How to make an advent tree calendar
I saw this super cute idea over at ikat bag to make paper cone trees for an advent calendar.
I had been thinking of making an advent calendar and there are so many fun ideas out there it was hard to decide what to make. I thought this one was really fun.
I found a bunch of green scrapbook paper with different patterns. I traced a big bowl for a circle and then cut the circle in 3 (not an easy thing to figure out and of course when I looked back at the post she used 1/4 circle - much easier) Once I figured it out I traced on the other circles and cut out a few at a time.I got Lilo to write the numbers 1 to 25 on the triangles since she is loving practicing writing.
Then I gathered a bunch of fun things to decorate with, after a trip to a dollar store I had: jewels, holiday sequins, glittery mini pompoms, glitter glue, stickers, star sequins and big star jewels for the tops of some trees.
While Isla was napping, Lilo and I decorated. Isla did colour one of them when she woke up.
After they were dry I rolled and glued or taped them. This was also a pain. The original made a tab seam allowance to fold over. I tried snipping the tip and folding but anyway I tried it was hard to get them to stay together. So at the end I just used tape on the outside - you can’t see it when they are up on the mantel.
So everyday I will put a treat under the tree. So far I’ve put chocolates, lolly pops and yesterday holiday erasers. I’m also thinking that some days will be activities like, write Santa a letter, make cookies, buy a Christmas tree - so I’ve decided to not put things under until the day of. Also I don’t really trust Lilo not to peak and I don’t trust the cats not to jump up and knock them all down.And yes, we have a tv in our fireplace.
Vone, thanks for inviting me to come see - I really, really like how your trees turned out! I love the shades of green you used -much better than the ones I used! I wish I had a mantel for mine. Ours are glued on a big piece of cardboard so the girls do have some trouble pulling them off to peek underneath. I drew out a calendar of Dec, and planned on it what to put under each tree before actually filling the trees: this way I knew beforehand what activity (if we had any) might work on a particular day. For instance, I put crafts on days like Saturday or days when E doesn't have school. And I can also refer back to the calendar if I forget what's under a tree on a particular day. It is a GREAT idea to fill each tree the day before - smart! Vone - 1, Cats - 0.
Vone, they're so cute!! You did an awesome job. Love 'em!! What a fun idea for an advent calendar (LiEr rocks).
LiEr - funny that you would say you like my paper better. I was wishing I had brighter paper like you
My problem with putting something under the day of is that I haven't planned anything out. So I seem to be grabbing something from their forgotten Halloween bag and sticking it underneath.
This is a great idea, I will be stealing it in a few years. L.