Advent Calendar- First Steps

I've started working on an Advent Calendar for my son. And yes I did start at a random number in the middle of the month. To start I'm using:

• paper lunch bags
• old wrapping paper
• glue sticks
• glitter glue
• gift tag stickers
• scissors

Right now I'm just decorating the bags with the dates.


14 and 11 have numbers cut out of wrapping paper. I glued them down and them outlined with glitter glue. Tip: I drew the numbers on the back of the paper before trying to cut. And remember to draw them backwards.

For 10 and 12 I cut wrapping paper the same length as the bags, but about 1" wider on either side of the width. First glue just the front of the bag to the center of the paper. Then open up one side at a time and glue down the extended wrapping paper. This gives a neat, gift wrapped appearance.


You can decorate them however you like. As simply as writing the numbers with markers or glitter. Or make each one a complete, unique scrapbook page. Latter on I'll probably pull out some ribbons, buttons, colored pencils, etc, and see what else I come up with. Just be sure to leave  the top four or five inches mostly clear of decoration, so that they can be folded over and clothes pinned.


The plan is to fill them with candies, dollar store toys, small hand made gifts, tree ornaments, or an activity for the day. My only limits on contents are the size of the bags and that they be light weight enough to be hung with clothes pins on a garland of some kind.


Day 24 will probably need to be a larger gift bag, since that day is going to be the Christmas Jammies. And at the end of the line I'll hang his stocking.


I'm hoping that if I only try to get a few of the bags done at a time, I might it completed by December 1st. Baby steps, baby steps.