the Holidays Like Martha With 9 of Her Favorite Christmas Traditions 01 of 12 Shoe-Organizer Advent Calendar Addie Juell Youngsters can hardly contain their excitement this time of year. But you can, with a fun-filled Advent calendar. We stenciled numbers onto a 24-pair canvas hanging shoe bag, stuffed some compartments with wrapped gifts, and filled the rest with supplies for holiday merriment. (The ninth, for instance, holds kid-size utensils for a cookie-baking spree they'll love looking forward to.) Customize the countdown to your family's celebration: Do all 24 pre-Christmas days of December, or trim off a few rows to encompass Hanukkah's eight nights. 02 of 12 Glittered Cones Advent Calendar Pernille Loof Whether you're lighting up eight nights or counting down 24 days, half the fun of the holidays is the anticipation. Extend the excitement with a twinkling tree line full of hidden presents. We covered paper cones in adhesive and metallic glitter, slipped a treat under each, and attached a paper tag with a number sticker to create a free-form calendar. A word to wise men (and women): Wrap your miniature gifts in case someone sneaks a peek. No Room for a Christmas Tree? Try One of These Creative Alternatives to a Traditional Evergreen 03 of 12 Pegboard Advent Calendar Ryan Liebe This whimsical Advent calendar comes together in a few basic steps. First, paint a 2-by-4-foot pegboard slat; let dry overnight. Using stencils, craft paint, and a brush or sponge, paint the numbers one through 24 on muslin gift bags; let dry overnight. The next day, evenly space 24 small wooden pegs in the board; fill the bags with little toys, candy, and handwritten messages; and hang the bags in order. Then just place it on a console table or ledge, lean it against the wall (or mount it if you have small children), and let the anticipation build. 04 of 12 Traditional Advent Chain Emily Kate Roemer Hang this vertically with gift 24 at the top. Snip one from the bottom each day. Wrap each gift. Tie each with twine, leaving several inches of twine at the top. Stamp or write numbers on tags, and tie them to the gifts. Arrange the gifts in order from one to 24. Tie the loose twine on gift one to the twine on the bottom of gift two. Continue, joining all 24. Hang the chain. 05 of 12 Advent Gift Bags Emily Kate Roemer Simplify the Advent chain tradition: Instead of wrapping each gift, we placed the little tokens in red-and-white striped paper bags and clipped them to a cord. It's a lot quicker for you and no less fun for the kids. The striped bags are festive, but you can use solid-color ones, too. Place one gift in each of 24 paper bags. Stamp or write numbers on stickers and adhere them to the bags. Hang the cord. Fold over the tops of the bags and clip them to the cord in numerical or a random order. 15 Easy Christmas Craft Ideas Anyone Can Make This Holiday Season 06 of 12 Gift Box Advent Calendar Janelle Jones Amplify the joy of Christmas morning by unwrapping a gift every day leading up to December 25. For a cohesive set, package the boxes in a palette of complementary tones: calming blues, terra-cotta pinks, and earthy ochres. For each one, wrap the box in paper, tie it with a bow of dual-sided satin ribbon, and stamp a round tag with a gilded number. 07 of 12 Greeting Cards Advent Calendar Charles Schiller Open a numbered window for each December day before Christmas. On Christmas Day, open the front door. To make this Advent calendar, enlarge the house template by 200 percent. Trace the outline on two sheets of heavy card stock to use as the front and back "walls." Mark the position of the door and window shutters with a pencil. Cut slits for the door and shutters; number shutters randomly. Place images from old greeting cards behind each opening; adhere with a glue stick. Edge the roof, chimney, and foundation with red paper; add gold trim. Glue ribbon loop between boards to use as hanger before gluing back to the front. Get the House Template 08 of 12 Christmas Tree Advent Calendar Mike Krautter Little ones will delight in counting down the days to Christmas. Who doesn't like getting a present every day? To make this Advent calendar, attach stickers to each box in sequential numbers. Print the holly leaf template and cut out shapes from various colors of card stock. Punch a small hole in the top of each holly leaf using a screw punch. Use gold string to tie the leaves to each box. Arrange boxes in a tree pattern, as in the picture, and mount to a surface using double-sided tape. 22 of Our Most Memorable Handmade Christmas Ornaments 09 of 12 Matchbox Advent Calendar Sang An This little chest harbors many secrets. To retrieve its treasures (tiny gifts and notes), kids open numbered drawers—one each day until Christmas. Slide drawers in backward to reveal another surprise—a painted tree. To make this Advent calendar, remove matches from 24 matchboxes; glue boxes in three stacks of eight. Glue the stacks together, then cut a strip of paper and glue around the sides of the chest. Remove drawers; number the fronts with acrylic paint, then tape ribbon tabs to the undersides. Place drawers in the chest. Paint a tree or other design on the back. Cut a construction-paper backing to keep the drawers in place. 10 of 12 Photo Chain Advent Calendar Emily Kate Roemer Craft a photo chain Advent calendar for faraway friends and family that also serves as a picture-perfect keepsake. Order doubles of photos you like, which makes it less work to assemble the gift as December approaches. Slide pictures (that you collect throughout the year) into postcard holders and hide them with numbered cards. You can use swatches of decorative paper or even holiday wrapping paper instead of the numbered cards. Get the Numbered Cards Clip-Art 11 of 12 Envelope Advent Calendar Seth Smoot Our simplest Advent calendar to date, this is a minimalist take on the holiday tradition: Form the shape of a Christmas tree with envelopes in various sizes and mark each with adhesive numbers. Stuff them with thin, lightweight presents, such as gift cards and stickers. Use painter's tape to secure the envelopes to the wall. 12 of 12 Mini Advent Stockings These mini stockings are just large enough to hold a small gift or sweet for each of the 24 days of Advent. If your tree is too small to hold 24 stockings, hang the rest from a ribbon. Get the Mini Stockings How-To Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit