DIY Colorful Advent Calendar + Free Activity Printables

INSIDE : How to create a Colorful Drawer Advent Calendar to help you slow down this Christmas holiday!  Included are 30+ Printable holiday advent ideas. Learn how to Make a Painted Wooden Advent Calendar this winter.

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This post has been updated from it’s original publish date of November 2015.

The last few months, I have been actively been working on slowing down come December 1st. Today I am sharing 30+ ideas that will help you slow down and get your mind + heart in the right place for this Christmas season.

And if you love the colorful, modern aesthetic holiday decor trend, you’ll love this DIY colorful inspired advent calendar. It uses bright acrylic paints and a drawer set to create a modern holiday countdown for younger children and teenagers.

What supplies do I need to create a wooden drawer advent calendar?

• Paper Mache Countdown Calendar, 25 Drawers
• Acrylic Paints
• Paint Brush
• White Chalk Paint Marker
• Washi Tape

I am adding lots of cheerful color to my Christmas decor this year, so this was a great opportunity to really add some fun colors! Did you see my Modern Colorful Christmas tree?

Adding paint to a countdown calendar with drawers

Adding painter’s tape

To give your drawer calendar some color, start off by taping the boxes.  I wanted to keep the center section of each box open to write the date, so I lightly put a piece of washi tape on each box.

This is what your calendar will look like when it’s all taped off.

Add paint

I used ten different colors and had a pattern that I followed as I painted.  

After all the paint has dried, remove the tape very gingerly.

Write on the December dates

Using a paint chalk marker, I then wrote out the dates of December ending at Christmas Day in the blank brown line on each box drawer.

Advent Printable Ideas

For the advent portion of this project, I created over 30 different holiday related ideas.  You can download the pdf to print for yourself at the below gray box.

 > > Download my Free Printable Younger Children Advent Activity Slips here, go here. < <

Advent Calendar Ideas for Elementary and Younger Children

I have 30 toddler advent ideas and young elementary aged ideas. You can pick and choose as best fits your family.

Our family will be celebrating Christmas as the birth of Jesus, so we have some days that will be geared towards that, along with some secular fun ideas, too!

I’ve also included visiting Santa, baking cookies for a friend and a few small acts of service.  I think it’s important to try and get the focus off our presents and Santa only… however presents and Santa are an awfully fun part of Christmas, too!

Advent Calendar Ideas for Teens & Older Kids

If you are looking for modern / non-cutesy Advent calendar ideas for teenagers, I have a list of fun ones for them also! Since this drawer calendar countdown is small, it would work well for older kid’s bedrooms.

 > > Download my Free Printable Teen & Older Kids Advent Activity Slips here, go here. < <

Other fun examples for older kids and teenagers are things like filling the drawers with things teens actually like:

• gas money
• skincare samples
• dedicated ‘skip a chore’ coupons
• Starbucks gift cards

The plan is come December 1st, my kids will take turns opening the correct date and during some part of the day, we will do that activity.

What do you put inside a DIY advent calendar?

You can take your advent calendar is so many different directions.

You can use small chocolates, handwritten activity slips (like my free printables above), LEGO pieces, or beauty samples. And if you are wanting to do more activity based ideas, you can fill the drawers with prompts like “Drive to see Christmas lights, Make hot cocoa, Watch ‘Elf’, or Read the Christmas Story.“

What kind of paint works best on wooden advent calendars?

Acrylic craft paint is best for unfinished wood. It dries fast and comes in endless fun and vibrant colors.

Colorful Advent Calendar

Yield: 1 Advent Calendar

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Active Time: 45 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour

Difficulty: Easy

How to create a Colorful Drawer Advent Calendar to help you slow down this Christmas holiday! Included are 30+ Printable holiday advent ideas.

Print

Materials

• Countdown Calendar, 25 Drawers
• Acrylic Paints
• Paint Brush
• White Chalk Paint Marker
• Martha Stewart Stencil Tape

Instructions

1. Remove all the drawers from your advent. Lightly put a piece of tape on each box front, lining it up with the previous tape height. Then, pull each box out and pressed more firmly until all the boxes were covered.
2. Using ten different colors, create a pattern that you can follow as you go. After all the paint has dried, remove the tape very gingerly.
3. Using a paint chalk marker, write out the dates of December.
4. For the advent portion of this project, I created 30 different holiday related ideas. You can download the pdf to print for yourself at the end of this post.
   I have 30 ideas so you can pick and choose as best fits your family.

Did you make this project?

Please leave a comment on the blog or share a photo on Instagram

Learning to slow down at Christmas

Last year, I did too many holiday home tours.  I upped my holiday DIY posts to 4, and sometimes 5 times a week.  I baked cookies.  I read a new Christmas book each night up until the 25th.  I used wrapping paper and ribbons for my gifts.

I hosted my family from out of town for almost a two week spread.  I drove around almost nightly with the kids to see the houses decorated with lights.  I DID way too much.  And by the time it was about December 14th,  I was ready for it to end.  Lesson learned, big time.

This year, I’ve said no to all Christmas home tours.  I am strictly posting my normal 3 times a week.  I still will decorate my house and make it fun.  I still will bake lots of cookies with my kiddos.

But most importantly of all, I am slowing down, enjoying this season of life with my little family and remembering the REAL reason for Christmas.  I am really excited to start up this Advent Calendar.  I think it will be a great way to incorporate fun holiday memories and stay sane at the same time!

Will you be doing an advent?  I’d love to hear all about it in the comments.

Looking for more creative holiday ideas? Check out these…SaveSave