In this post, you will see how to make A DIY Advent calendar (+ 10 countdown ideas) you can make at home; the holiday season is approaching!

It’s time to prepare your Christmas decor and gifts for your friends and family.

And there is nothing that gets you into the Christmas mood like a good Christmas countdown calendar.

Plus, it can be an excellent gift for a friend or a family member who loves Christmas—especially if you make a handmade advent calendar with a personal touch.

Every day of Advent, you open a fun surprise gift (a sweet treat, a little note, or a small item) and enjoy the countdown to Christmas.

What Is An Advent Calendar?

An advent calendar is a holiday tradition that counts down the days until Christmas.

The Advent season is often counted as 24 days (from December 1st to December 24th) or sometimes 13 days (from December 12th until Christmas Eve).

Every passing day, you open one compartment, pocket, bag, or “little door” to reveal a daily surprise.

Nowadays, most brands (especially beauty advent calendar brands) sell advent calendars filled with travel-size and full-size products.

And of course, many people still love a traditional chocolate advent calendar with little doors and a chocolate treat inside!

Traditional vs. modern Advent calendars (quick ideas)

If you’re choosing a calendar style, here are a few popular options:

Traditional chocolate advent calendars: classic little doors and chocolates (or chocolate coins).
Beauty advent calendars: skincare, makeup, fragrance minis, and pampering treats.
Reusable advent calendars: fabric pockets, mini stockings, boxes, envelopes, or bags you refill every year.
Handmade advent calendars: a DIY you personalize with numbers, notes, small gifts, and crafts.

Reusable and handmade options are especially fun because you can bring them back year after year and create a family tradition.

Homemade Advent Calendars (Why They’re Worth It)

If you love crafts, you can make your own Advent calendar and awaken the Christmas spirit.

Plus, most reusable advent calendars can be used again next year (and year after year), creating a fun Christmas tradition.

You can also make your own and kickstart your Christmas festivities this year with a DIY hanging advent calendar.

All you need are a few craft supplies and some crochet knowledge to make the decorations for the gift bags—although you can absolutely use store-bought decorations too.

Advent calendar filler ideas (cheap + easy)

Need ideas for what to put inside? Here are Advent calendar fillers that work for kids, adults, friends, and family:

Sweet treats: candies, chocolate coins, mini cookies, hot chocolate packets
Beauty minis: lip balm, face masks, nail polish
Paper goodies: Christmas cards, mini notes, “open when” messages, coupons
Tiny gifts: gift cards, keyrings, mini ornaments, cookie cutters, temporary tattoos
Activities: puzzle pieces, scavenger hunt clues, a Christmas story prompt, a festive task for the next day

These are perfect if you’re building a Christmas advent calendar that feels fun without costing a fortune.

Easy number ideas (tags, stickers, washi tape + more)

Numbering your calendar doesn’t have to be fancy.

Try: number stickers, printable number tags, washi tape + marker, sticky notes, numbered napkins or paper labels, a simple glue stick + paper circles

You can even do a “random order” style if you want the surprise to feel extra unpredictable!

Advent calendars for kids (little kids + older kids)

If you’re making an advent calendar for kids, you can tailor the surprises by age:

For little kids: stickers, tiny toys, sweet treats, simple crafts, mini ornaments

For older kids: puzzle pieces, small games, “daily surprise” activity cards, joke prompts, small gift cards, voice messages/QR codes to a family video.

This can turn into a really fun family activity during the time of year when everyone is busy but still wants those cozy festive moments.

Make Your Own Advent Calendar For The Holiday Season

Like most people, we love a good countdown to Christmas Day, and making an advent calendar is a great way to celebrate each day of the season.

I make one every year for my husband, looking for small gifts and sweet treats to put in each gift bag.

Perfect advent calendar fillers can be small items like gift cards, Christmas cards, a yummy treat, lip balm, face masks, nail polish, temporary tattoos, hot chocolate packets, cookie cutters, puzzle pieces, and more small, inexpensive gifts.

Christmas isn’t Christmas without an Advent calendar, and the one below is the perfect festive addition to your home.

This year, the bags have been decorated with mini pom poms, mini crochet Christmas trees, crochet stars, and mini crochet Santa hats.

10 Advent Calendar Ideas To Make

If you are looking for more unique advent calendar ideas to add some of the magic of Christmas to your home decor or for a holiday gift for friends and family, take a look at this list below, and you might find your next Christmas project.

Crochet Modern Advent Calendar by My Poppet Makes – A stylish handmade advent calendar with a modern look—great for minimalist Christmas decor.

Knitted Mini Christmas Stockings by Little Cotton Rabbits – Mini stockings are perfect for small gifts and sweet treats, and they’re reusable every year.

Little Christmas Socks by Le Monde De Sucrette – Another adorable stocking-style option—great if you want a soft spot for tiny knitted details.

Christmas Advent Wreath Calendar by Gathered. How – Combines a wreath with daily surprises—such a festive Christmas decoration idea.

Crocheted Stocking Advent Calendar by 5 Little Monsters – A crochet stocking calendar that feels classic, cozy, and very “countdown to Christmas.”

Advent Calendar Gift Pockets Free Knitting Pattern by See Love Share it – Handy pockets are ideal if you want your Advent calendar to be practical and tidy.

Caron Countdown To Christmas Crochet Advent Calendar by Yarnspirations – A great big project that looks amazing on the wall and feels extra special.

Christmas Tree Advent Calendar by LoveCrafts – A tree-shaped countdown calendar is a fun idea for kids and a cute holiday craft.

Smitten A Holiday Garland by Emily Ivey – A garland calendar is brilliant if you want a reusable advent calendar you can hang anywhere.

Advent Stars Knitting Pattern by Frankie Brown – Stars make such a sweet countdown display, especially if you like a subtle festive vibe.

How To Make Your Own Hanging Advent Calendar

I started by making all of the little Christmas decorations for the bags, making 6 of each.

I then filled the bags with goodies and tied them closed, ready to be attached to the wreath.
The numbers I used for the bags were from Wonen Voor Jou – a free printable that was super easy to print out and use.
I made mini crochet Christmas trees to hang with small wooden cut-out Christmas decorations.
I bought the little wooden circles from a local craft shop.
They feature cutouts of trees, reindeer, and snowflakes.
I also added mini crochet stars to some of the bags.
Made from twine and red and white string, they have a rustic vibe.
I also made mini crochet Santa hats that were attached to the bags by threading twine through the top.

advent calendar with a wooden wreath decoration

What You Need

The Christmas calendar was made with a few simple supplies that I had in the house and others that I collected from a local craft store, which included;

A wooden wreath
Brown paper bags
Mini wooden pegs
Twine
Red and white striped string
Wire
A hole punch
Little wooden decorations
Small pom maker / Clover 3/4 inch
Lights – with battery

I also used some greenery from outside to add to the wreath for a festive look.

advent calendar with wreath and paper bags

Adding Greenery To the Wreath

I also attached the greenery onto the wreath using wire – as you can see in the photo above.

Just a couple of pieces of wire – to keep the wreath in place will do, the wire is for jewelry making, and I had it left over from another wreath project.
The wreath looks good on its own, or to be even more festive, you could add little lights.
I added some battery-operated lights, and they look really festive!

I had so much fun making this advent calendar and I think you will too!

If you don’t want to make the crochet Christmas decorations that hang on the bags you could always replace them with store-bought decorations or if you have any leftovers from your tree.

Take a look at the how-to below and see what you need to get started.

Yield: Advent Calendar

DIY Advent Calendar

Make an advent calendar this year with a handmade vibe, featuring crochet decorations and pom poms on every gift bag.

Active Time 4 hours

Total Time 4 hours

Difficulty Easy/beginner

Estimated Cost $20

Materials

A wooden wreath
Brown paper bags
Mini wooden pegs
Little wooden decorations
Twine
Red and white striped string
Any light (03) yarn in the following colours;
Red
White
Green
Brown

Tools

A hole punch
Small pom maker - Clover 3/4 inch
Lights - with battery
Greenery from the garden - for the wreath
Wire
Crochet hook size 4mm (US G/6)
Scissors
Darning needle
Tape measure

Instructions

Mini Crochet Christmas Tree (Make 6)

With green yarn and the 4mm (US G/6) hook
Ch 8, plus 1, turn,
8 sc
At the end of row 2 (turning) ch, turn and then sc in the second stitch of the hook
Rep until you get to the top of the tree.

Tree Trunk

In brown yarn
Skip 2 ch, then sc into the next 4 sts
Ch 1, turn,
Sc into the 4 sts,
Cut yarn and secure.

Crochet Stars (Make 6 in twine and 6 in red and white string)

With twine and the 4mm (US G/6) hook
Ch 3
Hdc 9 into the first ch. Join with a sl st.
Ch 3, sl st into 2nd ch from hook, hdc into next ch.
Sk next st in the circle, sl st into the next st, this forms a star peak.
Rep this step above, until you have 5 peaks.
The last sl st will be worked in the beginning st.
Rep these steps for 6 stars in red and white string.

Mini Crochet Santa Hat Pattern

In red yarn and the 4mm (US G/6) hook
Ch 2, 6 sc in 2nd ch from hook
2 sc in each st around
*sc in the next 5 sts, 2 sc in next st* rep from * to * twice
Sc in the next 2 sts, *2 sc in next st, sc in next 2 sts* rep from * to * until the end of the round.
Rnd 5-10 - sc in each st around
Change to white yarn - sc in each st for 2 rounds.
Cut yarn and secure. Weave in any loose ends.
Add a white pom pom to the top of the Santa hat.

Mini Pom Poms

With red, white and green yarn - make 6 sets of 3 mini poms in each colour.
Trim each one and tie three colours together with the red and white string, ready to be threaded onto a gift bag.

Making The Advent Calendar

Start by making the crochet decorations/pom poms if you are using them.
Put the treats into the gift bags and punch a hole in one corner, then thread a decoration through the hole and tie. This should keep the bag closed. If not, you may need to add a little tape.
Repeat the step above until you have all 24 gift bags filled and ready
Add the decorations, by threading twine if needed through and then knotting into place. (You should have 6 sets of each decoration).
Print out the numbers and cut them out, attach to each bag using a mini wooden peg.
Attach a length of twine to the wooden wreath and hang it - then you can start attaching the bags.
Punch a hole in the top of the bag and cut a length of string - feed it through the hold and tie to the wreath.
Repeat the step above until you have about 6 bags hanging from the wreath.
Then start to hang more bags from each of the bags already tied to the wreath.
The bags are tied together, hanging down from each other, overlapping.
Repeat this until you have all of the bags attached and displayed how you want them to be.
Add greenery to the top of the wreath, by cutting some wire and wrapping it around the greenery twice (or as many times as needed).
If you want to add lights - wrap the lights into the greenery and hide the battery pack at the back of the wreath.
Hang on the wall and enjoy opening each bag with your loved ones every day throughout December!

Notes

If you want to use store-bought decorations or leftovers from your tree, they will be fine to use!

The pattern is written using US crochet terms and abbreviations.

You can find a free PDF of both US and UK terms and abbreviations here. - Crochet Abbreviations And Terms (US + UK)

Recommended Products

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Advent Calendar FAQs

When do you start an Advent calendar?

Most people start on December 1st, opening one daily surprise each day until Christmas Eve (or Christmas Day, depending on the calendar).

How many days is Advent?

Many Advent calendars have 24 little doors (December 1–24). Some count from December 12th, and others include Christmas Day too.

What do you put in an Advent calendar?

Popular advent calendar fillers include candies, hot chocolate packets, small gifts, stickers for kids, beauty minis, and little notes.

Are reusable Advent calendars worth it?

Yes—reusable advent calendars are great because you can refill them every year and create a tradition with a personal touch.

What’s a good Advent calendar idea for kids?

For little kids, go with stickers and sweet treats. For older kids, add activity cards, puzzle pieces, mini games, or a small Christmas book moment.

More Christmas Free Crochet Patterns

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Tag me @handylittleme.

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Make A DIY Advent Calender (+ 10 Countdown Ideas)