Advent Calendar Tutorial and Pattern

Every Christmas season I remember as a kid included family devotions each night around the dinning room table. They revolved around a felt Christmas tree and a devotional book that is now out of print. The simplicity of each lesson must have hit home for me as a kid, because the Bible verses we memorized are still engraved in my mind. We LOVED taking turns selecting the corresponding ornament each night and placing it on the tree. A friend of mine reminded me of this book, just the other day, when she said my dad had recommended it to her. Sadly, the book is out of print, but can still be purchased used on Amazon. Buy it here: Family Celebrations: Meeting Christ in Your Holidays and Special Occasions.

*Update! I just discovered an updated version of Ann Hibbards book which can be found here: Celebrating Advent: Devotions and Activities for the Christmas Season This new book includes 2 full seasons of devotions, as well as added discussion questions and further study of older children and adults. Looks good to me!

The original book includes family activities and devotionals for many holidays throughout the year. I spent some time adapting the material they provide for Christmas devotions, and condensed it into one file that includes everything you'll need to start your own advent tradition.
 
Download my FREE adaptation of the nightly devotional here:

Advent Tree Family Devotions

*This download also includes a printable version of the ornaments that correspond with each night's theme, as well as a template for a felt Christmas tree.

DIRECTIONS:

This is the no-sew, fast and easy version!!

For my tree, I cut a 40" x 20" white felt background. I folded the top over 3" and hot glued it in place so a stick could be slid through for hanging purposes. I cut 2.5" x 2.5" squares in various colors of felt for each ornament's pocket. The ornaments are printable images, mounted on colored foam from the dollar store. I hot glued these in place with a piece of string between the image and the foam. If I had tons of extra time, I would have used embroidery thread to add detail to the tree and to number each pocket. I was lazy and in a hurry, so I used squeezable fabric paint. Worked like a charm! I even hot glued the buttons on, being careful to use only a tiny bit in the center so the ornaments would be able to hang from them. I got started on this project a little late this year, but thought I would finish it and be ahead of the game next year!

25 DIY Christmas Ornaments

Get into the Christmas spirit by making some fun ornaments! These ideas are inexpensive and completely within reason for any skill level to master. Find lots of ideas like the ones pictured here on the left, by checking out the Handmade Holidays Collection here.

Make these adorable cupcake ornaments using Dollar Store. materials. Find the tutorial here

This idea for some adorable little felt snowmen comes from 

the Handmade Holidays Collection found here

Cute upcycled snowman ornaments using old light bulbs! 

View the tutorial here

Find the recipe for Cinnamon dough ornaments here

An adorable idea for a baby's first Christmas. Buy this ornament on Etsy, 

or grab a plain glass ornament and get crafty with some paint and glitter

Classic salt dough ornaments are fun and easy to make! 

Find the recipe and ideas here

Super cool Charlie Brown felt ornaments! Find them here

A beautiful way to preserve Christmas memories each year. 

This idea for a Christmas time capsule can be found here

This idea for cookie cutter ornaments comes from Martha Stewart

A trendy twist on the traditional salt dough ornaments! Tutorial found here

Add some sparkle to your cinnamon dough ornaments like the ones seen here

These pretty ornaments are wrapped in burlap and tied with lace and twine. 

This picture was found here

These scalloped ornaments are super cute and you could buy them from 

The Land of Nod, or you could get creative with a paint pen or colored sharpie!

Any little boy would love to hang these superhero ornaments on their tree! Find the tutorial for them here

These paper ornaments were originally from Martha Stewart. 

Find the template idea for them here

These beautiful ornaments are created by wrapping plain ornaments 

in newspaper and glitter! Find the tutorial here

Thumbprint ornaments found here

Create a smart and funny "melted snowman" ornament like the one found here 

by filling a clear glass ornament with kosher salt, peppercorn and an orange paper cone!

Make a Santa hand print ornament like the one found here 

by using a salt dough recipe like the one found here

These cute macaroni snowflakes would be really fun for kids to make, 

and look great on any tree! Find the instructions here

These burlap bows would look stunning on a tree! Originally found here, 

create them using burlap and crystal embellishments.

These felt ornaments are cute and funny! Found here

Find the tutorial for this cute button wreath at Martha Sewart's web site

This adorable nativity craft can be found here.  

Add a string or hook to the back to turn it into an ornament!

Buy this snowball ornament from Oriental Trading or, 

make it yourself by covering an ornament in glue 

and dipping in epson salt. Add glitter for extra sparkle!

We're linked with 

Craft-O-Maniac

I Love Felt!

These were super simple and super fun to make.

I started by simply tracing the pattern of an old stocking onto some felt, cut them out and sewed the edges with contrasting thread. I did a really quick, sloppy job of embroidering the names on and added some edging for a little extra detail.