With Christmas approaching so quickly, I decided to stay in the Jesus spirit this month by celebrating with an advent calendar that I made for the girls. The purpose of this advent calendar is to share the story of Jesus’ birth, as we read through chosen scriptures each day. For the basic construction of the calendar, I chose to use scraps of Christmas fabric that I already had; but get creative and make your own unique representation, using any type of media you enjoy.

Materials:

  • Felt, approximately 12 inches by 18 inches
  • 2 pieces of fabric (matching or coordinating), slightly bigger than the felt
  • Scraps of fabric for pockets
  • Embellishments for pockets
  • Coordinating ribbon

Directions:

  1. Cut out two pieces of fabric 13×19 inches (just slightly bigger than your piece of felt).
  2. Cut out 24 small squares and arrange them in a pattern. Pin these to one of the pieces of fabric right side up. I made my squares 1-inch each and they fit perfectly in 6 rows of 4 on my calendar. You may also create a random pattern.
  3. Sew both sides and the bottom of each square, leaving the top open, to create 24 small pockets.
  4. I used the embroidery embellishment on my machine to create numbers on each pocket but you can use patches, stickers, fabric markers, puffy paint etc. to label each pocket (1 through 24). If you want to make a 25th pocket for Christmas morning, you are welcome to.
  5. I also decorated my pockets with ribbon and ricrac embellishment along the tops.
  6. Now, once all pockets are sewn on in a random or numeric order, place both pieces of fabric right sides together and sew both sides and bottom, using a 1/2-inch border.
  7. Turn fabrics right side out and place felt in pocket. Turn top (open) edges in 1/2-inch and pin and sew together, encasing the felt in between the two pieces of fabric.
  8. Sew some ribbon in a loop to the top of your advent calendar.
  9. Now fill with scriptures and candy and have fun with your kids, teaching them the story of Christmas!