DIY Christmas Advent Calendar Garland

by Nicki Parrish @ Sweet Parrish Place

I came up with this idea last year when I was trying to decide where to hang an advent calendar in our home, and I ended up trying it out going down our stairs. I loved the way it turned out last year, and so I decided to do a repeat for this year, but the bags I made look completely different. So today I wanted to share my DIY advent calendar garland with you, along with the rest of my entryway!

An advent calendar is not something we did when I was growing up, but it is something I created with my own family, and it is something that my kids look forward to each year. I fill my little bags with three pieces of chocolate- one for each child. But you don't have to sue candy, any small trinkets will do. Make it your own, and be creative if you want to!

As you can see, I have hung small bags going all of the way down our staircase and hung them from my garland. The garland I use is adjustable, so it is easy to hang a bag on a branch, and just curl that branch up a little to hold the bag. Everything I used the make my bags was purchased at Hobby Lobby, but you can by these supplies at pretty much any craft supply store. All you do is cut the paper to size to fit the front of the bag, glue it onto the front, and then add a chalkboard label in the center and write a number on it for each day of the month. I really love the black and white themed craft paper I bought, which was in a book.

This shoe cabinet is such a life saver! It fits perfectly in the small space, and it corrals all of the shoes that get tossed on the landing when everyone is walking in the door. If I see that someone has dropped their shoes here, it is easy to toss them inside the cabinet. There is such little floor space that I can't have shoes lying all over the floor here.

I know it may be too late to make an advent calendar for your family this year, but if you like this project, save it for inspiration for next year! To read more about mine and to see the rest of our entry way decked for Christmas, click through to my blog below!