DIY Advent Calendar!

So now that Thanksgiving is over, I've got Christmas on my mind!

This is the first year that my four year old will *really* understand what Christmas is about. We've been talking about how it is Jesus' birthday and I really want her to understand that Christmas isn't just all about gifts and Santa and elves (although we'll do all that fun stuff, too!) but that it is a season of giving.

My first two years of teaching I worked in a private Christian school. I would always go to the mall and pick a boy and girl angel from the Salvation Army's Angel Tree. My class would donate money or gifts toward the child's wishes. We bought bicycles, games, clothes and a lot more! I loved teaching my students about giving of themselves and compassion for others. They were only 4 and they really seemed to get it.

So now that my little girl is 4, I want to reinforce the same in her! We were in the car the other day and she said "The peace that passes understanding is in your heart with Jesus" made this momma proud! So, this year for our advent calendar we are doing "Random Acts of Christmas Kindness" or "RACK"-ing. I'm so excited to bless others and my child with the gift of giving! I read a lot of blog posts about it last year, and I'm so excited to incorporate it into our Christmas traditions for years to come!

First things first, we needed an Advent calendar. I had an old picture frame sitting in the garage, so I spray painted it.
The inset piece of it was ugly, so I covered it with some chevron fabric (from Hobby Lobby)
I found some *awesome* little mini- rick rack in the ribbon section at Hobby Lobby and hot glued 4 strips to either side of the frame so that I could hang the envelopes on them.
I slid the chevron-covered back piece on and the clipped on the envelopes. (Mini clothespins and little paper sack both from Hobby Lobby)
I had some green and red sparkly scrapbook paper (also from Hobby Lobby) that I cut into circles with my Cricut. A circle cutter would do the job, too! I made some labels for the Avery 2" circle labels and printed them out. I love how it turned out!
{here's a little close up of the labels}

If you want to snag the labels to make your own Advent calendar, here they are!
 {be sure to click on both pictures to get all the numbers}
graphics from Ashley Hughes, DJ Inkers, and KPM doodles.

I will post more about our RACK-ing journey as December goes on and what is actually IN each bag of the Advent calendar!
Photobucket

15 comments

  1. I love this. Thanks so much for sharing! I will definitely have to make one, yours turned out super cute!
    Colleen
    Totally Terrific in Texas

    ReplyDelete
  2. TOOOOOOOO cute for words! Please oh please link it up for my December Made It next week:))) I love it! You're super amazing:))

    4th Grade Frolics

    ReplyDelete
  3. So cute....love to see your ideas for RAK's..... racking my brain for some! :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. What an wonderful tradition to start with your family. I'm looking forward to reading more.

    ✰ Stacy

    Simpson Superstars

    ReplyDelete
  5. DaRlInG advent calendar! I can't wait to hear how it goes! I'm sure it will make such wonderful memories for your sweeties and instill valuable lessons along the way! Thanks for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Wow! Darling! How many talents do you have, my friend??

    Amy Howbert
    Little Miss Organized
    amyhowbert1@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  7. This is exactly what I've been wanting to do!! Yours turned out so cute! I will be a copy cat!! :) I love the idea of RAK-ing. I am planning to do some things with my own 2 kids this holiday season.

    Marissa
    WILD About First Grade!

    ReplyDelete
  8. What a wonderful idea! I'm looking forward to finding out what is in the envelopes.

    Sara :)
    Smiling In Second Grade

    ReplyDelete
  9. We'll be doing Random Acts of Christmas Kindness in our classroom this year! Kinder Tastic has a great printable for easy classroom ideas :)

    Jessica
    The Littlest Scholars is having a holiday giveaway!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Love, love, love this! It's super adorable, but also such a wonderful way to teach your kids the joy that comes from giving. Can't wait to hear more about it!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Nicole this is too cute for words!! You're so crafty!

    ❤ -Stephanie
    Falling Into First

    ReplyDelete
  12. Love your advent calendar! Thanks for sharing the tutorial!

    Halle
    Across the Hall in 2nd Grade

    ReplyDelete
  13. LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE this idea!! Can't express how much I love the calendar graphics! I am SO glad I stumbled upon your blog today and will DEFINATELY be using this with my own son! Must share on my FB page to spread the news so my followers can use these great graphics and cute idea as well!!! Thanks for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Thank you thank you my friend for linking up:)

    4th Grade Frolics

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for taking the time to chat with me!

Back to Top