Make your own DIY advent calendar this year using a trellis to bring a creative and natural touch to your holiday countdown. A trellis advent calendar allows you to hang small, personalised gifts that can be reused every year. Read on for our steps on how to make your own.
You will need
- Section of timber trellis
- 25 A5-sized calico cotton or canvas drawstring bags
- 25 small wooden pegs
- Thin cardboard cut to A5
- Small, thin art brushes
- Testpots in Resene Glamour Puss, Resene Deep Sea, Resene Anakiwa, Resene Scandal and Resene Poppy
Step 1
Paint the trellis in Resene Poppy. For best results, apply two coats and allow drying time in between.
Step 2
Paint designs or numbers on the small calico drawstring bags using Resene testpots – numbers, patterns, festive words whatever you like. Be sure to slide a piece of A5-sized cardboard inside the bag first so the paint doesn’t bleed through to the other side. Allow paint to dry completely. To speed things up, you can use a hair dryer.
Step 3
Fill calico bags with sweet treats, small gifts or jokes.
Step 4
Peg each bag to the trellis with the small wooden pegs.
Step 5
Starting on December 1, remove a bag to reveal a surprise each day in the lead-up to Christmas!
Creative calendar fillings
A personalised advent calendar can be a fun way to bring extra excitement to the holiday season. Here are some fun ideas for things you can put in yours…
Children
- Mini toys like little action figures, dolls or toy cars.
- Give one piece of a puzzle each day, so by Christmas, they have a complete puzzle to put together.
- Small DIY craft items like beads, pipe cleaners and glitter for a fun project.
- Stickers and temporary tattoos.
- Treasure hunt clues. Each bag reveals a clue that leads to a hidden small gift in the house at the end.
Adults
- Tea bags or coffee samples, with a different flavour to try each day.
- Self-care items such as sample-sized cosmetics, mini lotions, bath salts, lip balms, hand creams or nail polish.
- Tiny bottles of wine, whisky or liqueur.
- Inspirational quotes with a daily uplifting message.
- For your significant other, you could leave notes with reasons why you love them, or DIY coupons, with homemade vouchers for massages, movie nights or special meals.
- Miniature chocolates or sweets.
- Christmas-themed jokes. Here are a few to get you started:
Q. Why was the Christmas tree so bad at knitting?
A. It kept dropping its needles!
Q. Why did no one bid for Rudolph and Blitzen on Trade Me?
A. Because they were two deer!
Q. How much did Santa pay for his sleigh?
A. Nothing – it was on the house!
Q. What happened to the person who stole an advent calendar?
A. He got 25 days!
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