Have you ever made a countdown advent calendar for your grandkids?
Some time ago, I was wandering in the Dollar Tree store and came across these boxes.
I was intrigued by them and started loading my cart up. Mind you, and I had no idea what I was going to do with the boxes. However, I knew one day soon the idea would come to me.
Then, like Magic, it came to me!
I knew my daughter’s style was very neutral and a bit Scandinavian for the holidays, so this was going to be perfect.
I researched the history and story of the advent calendar so I could explain this to the children. And here is what I found from the factsite.com
I started with 24 of these boxes, some wood glue, and a package of these little wooden blocks from the Dollar Tree. You will also need clips to hold the boxes together while they dry and the branding tool with number attachments.
First, I separated the inner box from the outer box.
Secondly, I glued the outer boxes together. Glue four rows of six boxes together, let them dry.
Thirdly, I glued the four rows of six boxes together. You can see in the image that I clipped the boxes together after gluing them to help keep them together while they dry.
Lay some heavy books on the top to help keep the boxes together. Unfortunately, these boxes are not all the same size, so there were a few gaps.
Next, I turned the inner boxes around, so the design was on the backside.
Secondly, I glued the small wooden cubes onto the front of the boxes to serve as a handle.
I just eyeballed where to glue these.
Just do your best to glue them all in the same spot.
Now that your boxes are all glued together, it is time to put an outer border on the box.
We purchased pieces of craft poplar hobby wood at home depot that were 3.5 x 3″ long. The color was perfect. We bought four pieces.
You need to trim 1/2″ off of the width of the boards and cut the lengths to fit the box.
Glue the two short sides first.
Secondly, glue the top and the bottom pieces to cover the side pieces.
You can see a gap between the border and the boxes. We used wood filler and filled in all of the gaps. Then, we added the edge because the boxes were not all even, and we wanted a smooth edge.
You have to burnish the numbers one at a time. I just eyeballed the placement of the numbers.
In the end, I was delighted with the results!
Lastly, I filled the boxes with all kinds of goodies for the girls. I used candy, chapstick, money, crafts, and toys.
I know they are just going to love it when I give it to them next week.
Advent does not start until December 1st, so you still have time to get this project done.
XO
Wendy
6 Comments
Great idea Wendy! The girls are gonna love it. ♥️♥️
Thank you Kathy, I just gave it to them today and we will see how it goes. Good luck to Meghan. LOL
Such a sweet project! One I might could actually manage! Catching up on Deck the Hall Hop!
Hi sweet Linda, thank you so much. Yes, this is a very easy one, I am sure you could do it :))))) I need an entire week to catch up on blog reading myself. I hope all is well for you.
I’m loving this Wendy and would love to share it on Saltwater Sounds wrap-up tomorrow over on the blog.
Hi Kim, I am so sorry I am just seeing this message. My server was down for a few days.
Please feel free anytime to share my blog. I appreciate your kindness.
I love this idea and need to jump on the bandwagon myself. There are so many talented bloggers out there
with great ideas.