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How to Make an Advent Calendar

A Gold and White Advent Calendar | JustAGirlAndHerBlog.com

Ever since my son Connor was a little guy, we have done an Advent calendar every year at Christmas time. I used to get the cardboard ones from the store that had the little doors that you open, but one year I couldn’t find any that I liked.

So what’s a good little blogger to do? I ended up making one instead, and ever since then we’ve never gone back to the store-bought variety! This year I was in the mood for something a little glammy, so a gold and white Advent calendar it was!

Here’s what I used to create it:

Our 2014 Advent Calendar | JustAGirlAndHerBlog.com

(Asterisks note affiliate links.)

  • 2 packages of 2″ x 2″ favor boxes, one gold, one white {found in the wedding section at Michael’s}
  • 17″ x 23″ Cork Board {I used this one*.}
  • black vinyl or number stickers
  • wrapping paper of choice
  • gold spray paint
  • spray primer
  • thumb tacks
  • double sided tape
  • Hershey’s kisses
  • Advent printables {provided below}
  • silver ribbon {Optional; I didn’t end up using it.}
  • painter’s tape & garbage bag {not pictured}

The first thing I did was get my cork board ready. I wanted the frame to be gold, so I taped off the cork part using painter’s tape and a garbage bag…

A Gold and White Advent Calendar | JustAGirlAndHerBlog.com

I sprayed a few coats of primer, let those dry, and then followed it up with the gold spray paint.

While I was waiting for the paint to dry, I got to work on the other pieces of the Advent calendar. I assembled all 25 of the boxes:

A Gold and White Advent Calendar | JustAGirlAndHerBlog.com

I wanted to make sure we were focusing on celebrating and anticipating Jesus’ birth with our Advent calendar, so I decided to include a Bible verse or two from the Christmas story to go along with each day. If you’re interested in using these printables, you can download them below:

A Gold and White Advent Calendar | JustAGirlAndHerBlog.com

{Click here to download the free printable Advent calendar verses!}

I printed my verses on white card stock and cut them out:

A Gold and White Advent Calendar | JustAGirlAndHerBlog.com

Then using tape, I attached one printable to the inside of the lid of each of my little boxes. {Odd numbers went on gold boxes, even numbers on white boxes.} I also used my Silhouette Cameo* (an electronic cutting machine) to cut out numbers 1-25 from adhesive vinyl and added numbers to each box. If you don’t have a cutting machine, number stickers will work just fine!

A Gold and White Advent Calendar | JustAGirlAndHerBlog.com

At this point my painted cork board was dry, so I pulled off the garbage bag and painter’s tape and used double sided tape to adhere wrapping paper to the board to make it look a little prettier.

A Gold and White Advent Calendar | JustAGirlAndHerBlog.com

I arranged my boxes so they were evenly spaced in 5 rows of 5 on my board and used thumb tacks to attach them. The boxes I used had a little flap that covered the bottom, so I could lift that up, stick in my thumb tack, and put the flap back down and you couldn’t even tell it was there!

A Gold and White Advent Calendar | JustAGirlAndHerBlog.com

Then all that was left to do was add some Hershey’s Kisses for a little fun!

A Gold and White Advent Calendar | JustAGirlAndHerBlog.com

I popped the tops back on the boxes and I was finished! Initially I had planned on tying a ribbon around each box, but the tops stayed on just fine without it, so I decided to leave it off.

A Gold and White Advent Calendar | JustAGirlAndHerBlog.com

A Gold and White Advent Calendar | JustAGirlAndHerBlog.com

The Cs can’t wait to get started on their Advent calendar– December 1st can’t come soon enough for them! These calendars are such a fun way to prepare for Christmas and get excited about the birth of Jesus. (And the chocolate doesn’t hurt either! 😉 ) I love that this has become a family tradition for us that we all can look forward to year after year.

If you’re looking for even more Advent calendar ideas (with free printables), you can check out our 2015 calendar here

Our DIY Advent Calendar with Free Printables | JustAGirlAndHerBlog.com

…and our 2013 calendar here!

DIY Advent Calendar with Free Advent Calendar Printables

Hope you have a wonderful week, friends!

Abby Lawson at Abby Organizes, justagirlandherblog.com

This post contains affiliate links, noted by an asterisk. For more information, see my disclosures here.

11 Comments

  1. Lindsay Eidahl says:

    Love it! My Advent calendar incorporated little boxes this year too! Fun stuff!

  2. Abby,

    Such a great (and simple) project. I’m all about simple this time if year!

    I also love that you used a few chocolate kisses rather than trying to find something different for each day. I sometimes find that I can’t step “out of the box” and just make it work.

    Tiffany

  3. Lauren @ Mom Home Guide says:

    Love your beautiful advent calendar.. Great idea! I will have to try that for my kids. Enjoy your Thanksgiving! 🙂

  4. Carrie @ Curly Crafty Mom says:

    I am a total gold lover, so this is right up my alley! Love it, Abby!

  5. Love it. I just need to buckle down and make a decision! I have 6 days to do it! Ahh! Love the gold though. Nice touch.

  6. Stephanie @ Mommyzoid says:

    I can’t wait to do this next year for my little guy! I soooo hope gold and glamour are still in next year for the holidays. CROSSING MY FINGERS! I love this look so much! Your DIYs are so inspiring, Abby!

    Stephanie @ mommyzoid

  7. Ashley @ PioneerMomma.com says:

    Your advent calendar is so pretty! I really like the gold and white, it looks elegant and clean. And shiny, which we all love lol! My son and I do a non-traditional one combining good deeds and the chain-link countdown. Like the Bible verses, I really think it’s a great time to teach kids good values. Thanks for sharing, beautiful work! Pinned 🙂 Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

  8. Hi Abby,

    I love this!!

  9. Amanda @ Dwelling in Happiness says:

    Gorgeous!! I love the gold, it’s so glam and pretty!! I love that you added verses each day, we did something similar, too! I bet the boys will be so excited to get a little Kiss, too. 🙂

    1. justagirlabby says:

      Thanks, friend! Yes, there always has to be chocolate! When I first started doing Advent calendars with Con, they were the store-bought ones with the little piece of candy behind each door, so ever since then he insists on chocolate! 🙂 Hope you’re having a wonderful week!

      ~Abby =)

  10. Diana Mattos says:

    Thank you for the printable verses – exactly what I was looking for for our own advent calendar. Much appreciated 🙂

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