Handmade Advent Calendar

I love advent calendar's, but I hate rubbish chocolate.  One year I fobbed the little foxes off on the Cbeebie's online advent calendar of music and video clips, claiming it was better than getting a sweetie every day.  They were young.  They were innocent.  There is no way they are falling for that this year!

I was working on this month's crafty box, I'd a nice design for a loo roll Father Christmas when I suddenly thought; 'This could work as an advent calendar'.  So, I began collecting loo rolls; 25 of them.  Making white pom poms; 25 of them.  (I've posted on the easiest way to make these - with a fork would you believe.)  I used my design for this year's Mrs Fox's gift tags (which are FREE to download) for the Father Christmas' face - you can download and print 25 Father Christmas faces HERE.

So, here's how you make the advent calendar:

You will need:
25 loo rolls - Never thought I'd get to say that!
red paint
white wool
fork
black pen
string
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stick or bamboo cane - optional
sweets and/or little gifts
glue
scissors
and Mrs Fox's printouts.

First paint your 24 loo rolls red and leave to dry.  While they are drying make 24 pom poms instructions are HERE.  Leave the string you use to tie round the centre of the pom poms long, as you will use this to attach the pom poms to Father Christmas' hat.

Take your red loo rolls and fold them as follows:

Print and cut out the Father Christmas faces and the numbers from Mrs Fox's.  Glue them onto the loo roll and draw the rest of your Father Christmas onto the loo roll with black marker.  Draw one hand holding the number.

Make a small hole with a darning needle in the top of each Father Christmas.  Through the hole thread the pom pom strings and secure to his hat with a double knot.  Next, thread your pieces of string through the top of Father Christmas' hat and knot in a loop.  I cut my string different lengths so Father Christmas could hang at varying heights.

Fill each of your Father Christmas from the leg end with a sweet (I have 2 children and put one for each child in mine).  I put a small gift in the 24th Father Christmas so they have a little something extra on Christmas Eve.  I figured they get so much on Christmas Day that I would make Christmas Eve special instead.

I looped each Father Christmas in numerical order onto a stick that we had found on one of our dog walks and have tied another piece of string onto this to hang it over the mantle piece.  You could use a bamboo cane or you could instead tie the Father Christmases onto a longer piece of string making a garland, or hang the Father Christmases onto wall mounted clothes hooks, over a mirror or a piece of furniture whatever works best in your home.

I can't wait to hang my advent calendar over the mantle piece on Saturday night, when Brian the Elf should also be arriving - more about him follows.

We've loads more crafty Christmas ideas this festive season, so why not subscribe to our blog and/or newsletter.  And some of the best ideas for crafts with children we've distilled into a Christmas Craft Box that we will deliver to your home for £15 +p&p, check out the contents HERE.