I’m so excited to share this fun DIY advent calendar that we made last year! It’s easy and can be customized to whatever your Christmas decor style is.
Advent calendars weren’t something I grew up with, but Arno had a homemade advent calendar every year as a child and wanted to bring the tradition back. So, we decided to DIY our own grown up version that doubles as a pretty boho Christmas wall-hanging.
Braid the twine to make the hanging cord, and tie the ends of it into loops that you’ll later slip over the ends of the dowel. You can easily adjust the length to your liking.
Cut five 47in (120cm) long pieces of your thinner ribbon, and space them 6in (15cm) apart along the dowel, with extra space at the sides. I simply folded the ribbon over the dowel and secured with glue.
Use a dot of glue to attach 5 clothespins to each piece of ribbon hanging down, spaced 8in (20cm) apart.
Add the greenery. If your stems are larger, cut them into smaller pieces. Working from the middle of the dowel, glue the foliage facing outwards (don’t worry if the middle gets messy, it’ll be covered by the bow!) I used longer pieces of greenery first and used a few dots of glue along the dowel to secure them. Then, I added shorter pieces and faux berries in the middle to poke out from behind the bow.
Make the bow – this video shows it well. Attach to the center of the dowel with a dot of glue.
Paint the numbers onto the burlap bags (you could also use stamps or stickers).
Fill the bags with treats and clip to the clothespins.
Enjoy the countdown!
The holidays always get me in the mood for a DIY, and I’m so happy with how this advent calendar turned out. I went with neutrals, but you could make this suit any style by switching up the foliage and ribbon!
Hope this inspired you to get crafty! If you make this DIY advent calendar, please send me a photo, I’d love to see!
