The countdown to Christmas is on! Well almost... In just a few short days we will start marking the days leading up to the 25th. In our family, we acknowledge each day with a Christmas advent calendar.
Advent calendars are everywhere in Germany this time of year. You can buy them pre-made filled with chocolates, candy, bath goods, Legos, and the list goes on... or you can make one from scratch.
Last year I made my very first advent calendar for Husband. It was such a fun project that I wanted to make another one again this year!
This time I decided I did not want to buy material gift items but instead focus on our memories. 2014 was a fun-filled, adventurous year full of moments that money just can't buy. I wanted to create an advent calendar that looked at the highlights and special times from the past year.
Each day is marked with a photograph and a card. Every card shares what made that particular moment so special. Some of them are funny... like the time we paid scammers to watch our car in Pisa. (I'm still surprised my iPod was left untouched out on the front seat) Other memories are milestones...like when we celebrated my 30th birthday on top of Switzerland or took a peaceful morning stroll on Utah Beach.
The cards are hung using yarn from my scrap stash. Each card is held onto the yarn using clothespins pulled off my clothesline. The entire collection of cards currently hangs in our entryway. I realized last year that walking out the door in the morning is the perfect time to unveil that day's number during the countdown. Isn't that a fun way to start the each day?
Every card is completely different. The cards are made out of different paper weights. Some of the cards are from Mini Wheat cereal boxes, others are from a pizza box, and the rest are standard cardstock.
I used around 8 sheets of scrapbook paper and very little went to waste. A strip of paper cut off of one card was later used on another. All of the paper was attached using spray glue. Have I mentioned how much I love spray glue? It's amazing.
Every memory is written on index cards I pulled out of my desk drawer. I wrote every number using paint markers and no two numbers are exactly alike. The index cards are tucked into pockets that I created by only spraying 3 sides of the paper backing. The side without glue is now used as the pocket where the index card tucks inside.
To create this entire project I only spent 6 Euros on the photo printing! Everything else I used I already had on hand. The cards are double hole punched so they can be put together as an album. I hope we enjoy looking back on these wonderful memories from 2014 for many years to come!
P.S. Did you notice the numbers go up to 30? I couldn't narrow the photographs down to 25...so our advent calendar technically is a countdown to 2015!
Here is a look at last year's 2013 advent calendar in case you missed it! This advent calendar only went up to #17 because it was a countdown to our flight home.
Is your family counting down the days to Christmas with an Advent Calendar?
How do you get ready for the 25th?
It is not too late to create your own advent calendar for 2014. There are still 6 days left until December 1st!
Make Life Beautiful,
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