Advent calendar: make one online, or fill one at home

What is an advent calendar?

A window, a pouch or a little box for each day from December 1 to Christmas Eve: 24 in all. Behind each one, something small – a treat, a note, a task for the day. A homemade one is a few bags or boxes, a string and numbers on them.

24 advent calendar ideas

Mix them: a few treats, a few small things, coupons for time together and tasks for the day. Nothing has to be expensive.

1. A clementine. Peel it on the sofa and the whole room smells of Christmas.
2. A gingerbread cookie. Homemade if you can, icing optional.
3. Warm socks. Fluffy, striped or with reindeer – for the coldest morning.
4. A coupon for baking cookies together. An afternoon in the kitchen, flour everywhere.
5. A handwritten note. Three things you like about them. Costs nothing, kept for years.
6. Hot chocolate mix. One packet, a few mini marshmallows on top.
7. A candy cane. Hang it on the tree or stir it into a hot cocoa.
8. A tiny ornament. It goes back on the tree every year.
9. A lip balm. Winter wind does its worst; this helps.
10. A riddle. The answer is behind tomorrow's window.
11. A coupon for a movie night. Whoever opens the calendar picks the movie; the popcorn comes with it.
12. A photo of the two of you. Printed small, with the date on the back.
13. A task: call your grandparents. Or anyone you haven't talked to in a while.
14. A tealight. Small, cheap, and the evening slows down.
15. A mini puzzle. Fifty pieces, one evening.
16. A coupon for a winter walk. A thermos, a scarf and an hour together.
17. Stickers. For a laptop, a notebook or the fridge.
18. Chocolate coins. A small fortune in gold foil.
19. A recipe card. The family's best Christmas recipe, written by hand.
20. A task: send a Christmas card. The card and the stamp are in the window too.
21. Gloves. Plain, warm, in a favorite color.
22. A bag of winter tea. Cinnamon or orange, for one quiet evening.
23. A coupon for decorating the tree together. With music, cocoa and the old ornaments.
24. A terrible joke. Written on a slip of paper. The worse, the better.

An advent calendar exchange

Instead of one gift, everyone makes one calendar for one person: santa.haus draws who makes it for whom, and each person fills 24 little surprises.

The draw needs at least 3 people. Just the two of you? Make calendars for each other, no draw needed.

1. Start a list on santa.haus and send the link to everyone who takes part.
2. Agree on an amount for the whole calendar, not for each window. How much to spend?
3. Everyone writes their wishes in their letter to Santa – up to 500 characters: what they love, what they can't eat, what they have too much of. A letter can still be changed for 2 minutes after it is saved.
4. Draw by mid-November at the latest, so there is time to shop and wrap. Pairs who shouldn't draw each other – a couple, say – are set before the draw: Exclusions: who and how many.
5. Hand the calendars over by November 30, so the first window opens on December 1.

Numbers to print

Print the sheet, cut out the numbers and stick them on the bags, boxes or envelopes – one for each day.

Also useful

• Printable Secret Santa gift tags
• Secret Santa budget: how much to spend?
• How many days until Christmas?
• Elf name generator: what’s your Christmas elf name?
• Reindeer name generator: what’s your Christmas reindeer name?
• Christmas tree calculator: how many lights and baubles?
• Write a letter to Santa online
• Christmas countdown paper chain printable – a task for every day

Sign the calendar with an elf name instead of yours: What’s your elf name?

An elf in the house? Elf on the shelf ideas for every day of December.