Personal gifts
Filling the advent calendar yourself – child’s play with these sets
Individual advent calendars to fill are still very popular
© Switlana Symonenko / Getty Images
Advent calendars only get a personal touch when you fill them in yourself. There are practical handicraft sets to package the 24 surprises sensibly and to give them a Christmas look.
The practical thing about self-made Advent calendars is: You decide for yourself how much money you want to spend on the content. In addition, you can consciously tailor the gifts to a person and thus give them a very personal pleasure. But before you do your handicrafts and laboriously pack the 24 surprises, you can save yourself the time and fall back on a ready-made set that contains everything you need to fill an Advent calendar: from the packaging to decorative elements to matching stickers for the number of days.
Creative advent calendar ideas for young and old
1. Felt bags
In this set it includes 24 felt and jute bags that you can reuse every year – for this reason the material is also washable. The shapes, colors and prints vary from one another, so that the advent calendar offers a colorful mix. So that you can mark the individual days, the set also includes 24 stickers that you can attach to the outside of the gifts. The packages are then simply hung on the wall using the cord supplied.
2. Paper boxes
This advent calendar, consisting of 24 small ones, is suitable for small (and large) children Paper boxes with Christmas motifs. The sturdy boxes vary in size and have to be folded up before filling – but you don’t need any tools for this. You can then fill the boxes with toys or small treats and close them again. Since the boxes do not have to be sealed, you can use them again for the next year.
3. Burlap bags
This set with 24 opaque elements is just as sustainable as it is practical Cloth bags: eight blue, eight gray and eight yellow. The size (10 x 14 cm) of the individual bags is always the same, so that the content must always be roughly the same. When the jute bags are full, they can be closed with a cord. The supplied clips and the ten meter long hemp rope are then used to attach the advent calendar. At the end all you have to do is attach the 24 stickers to the bags.
4. Coffee mug
In contrast to normal coffee mugs that you throw in the trash after use, these containers are reusable: The 24 cups can be pasted as you like – everything you need is in this set. There is enough space in the mugs for both small and large surprises, and apart from that, the advent calendar looks great. Coffee lovers in particular should be particularly pleased with this version, but there are also different models for even more choice.
5. Paper bags
For adult in simple design as well as for children In a reindeer look, simple paper bags offer plenty of space for 24 beautiful gift ideas. The natural brown covers are unthreaded, so they do not have a hole, but can be easily set up on their cross base – or you can punch a hole in each bag yourself and then hang it up. After the filled packages have been sealed with the 24 stickers, they can unfortunately not be reused. But the paper is completely biodegradable.
6. Gift box
Instead of buying a pre-filled Advent calendar, you can do this yourself. This practical one is suitable for this Gift box, in which there are 24 compartments that you can equip individually. After you have closed the calendar, its high-quality design makes it look just like it was bought. The desired text, which you can specify in advance and which is then printed on the gift box before you receive it, ensures the personal touch.
7. Cloth advent calendar
If you don’t feel like wrapping each gift individually, this advent calendar is for you made of fabric A practical alternative: You can hide small treats, toys or vouchers in the 24 sewn-on pockets – then you can hang up the calendar using loops. And here, too, the material has the advantage that it can be washed on the one hand and reused for the next year on the other. If this version isn’t Christmas enough for you, there is another one Snowman version.
8. Wooden advent calendar
Of the Nutcracker is a classic for the Christmas season – also in the form of an advent calendar: the 24 numbered drawers offer enough space for filling and can be used anew every year. Thanks to its visually appealing shape, the nutcracker can be used both as a calendar and as a decoration. The only important thing here is that you hide small gifts in it, otherwise the drawers cannot be closed or the contents revealed. You can find other motifs here.
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