Our Family Advent Calendar

One of my families favorite traditions is the counting down to Christmas using an advent calendar. Each year my children receive one of those box advent calendars with the chocolate candies from their Grandmother at Thanksgiving. And while this is fine I really wanted to do something a little different this year. So I scoured the internet, Pinterest and mommy blogs and found multiple ways to count down to Christmas! Since we cannot possibly participate in all of the advent calendars I liked, I decided to take my favorites and meld the best of each (in my eyes) together!

This year my family will be doing an activity based countdown. Each day the kids will open an envelope off our advent wreath and we will enjoy the activity inside! Some of them require baking, others will have us crafting together or going on a trip, while a few will have us giving holiday cheer to our friends, family and community! Below are the directions and printouts you will need if you wish to use my idea for your family!

Supplies you will need:

card stock in multiple colors
craft glue
glue dots
scissors (regular and if desired patterned)
24 clothes pins
42 red pony beads
craft wire (make sure it is strong enough to hold the weight of your wreath but thin enough for the beads to go on)
green acrylic paint (I used 2 a light and dark green)
paint brushes
a Christmas bow

Directions to make the Clothes Pin Wreath:

1. Paint the clothes pins green. 1/2 dark green. 1/2 light green. (I clipped them onto a container paint.) (You will probably need 2 coats.)

2. Let the paint dry.
3. Once the clothes pins are dry, string them onto the craft wire in a pattern. The pattern I used was 2 red beads, 1 light green clothes pin, 2 red beads, 1 dark green clothes pin. Repeat until all clothes pins and beads are gone.

4. Close the wreath by wrapping the wire together. I made a hook to use to hang the wreath on the wall.
5. Add the Christmas bow to hide the wound wire.

Directions to make the cards and envelopes:

1. Print out the cards on card stock. Cut the cards out and set aside. (Feel free to use our activities or make your own!) Card Printables Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Blank Page
2. Print out 24 hearts to make into your envelopes and cut them out. Heart Envelope
3. Print out your numbers and circles. Cut them out and set aside. (1 side of paper print the numbers. On the other side print the circles. They will match up!) Numbers Circles

4. Fold the rounded sides of the hearts in towards the middle. The rounded edges should meet at the top and they will overlap in the middle slightly. See below.