I told him to pull something out of the pockets, and he went straight for Day 23!
He told me it said “Good morning Gabriel one two six.” Not exactly, but close enough;)
Did you have an advent calendar growing up? We had an ornament one that we would re-stuff with the same ornaments every year just for the fun of opening those doors each day. My mom had a Jesse tree for us as well. I wanted to continue the advent countdown with my family so I actually made this advent calendar a few years ago. This is the first year little Gabriel really understands what Christmas is (“a big birthday party for Jesus”), so Gabe and I are looking forward to introducing him to all the wonder Christmas can bring. I filled these pockets with sweets and a daily gospel passage. By Christmas Eve, the whole nativity story will be read. Its a simple way of keeping the advent focus of preparing for the best day of the year! (Advent actually means coming in Latin, so its a whole four weeks to prepare for the “coming” of the King.) I hope he comes to love this tradition.
Supplies:
Burlap Fabric (28 in. wide x 44 in. long folded in half)
Red cardstock or linen paper
Circle or scallop punch
Hole punch
Wooden rod (3 ft.)
Ribbon
Gold ink (optional)
Instructions:
1) Fold your burlap in half and spread your pockets evenly across in rows.
2) Hot glue the sacks on the back edges (place paper or something inside so it doesn’t glue top) to fabric.
3) Punch the red paper with a shape you like, and add number stamps (or hand draw).
4. Hole punch the scallop circles and loop through and tie to each bag in sequence.
5. Decorate your muslin bags. I used the end of a pencil and carved a triangle to stamp gold patterns.
6. Place calendar over wooden rod, tie ribbon on each end and hang wherever you like!
7. Fill with surprises of your choice. If you would like to use the daily gospel readings, I made a printable sheet you can download for free here.
Do you have a fun advent calendar post you want to share? Leave the link:)
Hope you all have a happy advent season!
Love, Anna
