Advent calendar - what is it? How to make it yourself?

The tradition to create Advent calendars, or calendars of expectation, has appeared in our life relatively recently. In another way they are called Christmas. Such things will surely bring joy to you and your baby. And it does not matter that this tradition came from the Catholic countries. After all, you can always adapt the custom for yourself. In addition, such a calendar does not need to be done just before Christmas or New Year. You can please the child, for example, before his birthday or another holiday. Thus, you will create exclusively your family tradition.

Advent calendar - what is it?

The word "Advent" itself is borrowed from the Latin language and is translated as "coming." So in the Christian world the period before Christmas is designated. It is a time of celebration and fun, during which everyone prepares for the Nativity of Christ. Namely four weeks before Christmas, each of which has its own theme. The most famous tradition of this time is the Advent wreath. From the fir branches create a wreath, which contains four candles. Candles are lit every week. And this reflects the fact that every week it becomes brighter. Another custom is the Advent calendar. What is this, try to find out in this article.

History of the advent of the calendar

A couple of centuries ago, people tried to brighten up the expectation of Christmas and give this period a shade of magic and unusual. The most primitive was the way in which on a board with the help of a chalk dashes were drawn according to the number of days left before the holiday, and then one by one wiped. And in some families a new candle was lit every day.

The first Advent calendar appeared in the form of printed pictures in Germany. The author brought this idea from his childhood. His mother, in order to brighten up the expectation of the holiday, attached a candy to the new card every day and handed it to her son. The success of this idea was acquired after it was modified and small doors were added, behind which there was a surprise.

Advent calendar in our

In the post-Soviet space, they learned about calendars quite recently. But we celebrate New Year on a larger scale. Therefore, the number of branches in the calendar should be 31. You can buy or make an Advent calendar yourself . It can contain sweets or small gifts. On sale you can find the Advent Calendar chocolate. It looks like a thin cardboard box, in which windows are cut. In each window there is a figurine of chocolate.

We will make the New Year calendar ourselves

What can be more exciting than creating a New Year Advent calendar with your own hands? First you should take care of the selection of material. It can be anything. You can use not only cardboard and paper, but also fabric, ribbons and accessories. And also ready-made containers (boxes, buckets) or even garments. For example, mittens or socks. Such a calendar can be created for more than a month or build in one day and even in a few hours. Here everything will depend on your imagination and possibilities. It can be made of cardboard in the form of a small commode. But this will, perhaps, be the most time-consuming option. But the task can be simplified by placing some containers on a shelf or hung in a garland.

How can an Advent Calendar of paper and paperboard look like?

Consider some interesting options that you can use for your calendar waiting. To implement these ideas, you can take the most inexpensive kind of material - paper and cardboard.

The first option is a cardboard chest of drawers. This is the most complicated kind of calendar, but you can use it from year to year until you get bored. Just clean it after the holidays and get it again next year. To create it, you need to perform a lot of calculations and prepare cardboard blanks for the entire chest and for each drawer. And after the assembly, also glue it with paper or decorate it in another way. After all, he must contain not only gifts, but also Christmas spirit. Such a comedian can look like a small house or a Christmas tree, or be just a square shape. Do not forget to attach the handle to the drawers to easily remove all the contents.

Another paper variant is envelopes. Make them of different shapes and colors and decorate with Christmas trifles. Do not forget to mark each envelope with the number of the corresponding day. Glue them on a cardboard base or attach the clothespins to the rope. And you can collect garlands from them and decorate the window, the wall and even the back of the bed.

And one more paper method. Just fold out cubes, cylinders or cones from the paper and decorate them in the same way as previously mentioned. Although, if space allows space, you can chaotically scatter it all over the table. The main thing is to choose an additional decor.

Calendar of fabric

If you can sew, then your ideas for the Advent calendar can be very different. Let's start with the simplest version - a rug with pockets. Although it can become the most difficult. It all depends on how you will perform it. You can simply cut out pockets from different fabrics and tune them to the base, and you can create patchwork (patchwork) in every detail, decorate with appliqué or embroidery. Also perfectly look garlands of sewn sapozhkov or mittens, adorned to your taste. And do not forget about the numbers. And the most original will look like a calendar in the form of a toy with a lot of pockets. For example, in the form of a large soft snowman or elegant Christmas tree.

Advent calendar is fast

If you do not have a large amount of time, you will need ready containers or wardrobe items in order to create an Advent calendar. What could it be? Just like it was said above, you can arrange, for example, small metal pails or boxes. You just need to decorate them a little and stick a number. Although now on sale you can easily find the original decorated or zaderkirovannye capacity, which will further simplify your work. The main thing - watch the size, because your surprises should be easy to fit there. Instead of boxes and buckets, you can hang bright socks or mittens. Or even Christmas balls, which are divided into two halves. They can be found in the shops for needlework.

How to fill the waiting calendar

So, the creative process of creation is completed, and now we need to choose the filler that we will invest in our Advent calendar. What could it be? Yes, anything. By tradition, these are cookies or small sweets. But in our time they are often replaced with all sorts of other things, which does not exclude, but rather complements their use. It can be small toys, stickies, stickers, figurines and even mini-designers. It all depends on your child's preferences. You can create a whole fairy tale in a month long. For example, hide somewhere big gift and draw a card with the tasks that the kid must perform. Cut it into 31 pieces or even rip it. Put in pockets every day on a piece of the card so that at the end of the month you and the child can collect it whole and find the main prize. If you do not have children yet, this does not mean that you are deprived of fun. Create a calendar for yourself and your halves and share the days for surprises. And also fill all pockets with interesting tasks or alternatives of general leisure. And then you will not be bored in any of the New Year's Eve.

In general, what to put in the Advent-calendar, you decide. Connect all your imagination and arrange a fairy tale for yourself and your loved ones for at least one month.