Advent Calendar

This year I was inspired by one of my favorite blogs to create an Advent calendar for the kids. I wanted it to be easy, functional and reusable every year. I found this wooden frame with chicken wire at a craft fair when we visited Apple Hill last month. I love how rustic it looks and I have some ideas of how I want to use it, but I thought it would be perfect for an Advent calendar.

Shabby chic

I went to my standby website Etsy and found these adorable linen drawstring bags that are stamped with christmas trees and bells, and numbers 1-24, from the store Crafty Clementines. I also got the clothespins there. These bags are probably a super easy DIY project, but let's face it, I just don't have the time! 

Simple and cute

And voila! It took just minutes to clip the bags on. I haven't filled them yet, but I've got about 7 items so far, and I also plan to put pieces of paper in some of the bag that have a fun holiday activity to do. For example I'll put slips of paper that say "listen to Christmas music" or "look at Christmas lights in the neighborhood".  I wanted the Advent calendar to get us all in the holiday spirit and I didn't want it to be only about material things.

Happy holidays everyone!