How to: create a DIY Advent Calendar for Christmas

Imagine the joy on their faces opening a personalised surprise each day as you countdown to Christmas. With our easy-to-follow guide, you can design a calendar that reflects your style. It's the perfect opportunity to bring the family together and bond over a shared creative project.

If you're not quite game enough to take on an entire DIY project, check out our Activity Advent Calendar: the calendar and the daily surprise all rolled into one.

Right, let's get into it.

You'll need:

• Scissors
• Ribbon or twine - a great opportunity to use up any leftover bits and pieces from gift wrapping.
• A collection of bags, boxes or any other type of vessel to hold the goodies. If you'd like to make your own boxes (no template needed), check out this blog post from cleverpoppy.com here.
• An assortment of small gifts, chocolates, affirmations, family activities. Get thrifty and check out your local charity stores for inexpensive treasures.
• A set of Love from Seventeen numbered Advent Calendar Tags.
• Some sort of frame or hooks to hang your calendar on. Check out your local Kmart for affordable ideas, including over the door hangers, shelves with hooks, even the cap holders for a door would work great! I personally use this accordion-fold wall hook and it works fantastic. Search 'hooks' on Kmart and use your imagination.

Getting started:

1. For starters, I like to lay out my 25 (or 12 if doing a half set) piles with the item, the bag/box and the numbered tag. We wrap or put items for both daughters in the same packaging to save on space. I like to do this quite early on in my advent calendar planning so it's super clear where I have gaps.
2. One by one, wrap or package up each day so you have your 12/25 packages all set to go.
3. Using your thread, ribbon or twine, attach your numbered tag to your parcels. 
4. Now you'll start to add the longer pieces of thread, making a loop at one end to allow you to hang on your hooks or display piece. You'll want to cut these pieces of thread in assorted lengths so your parcels hang at all different lengths on your hook.
5. Finally, start to hang them up! Whether it's in order or not is totally up to you. We hang ours in random order depending on the size of the parcels and what looks the most aesthetically pleasing. 

And you're done!

Enjoy your new whānau tradition, and let the countdown to Christmas begin - but don't forget to save the numbered tags, wrapping and ribbons to repurpose next year.

Meri Kirihimete.