It’s hard to believe that we are on the countdown to Christmas but it’s not something that can be ignored. Shops have all the decorations and gift boxes on display, supermarkets have Christmas cake and chocolates lining the shelves and our children are counting down the days until they can put up the decorations and start their advent calendars.
It’s fair to say that advent calendars have become a staple tradition of Christmas, helping us to get excited and count down the days from the 1st to the 25th December. Since their invention, they have evolved from having little doors which concealed a picture or a bible verse and now include gifts such as chocolate, make-up or even jewelry.
The word ‘Advent’ is derived from the Latin word for ‘coming’. Advent calendars can be traced back to the 19th century when families would mark every day in December until Christmas Eve with a chalk line. Today many children have a chocolate calendar for ease but why not do something a little different this year and get the whole family involved. Here are a few advent ideas that we love and are not only effective but thoughtful and decorative.
1. Blackboard Christmas Tree Advent
We love this advent calendar as the whole family can get together and create it. Simply purchase some sticky back plastic blackboard paper and cut out your Christmas tree shape. Once you are happy with this you can apply it to a wooden board or directly onto your wall. (Remember that sticky back plastic is easy to remove so once Christmas is over you can simply peel off the tree and your wall will be back to normal). If you apply it to a wooden board then you can bring it out every year and re-use it!
Once you have your tree up then you can place the hooks inside the tree. These hooks are what the gifts are going to go on so think about the size of your gifts and what it will look like (you can purchase stick on hooks too as an alternative to screw in ones). Then get some chalk and randomly write the dates for the advent. Lastly, wrap all of the gifts and watch the enjoyment every morning in December! You can even choose the right wrapping colour paper to match the rest of your decorations so it all blends in!
2. Wooden Box Advent
These wooden box drawers have been around for years but they are often something that are either used for a while and then get pushed aside or become too small for purpose. This makes them ideal for an advent calendar as each drawer is the same size making it easy to add chocolates, stickers or small toys each day.
Part of having an advent calendar in your home is that it looks Christmassy and these drawers can be recovered using our festive sticky back plastic colours and designs. It’s a fantastic activity to do on a Sunday afternoon and always looks fantastic when completed. Take a look at the finished product and have fun!
3. Christmas Cups
If you are looking for a quick easy solution then why not grab yourself some recyclable cups and decorate them in Christmas colours and patterns. The cups can be stacked in any format you like and the cups have a great space to hide a small gift! We have some fabulous glittery vinylor just grab a load of our samples to decorate your cups.
No matter how old your children are or what you choose as an advent calendar - it’s all about having fun and getting ready to celebrate the festive season. So don’t delay, order your vinyl products now and get ready for the 1st December!
