Advent Calendar

We tried something new this year - my inner crafty side took hold with an idea I'd found almost a year ago. I made this nifty Advent calendar and filled each day with a slip of paper (instead of a toy or chocolate.) Each slip had an activity inside. (December 1 was "Make an Advent Calendar".)

Some of our ideas included:

• Go to an Advent craft fair (the kind where you make, not buy)
• Have an indoor snowball fight (think white socks)
• Make a snowman, inside or out (since we had no snow that day, we settled for inside: mix 1 box of cornstarch with 1 can of shaving cream. Mix, mix, mix, get really messy, and store in an airtight bowl for about a week.)
• Watch a Christmas movie
• Read a Christmas story
• Play a board game
• Decorate cookies
• Act out the Christmas Story
• Make Christmas cards for servicemen & women
• Go to Christmas services at church

It was a lot of fun filling our month with activities rather than "stuff".

To make the calendar:

1. I bought 24 small paper mache boxes from a local craft store
2. Painted the boxes with acrylic paint
3. Picked 5 corresponding 12x12 (although you can go 8.5x11) scrapbook papers
4. Cut papers slightly smaller than lids
5. Place calendar stickers on the lids (scrapbooking section)
6. Mod Podge papers to lids and let dry
7. Glue gun a strong magnet to the back (I started with adhesive magnets, because that's what I had - not very successful.)
8. Bought a jelly roll pan at Wal-Mart (the cheapest place I could find - you may also check Goodwill or other thrift shops.)
9. Arrange boxes
10. My pan didn't have holes in the handle, so Dan drilled some for me.
11. Tie a colorful ribbon or scrap of paper
12. Enjoy the Advent season