How to make an Easy DIY Advent Calendar for Christmas (Free Printable)

Learn how to make an easy DIY advent calendar for your children this Christmas. Making a beautiful DIY advent calendar is a simple way to start a meaningful tradition in your home. DIY advent calendars help your children anticipate Jesus’s birth at Christmas.

For Day 8 of 12 Days of A Well Purposed Christmas I have a special gift for you! Today’s gift is to help you be able to make an easy DIY Advent Calendar, with a free printable for the calendar! I have had an advent calendar on my mind since Day 1 and I had so many different ideas of making them but I decided to keep it very simple. Today’s easy DIY Advent Calendar with the free printable can be made in less than 30 minutes!

I have felt the growing desire over the last couple of days to focus on projects that will direct my and my children’s hearts to Jesus during this Christmas season. I can get so busy that I love intentional ways of helping me stop and set aside time to read the Bible with my children.

This easy diy advent calendar takes just a little bit of preparation but it will be worth the effort. And of course it’s a fun way to build anticipation for Christmas!

I remember as a child making green and red paper loops at school to countdown to Christmas. It was something I always looked forward to and an advent calendar is like this but it has added meaning. My plan is to also make 24 Christmas ornaments to go along with the advent calendar and hopefully share those with you as well!

But let’s get started with making our easy DIY advent calendar!

This post contains some affiliate links for your convience (which means if you click on a link and purchase something I will receive a small comission with no extra charge to you).

Here’s the supplies you need to make an easy DIY advent calendar:

• Free advent calendar printable
• Wooden frame
• chalk paint and brush
• Twine or ribbon
• 8-10 small nails
• hammer
• 24-25 mini paper bags (3″x 4″)
• 24 or 25 mini clothespins
• Hot glue or other adhesive

Here’s how you make an easy DIY advent calendar:

1. Choose the frame for your advent calendar

If you are using the same size mini paper bags as I did, you will want to make sure your frame is big enough for all of the bags. Choose a frame that has an areas inside the frame at least 21″ X 18.” You don’t want to get one much smaller because you will run out of room when hanging your paper bags.

Since I bought my frame at a thrift store I gave it a fresh look. I used chalk paint on it like I did with this antique white frame. And now it’s just truly beautiful!

2. Prepare your paper bags and lay them out on your advent calendar frame

Lay out the mini bags on your frame to get an idea of how they will fit in your frame. I folded the mini bags over to make a square that was closer to 3″x 3.” and laid them in my frame.

3. Measure and place your nails on the advent calendar frame

Now that you have an idea of how your bags will be placed you can decide where to place your nails. I looked at the side of my frame and decided to place a nail just above each row of mini bags. You can measure and mark with a pencil to make sure you are placing them on the same place on both sides of the frame.

4. Attach the twine to the nails on your advent calendar

Now that you have your nails in place take your twine and run it lengthwise along your frame and attach it to both sides. You can adjust the tightness of the twine as you go. Once you place your mini bags on your frame if you need less or more slack you can adjust accordingly.

5. Glue the numbers on your advent calendar

Print out your free advent printable and cut out the numbers. Use your hot glue gun or other adhesive to attach the numbers to the paper bags. Then clip your little bags to the rows of twine.

And that’s it!

Now you have a beautiful and easy DIY advent calendar. You can fill your bags with little ornaments, presents or anything else to get your child’s attach. As I mentioned I am planning to do 24 ornaments to fill this advent calendar so I will post that soon! I will have a Bible passage to go along with each ornament.

My daughters were already getting excited as we made this advent calendar! My hope is that this will be an easy and meaningful tradition for you and your family this Christmas.

This would also be a fabulous gift for grandchildren, nieces or nephews. If you make one I would love to see it! Share a photo with me at elizabeth@awellpurposedwoman.com or share it on your facebook page or other social media! Also would love to hear from you in the comments below if you use an advent calendar and how do you use it in your home! (Remember every time you comment you are also entered into our Christmas giveaway. Winners will be announced at the end of 12 days together!)

Didn’t get to it this year? No worries, just pin it so you have it for next year.

Did you miss any other day’s of our 12 Days of Christmas?

Happy Crafting!