Reusable advent calendar

Nothing beats the excitement of counting down the days, or minutes, to the big celebration.

Materials:

• 1 piece of foamcore board or stiff cardboard, about 20” by 30”
• 24 painted or decorated clothes pins
• 24 mini paper bags
• poster paint
• white glue
• seasonal stickers, wrapping paper or old greeting cards (optional)
• letter and number stencil (optional)

Directions:

1. Equally space and place 24 decorated clothes pins on the board, leaving room between each to allow the mini bags to lay flat when clipped in place by a pin.

2. Once you have each pin in position, mark and glue one flat side of the clothes pins to the board.

3. Stencil or paint a number from 1 to 24 on the front of each bag and decorate each with a sticker, or a cutout from wrapping paper or old greeting card.

4. Put a secret treasure inside each bag and clip in place on your calendar board. (We put the baggies in numerical order but you can place them randomly around the board to a make the search for each day’s treat more of a challenge.)

5. Pack your calendar safely away – minus the treats of course – after the holidays and use it again next year!

Originally published in ParentsCanada magazine, December 2014.