These homemade Advent calendars for grown-ups will put you in the proper Christmas mood

An Advent calendar isn't only something little kids are enjoying! I'm in my thirties and still love having an advent calendar every year. *giggle* I think everyone can say of themselves that they would be delighted to be given a gift in the form of an Advent calendar. Am I right?

So, in my opinion: Everyone should have their Advent calendar. 😊

Even when I was single, I managed to surprise myself with an ordered one. Now my hubby took over this task, astonishing me, every year anew.

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• Types
• Pre-made
• DIY
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Types

First of all, you have to decide whether you want to buy a pre-made Advent calendar for yourself or your partner or whether you would prefer to design one by yourself?

Pros and Cons

The significant advantage 👍 of a pre-made Advent calendar is that you can surprise yourself with it. At least a little bit more than if you make one for yourself. 😀

The significant disadvantage 👎 of a pre-made Advent calendar is that you can't be that individual. Hence, you can’t satisfy the “Advent calendar opener” wishes and needs so well.

The most evident advantage 👍 of the self-made Advent calendars is that they can be individually designed, both in content and design. Here you can give free rein to your creativity and delight the presentee with customized gifts. Isn't that great?

The only drawback 👎 I see in the DIY Advent calendar is that it is more work and time-consuming. But at the same time, it can be very relaxing and mind-clearing.

Pre-made

Let's assume you are a busy person, or single (and want to surprise yourself), or don't like to tinker. Then the pre-made Advent calendar might be your thing. 😉

Let's rummage through the wealth of possibilities and find one fantastic pre-made Advent calendar for you! Shall we?

• The Glossybox Advent Calendar
• Godiva Advent Calendar
• Beer
• Superhero
• Beard Oil
• Whiskey
• Body Shop
• Craft Beer

Find a dedicated blog post on the topic of 25 ready-made Advent calendars here.

DIY

• Craft Beer, Gin, Whiskey
• Chocolate and Sweets of any kind
• Belgian Chocolate
• Beard Oil
• Coupons
• Scratchcards
• Photos
• Scented candles
• etc.

What is also an option as an idea for Advent calendar filling is that you get yourself one of the above-mentioned pre-made Advent calendars. They already contain 24 gifts, but you wrap them according to your taste. Sometimes the packaging of the pre-made Advent calendars is not so lovely to look at. But if the content fits, there is nothing to stop you from repackaging it or maybe adding another little something.

With the DIY Advent calendars, there are gradations of how sophisticated you want it to be. For example, there is a version that you only have to fill, so you only have to find the right gifts.

The "Fill your own Advent calendar" is a convenient option since it's personal but not that time-consuming. 

I would like to give you some examples of an Advent calendar to fill

• Wooden Train Advent Calendar
• Wooden Gingerbread House Advent Calendar
• Garland with big Advent Calendar Sacks
• Wooden Santa Chimney Advent Calendar with drawers

These three options are fantastic for small gifts that you want to give away and ideal for gifts like candy, tea candles, tea bags, chocolates, gummy candy, and stuff like that. 

More effort is required for DIY Advent calendars, which must be assembled first

• Disposable Coffee Cups Advent Calendar
• Paper Bags Advent Calendar
• Organza Bags Advent Calendar
• Jute Bags Advent Calendar

I wanna give you an impression of different DIY Advent calendars I made myself or got from my hubby.

"The little Christmas tree Advent calendar"

This little Christmas tree Advent calendar was hung with numbered jute bags. Inside the bags, I found gummy candies and scratch cards.

What do you need to make such an advent calendar?

• A synthetic Christmas tree
• 24 jute bags (cloth and organza will work fine as well)
• little gifts of your liking

Pretty neat and not that difficult to make at all! 🙂

“Glass bowl Advent calendar with little gifts wrapped in wrapping paper”

This specific one was the first Advent Calendar I've made for my hubby. And he got a similar one last year again.

This year I wrapped the gifts for him exclusively in wrapping paper and decorated them with ribbons. On the very first Advent calendar for my husband, the gift-wrapped goodies were tucked away in organza bags. Using those adds a lovely shimmer and provides a bit more of an elegant look. Due to COVID, I couldn't buy new organza bags in time this year because all the stores were closed, so my only option was to use wrapping paper.

Either way, it was a pleasure for him. 🤗

What do you need to make such an advent calendar?

• A Glass bowl (size of your liking)
• 24 multicolored organza bags (optional)
• 24 mini clothespins with numbers
• Chocolates and sweets as filling (if the sweets are loose, use tinfoil before wrapping them up to avoid a chocolate mess :D)
• Christmas wrapping paper

I used the wrapping paper to pack up the chocolate before putting it into the organza bag. Thus, one does not see the sweet contents at first sight through the Organza bag. After wrapping every sweet filling up and adding it into the organza bag, pin each bag with a Christmas mini clothespin and put them afterward into the glass bowl.

"DIY Holiday 4 Pieces Gift Box Advent calendar"

An Advent calendar does not always have to be a collection of 24 gifts. If you would instead give away four larger gifts, one for each Sunday in Advent, the "DIY Holiday gift box Advent calendar" is best suited for this.

This one was the first Advent calendar I've got from my hubby, generously filled with different tea light holders from "Party light." Since I'm a decoration geek, this was the PERFECT gift for me, and it's an excellent idea for a non-candy Advent calendar! I loved it!

What do you need to make such an Advent calendar?

• Four gift boxes (size depends on what you wanna gift away)
• Four numbers so the recipient knows which one to open when
• Four gifts

Super easy and delightful at the same time. 

"DIY Disposable Coffee Cups Advent calendar"

To be honest, this Advent calendar was a little nerve-wracking! 😀 In the end, it looked really cool, and my husband liked it too. But the crafting itself wasn't quite as enjoyable. In this case, the gifts were a mixture of gummy sweets, chocolate, and beard care utensils, I wrapped with wrapping paper and/or aluminum foil. That was no problem at all.

But then,… Now it was time to decorate these coffee cups! That has really taken a lot of time because the self-adhesive gift ribbon would not stick neatly. With tape and super glue as a band-aid, I finally managed it. But it was a really tedious undertaking!

If you want to try this kind of Advent calendar for your sweetheart, make sure you buy cups that are not coated on the outside. To save you the trouble I had.

Fortunately, there are many types of such cups, and you will indeed find the right one.

I hope you enjoyed my advent calendar ideas and that you will find the right advent calendar for you or your loved one that will put you in the proper Christmas mood!

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