Nellie & Phoeb's

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DIY- Advent Calendar

Christmas Mantle Advent Calendar

Linen Bags Filled with Christmas To Do's

I made this advent calendar a few years ago, and it is now one of our favorite Christmas traditions!  Every evening we take down a bag, and as a family, partake in a Christmas activity.  The girls look forward to it, they start asking to take one down as soon as they get up in the morning!  I think it's a great way to ensure you do all the festivities you want to do during the season, since sometimes you get so busy you forget to do things that are important.   

We tie each bag onto a strand of green garland, and hang it on the mantle,  it's pretty and it's a great visual countdown for the kids.

They are made of a very lightweight linen looking muslin.  They measure 4.5 x 6 inches.  The numbers are black sparkly cardboard stickers I found in the scrap-booking section at Michael's.  You can hot glue them on for extra measure.  The ties are a black satin cording, you can find in the ribbon department at craft stores.

  I printed the activities in Word under the label set up, then cut them out and glued them to card stock quality scrap-booking paper.  The Christmas activities can be anything you want, anything that is special or important to you!  

These are some of the activities on our cards:

Decorate the Christmas tree
Go pick out a new ornament for the tree
Wrap Christmas presents
Go look at Christmas lights and get holiday ice cream
Go give change to a Salvation Army Bell Ringer
Donate Toys
Buy a new toy for Toys for Tots
Decorate and string paper gingerbread men
Make Christmas Candy
Make Christmas Bread
Make Christmas Cookies for Santa
Go look at Christmas lights and get hot chocolate
Open a new Christmas book gift
Read a the Night Before Christmas
Go Christmas shopping for a family member
Open yearly Christmas ornament gifts
Go to the Christmas Train
Pictures with Santa
Teach the girls a new Christmas Carol
Take gifts to our neighbors
Angel Tree
Attend Christmas Eve church service
Watch a Christmas movie
Fill our Operation Christmas Child boxes for Samaritans Purse
Write Santa a letter


We start our Advent on December 1st, so we have 24 bags.

Merry Christmas!

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