Advent Calendar DIY

A couple of years ago I decided to make Soren an advent calendar, and we are now in our third year of enjoying it. It's also no longer just for Soren... he has to share the daily treat with his little sister (which he obviously does happily...). I've gotten some questions about it on good ol' instagram, so I thought I would repost the tutorial. I've since changed the little paper bags to small fabric sacs, which are much easier for re-using. Crafting is not exactly my thing, but I'm pretty pleased with how this turned out, and the fact that it's now a part of our family christmas traditions:)

Step One - Find a piece of wood. I happened to find the perfect piece in my basement. It must be one of the original door mouldings, and it was exactly what I had in mind. I cleaned it off, but didn't bother re-painting because I liked the distressed look. I painted 24 clothespins white, then let them dry overnight.

Step Two - I painted the clothespins using red and white paint, trying to achieve a Christmasy look. Let dry overnight.

Step Three - Glue the clothespins to the wood using wood glue. I measured the board and divided by 24, so the pins would be evenly spaced.

Step Four - Assemble the presents for the Advent Calendar. I originally wanted to use reusable jute bags, but they were a bit over my budget at Michaels, so I just used tiny brown paper bags. I used a stencil to paint on the numbers 1 through 24. Using twine, I tied them in loops to attach to the clothespins.

Step Five - Hang it on the wall!

Step Six - Watch Soren's face FILL with delight when he came downstairs and saw it on December first. (When these pictures were taken I hadn't quite filled up all the bags with treats. I'll make sure to have them filled in in time for the opening day! So far the treats have included raisins, teddy grahams, and mini ornaments.)