How to make a craft Advent calendar and how to fill it

The best ideas for self-designed, individually filled Advent calendars

Whether for children, a partner, grandparents, friends or colleagues: An Advent calendar makes a great surprise gift for loved ones during the festive season. And if you personally fill the Advent calendar, you will have more creative ideas than just chocolates, because you decide the treats!

How I fill a craft Advent calendar

for my friend?

Ideas for filling an Advent calendar:

  • Vouchers (for cooking, cleaning, a dinner at restaurant, breakfast in bed)
  • Tokens (for time, love, surprises, free ticket, a massage, a trip, a wish, …)
  • Jokes
  • Tea samples
  • Spices, chilli,
  • Cinnamon sticks (rods)
  • Perfume samples and similar
  • Creams
  • Jewellery
  • Raffle tickets
  • Bath bombs
  • Fridge magnet
  • Hobby accessories
  • Collectibles
  • Jigsaw puzzles, photo puzzles
  • Compliments
  • Photo stickers
  • Clay
  • Stamps
  • Small colouring books
  • Colourful pins with glitter or scented
  • Stationery (e.g. shaped rubbers)
  • Model cars
  • Craft materials
  • Drawing templates
  • Patterns
  • Small notepads

 

Customising an Advent calendar

Designing a self-filled Advent calendar allows for creative ideas! Choose your favourite pictures and decorate them with winter and Christmas clip art, or design templates! Some online photo printers offer professionally printed Advent photo calendars for self-filling, too.

 

Example: Photo Advent calendar from cewe

To fill the Advent calendar, a pre-cut insert can be pulled out on one side. Many compact treats fit into an Advent photo calendar. For example: small creams and perfumes or jewellery, hobby accessories, toys, and collectible figures. Messages, puzzles or even handicrafts things can be put into the Advent calendar, too.

 

The Advent Calendar from cewe is made of strong opaline with a satin finish and has the dimensions (WxHxD) 48 x 36 x 3.5 cm. The little doors and boxes are of varying sizes:

Day High, cm Wide, cm Deep, cm
1 5.5 5.8 3.5
2 5.5 5.8 3.5
3 5.5 5.8 3.5
4 5.5 5.8 3.5
5 5.5 5.8 3.5
6 5.5 13.5 3.5
7 8.2 5.8 3.5
8 7.2 5.7 3.5
9 7 5.8 3.5
10 5.5 5.8 3.5
11 5.5 5.8 3.5
12 7.0 5.7 3.5
13 5.5 5.8 3.5
14 5.5 5.8 3.5
15 5.5 5.8 3.5
16 5.5 5.8 3.5
17 5.5 5.8 3.5
18 5.5 5.8 3.5
19 5.5 5.8 3.5
20 5.5 5.8 3.5
21 5.5 5.8 3.5
22 6.6 5.7 3.5
23 6.5 5.7 3.5
Christmas day 10 13.5 3.5
Overall dimensions 36 48 3.5

 

If you take a little time to design a custom Advent calendar and select 24 little surprises for your loved one, they will be treated to a very happy Advent time.