Countdown to the holidays + free printables

Countdown calendars are a fun holiday tradition. Pinterest is a great source for finding creative and interesting calendar ideas and it's easy to make your own using our packaging products and a little imagination. We'll help you get started with some project inspiration of our own and a few free printables.

Advent calendars are not just for small children. Even grown up "kids" love to open a treat each day, so give them a box of "countdown chocolates" and watch them smile. Download the printables for these chocolate wrappers and use tissue paper to wrap the chocolate before adding the wrappers. This would make a great hostess gift idea for a chocolate lover. We packed the chocolates in a kraft window box lined with sizzle and finished off with a wide cotton ribbon. 

Mom deserves a treat (everyday) too! Display the countdown chocolates in a pretty candy dish and let the kid's know these are off limits with a cute little chalkboard sign. 

Download the chocolate wrappers here.

Fabric bags make wonderful countdown calenders. Just add a number to each bag and fill them up with treats. I used the small tags from the free printables kit on these cotton bags. Simply punch a hole in each tag and attach the tags to the bags using baker's twine and mini safety pins. I displayed the cotton bags in a vintage inspired drawer from our wedding collection. 

Advent calendars don't have to be re-used year after year. If you are looking for an inexpensive idea for this year's countdown, why not use paper bags. They are available in a number of different sizes, colours and even patterns. Print the larger tags from the printables download on white cardstock and use mini clothespins to attach them to the bags. Display the bags in a wood market tray.

Download the printables here. They can be printed on white cardstock, blank sticker sheets or iron on transfer paper. 

Twenty-five cotton bags were embellished with iron-on transfers and hung from twenty-five clothespins mounted on a large chalkboard. The tutorial for this project can be found here.

Download the printables here for the numbers. I created the art in two versions in the kit, one version includes the "mirror-image" for iron-on transfers. 

My original countdown calendar tree idea has be copied a number of times ... but it is still one of my favourite holiday projects. Check out my tutorial for making one of these yourself using our mini chevron bags and striped boxes. 

Not everyone is counting down 25 days. This countdown is ideal for counting down a smaller number of days. I created mine one for a daughter that is away in University. She can count down the days in until her last exam before coming home for the holidays.

Fill small jewellery boxes with treats. Keep the lids closed with washi or glitter tape and number each box with a chalkboard sticker. Then tie the boxes together using baker's twine so that the calendar can be hung from a coat hook, door knob or curtain rod in a dorm room. 

Twenty-five wrapping paper tubes make a unique (and inexpensive) advent calendar. Make them all the same, as I did, or select a variety of different co-ordinating papers. Use chalkboard labels to number each package and display them on a wood market tray or in a shallow basket. The kids will look forward to ripping open one of these fun little packages each morning. 

Find the tutorial to make these wrapping paper tubes here.

Metal tags with numbers were added to linen bags using mini brads. We have a limited number of these metal tags in our Toronto store but I don't think they will last for very long ... they are just so cute. Keep a look out for unique products with numbers that can be added to bags and boxes using brads, pins or glue.

I painted an old display shelf with chalk paint and used it to display twenty-five gift wrapped boxes to create this unique advent calendar. A holiday ornament was added to each shelf as a bonus treat to hang on the tree as well. Here's what I did ...

I used twenty-five white 2x2x2 gift boxes and wrapped them with "Into the Woods" paper bands after filling each box with a treat. Chalkboard tags were used to number the boxes and red twine added a little pop of colour and added to the woodland theme. I used a white chalk marker to write on the tags instead of using chalk so that the numbers would be smug proof.

If you recreate any of these projects or make something different using our products send us a picture on our Facebook page ... I'd love to see what you come up with!