Amazing DIY Advent Calendar Ideas for Kids
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The holiday season is almost here, and what better way to build excitement than with a DIY Advent Calendar? If you’d like to have a little more fun and excitement, why not get your kids to help?
The best part about a DIY Advent Calendar is that you can put anything in it. You can put in chocolates, a small toy, or really anything you think your kids might enjoy.
These personalized, fun, and creative calendars bring a unique touch to the countdown to Christmas, allowing you to tailor each day’s surprise to your family’s preferences.
Get ready to inspire your kids’ excitement with these amazing DIY Advent Calendar ideas that are easy to make, fun to create, and filled with memorable surprises.
Plus, you can customize each with items you already have at home or grab a few festive essentials through Amazon.
1. Mini Gift Bags DIY Advent Calendar
For a simple, affordable option, try using mini gift bags! These are great for filling with small treats, notes, or activities that will excite your kids each day.
Attach them to a string with clothespins, hang them on a wall, or place them in a basket. Personalize the bags with your child’s name, fun stickers, or holiday-themed decorations.
Supplies Needed: Mini gift bags, markers, small stickers, clothespins, and string.
Ideas for Fillers: Candy, small toys, or holiday-themed activity cards.
2. DIY Mason Jar Advent Calendar
If you’re looking for a unique twist on the traditional calendar, a mason jar advent calendar is a charming option. It’s also nice to have something you can reuse year after year.
Each jar can be filled with different small gifts, making it a delightful daily surprise for kids. Arrange the jars in a row or place them in a box with a label for each day.
If you’d like to keep the contents a surprise, you can paint the jars or have the contents in small bags or boxes inside the jars.
Supplies Needed: Mason jars, labels or tags, and small gift items.
Ideas for Fillers: Hot chocolate mixes, small toys, stickers, or mini holiday crafts.
3. Paper Envelope DIY Advent Calendar
Create a DIY Advent Calendar by decorating 24 envelopes and filling each with a surprise or family coupon. Have coupons for different things your kid may want or things they’d like to do.
Hang them on a bulletin board or display them on a wall for a colorful countdown.
Supplies Needed: Envelopes, markers, stickers, and a bulletin board.
Ideas for Fillers: Holiday activity cards, small treats, or family coupons.
4. DIY Advent Calendar with Craft Boxes
This DIY Advent Calendar idea involves stacking small boxes in the shape of a Christmas tree, and each box holds a daily surprise.
Kids will love the unique shape and enjoy discovering something special inside each one.
Customize each box with holiday colors or add ribbons for an extra touch. If your kids will leave them stacked, you won’t need to attach them, but if you have small children like mine, you might consider using a hot glue gun to keep them in place.
Supplies Needed: Small craft boxes, paint or markers, and mini treats (hot glue gun if desired).
Ideas for Fillers: Mini ornaments, small candy bars, or activity cards.
5. Activity-Based DIY Advent Calendar
If you’d like to do something that isn’t a treat, why not create a DIY Advent Calendar focused on activities?
Write or print out ideas for fun holiday-themed activities, like decorating cookies, making ornaments, or going on a Christmas lights tour.
Place each activity in a box or envelope for a fun surprise. Your kid will love having a holiday-themed activity to do every day.
Supplies Needed: Envelopes or small boxes, blank cards.
Ideas for Fillers: Family game night, holiday baking, or a Christmas scavenger hunt.
6. Mini Stockings DIY Advent Calendar
Mini stockings make a fun and decorative DIY Advent Calendar option.
You can hang these stockings on the mantel or along a garland and fill each one with small treats or trinkets.
Kids will love reaching into their mini stocking each day to discover a new holiday surprise.
Supplies Needed: Mini stockings, small treats or trinkets, string or garland.
Ideas for Fillers: Chocolates, holiday stickers, or small toys.
7. DIY Advent Calendar Tree with Mini Drawers
If you’re up for a slightly bigger DIY project, try building an advent calendar out of a mini wooden drawer set.
Paint and decorate the drawers with numbers, and fill each with a small treat or surprise.
Your kids will have a blast opening each drawer and counting down to Christmas.
If you’re not super crafty or short on time, you could get a premade set of mini drawers. I’m crafty but was short on time, so I bought a little set of drawers.
If you’re somewhere in between, consider this premade set of drawers you decorate yourself.
I put a Hershey’s Kiss in each drawer, but you can put anything small in them.
Supplies Needed: Mini drawer set, paint, holiday decorations.
Ideas for Fillers: Mini toys, small treats, or notes of encouragement.
8. Paper Cone Christmas Tree Advent Calendar
Create a whimsical DIY Advent Calendar by making paper cones, one for each day leading up to Christmas.
Arrange the cones in the shape of a Christmas tree for a festive display.
Fill the cones with small treats or toys, and they look adorable when arranged together.
Supplies Needed: Colorful paper, markers, and small treats.
Ideas for Fillers: Chocolates, mini toys, or notes with holiday facts.
9. Reusable Fabric Bag DIY Advent Calendar
Use small fabric bags to create a reusable DIY Advent Calendar for a more eco-friendly option. You can buy the bags premade, but if you’re feeling crafty, you can use old clothes to make the bags—making them an even more environmentally friendly option.
Hang these bags on a wall, or place them in a basket and fill them with surprises each year.
Add numbers or holiday designs to the bags to make them festive!
Supplies Needed: Small fabric bags, fabric markers, and holiday-themed trinkets.
Ideas for Fillers: Holiday socks, tiny puzzles, or festive crayons.
10. Storytime Advent Calendar
Give your kids the gift of holiday stories each day with a Storytime DIY Advent Calendar.
Choose 24 holiday-themed books and wrap each one individually. If you’re good at coming up with stories yourself, you could even write your own short stories to include.
Every night, your child can unwrap a new story to read before bed. It’s a cozy, family-friendly way to celebrate the countdown.
Supplies Needed: 24 holiday books, wrapping paper, and number stickers.
11. Puzzle Piece DIY Advent Calendar
Make the countdown interactive with a DIY Advent Calendar that reveals a puzzle!
Each day, kids receive a new piece of a holiday-themed puzzle, and by Christmas Eve, they’ll have a completed masterpiece. It’s a fun, unique way to build anticipation.
If you’re artistic, you could draw the picture yourself or print out a photo and glue it to the pieces.
Supplies Needed: Puzzle pieces, small boxes, or envelopes.
12. Ornament DIY Advent Calendar
Collect 24 mini ornaments and surprise your kids with one each day. By Christmas, they’ll have a mini tree decorated entirely with their advent surprises.
If you like to get crafty, make some handmade ornaments for a creative touch, or include the supplies for your kid to make an ornament each day.
My oldest son would LOVE this idea—Christmas decorations are his favorite thing. I’m considering adding this one in for our Christmas countdown this year.
Supplies Needed: Mini ornaments, small gift bags.
Ideas for Fillers: Ornaments, tiny decorations, or craft supplies for DIY ornaments.
13. DIY Advent Calendar Garland
Make your DIY Advent Calendar part of your regular holiday décor. Create a festive garland with 24 small pouches or boxes.
You can use garland, or a string of lights to attach the pouches or boxes to.
Hang it along a staircase or wall, and fill each pouch with fun surprises for your kids. It’s a beautiful decoration that doubles as a delightful daily countdown.
Supplies Needed: Small pouches or boxes, string, mini clothespins, garland, or string of lights.
Ideas for Fillers: Holiday treats, tiny crafts, or family activity coupons.
14. Scavenger Hunt DIY Advent Calendar
For kids who love adventure, try a scavenger hunt DIY Advent Calendar!
Each day, leave a clue that leads them to a hidden holiday surprise around the house.
If you do a Christmas Eve box, the scavenger hunt could lead them to where it’s hidden. (If you don’t do a Christmas Eve box but would like to, check out this post for some ideas!)
This calendar adds an extra layer of excitement to the countdown!
Supplies Needed: Clue cards.
15. Magnet DIY Advent Calendar
Make a magnetic DIY Advent Calendar by adding magnetic numbers to small tins or boxes and sticking them to your fridge.
Fill each tin with a little surprise, and let your child check the fridge each morning for a new treat. It’s a compact and fun option for tight spaces.
Supplies Needed: Magnetic tins, small treats, stickers.
Ideas for Fillers: Stickers, chocolates, or stickers.
A New Family Tradition
DIY Advent Calendars make the holiday countdown truly special.
From mini stockings to storytime surprises, there’s something here to inspire a personalized countdown that’s easy to create and sure to delight your family.
Grab some supplies and enjoy the magic of a DIY Advent Calendar this holiday season!
