DIY Christmas Activity Advent Calendar

The holidays are all about traditions and one of my favorite holiday traditions is counting down the days until Christmas with our Advent Calendar. This year our family is intentionally celebrating and counting down the days with this shimmery DIY Christmas Activity Advent Calendar. Filled with simple and festive activities that we can enjoy together as a family, this advent calendar will make counting down the days to Christmas even more magical and fun!

The holiday season is one of the most joy-filled times of the year, but it is also the busiest. Every year our calendars get packed with school activities, parties, and holiday shopping. With so much going on it’s easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of the season, and sometimes we forget to focus on spending quality time with the ones we love. But, this year I’ve created a simple solution, a DIY Christmas Activity Advent Calendar, to help our family intentional focus on spending time together creating magical memories.

I’ve always believed that magic is in the little details, and this is especially true during the holidays. Adding a personal touch to holiday decor and gifts takes something ordinary and makes it extraordinary! I’m excited to share an easy way to add sparkle and shine to your holiday projects with the new Xyron Glaminator, a 3-in-1 crafting tool that applies foil to your projects and laminates them too!

With the Galminator you can easily glam up any project with the foil application by printing your designs on a laser printer and picking your foil color, the toner reactive foil does the rest. Are you ready to countdown to Christmas in style? Here’s what you will need to make your own DIY Activity Advent Calendar.

What You Will Need:

Xyron Glaminator
Laser Printer
Free Activity Advent Printable
Red and Gold Foil
Carrier Sheet
Scissors
Mini Envelopes
Baker’s Twine
Mini Clothespins
Ribbon
Washi Tape
Gift Box

Start by printing the free Activity Advent Calendar tags on white cardstock. You will need to make sure you print the printable on a laser printer to ensure the custom design works with the Glamintor.

Cut out the tags and activity cards. Be sure to leave a border around the design for the next step.

Unroll the foil onto a clean, smooth surface. Use your project to approximate the size of foil you will need, cut a piece with approximately 1/4″ border around the foiled area for optimal results.

Open the transfer carrier, and place your project inside with the printed design facing upwards. Place the foil on top of your project, the metallic side facing upwards.

Plug your machine in and turn the slider to the foil application, feed the carrier sheet through the machine once the light indicates it is ready.

Remove the transfer carrier from the machine and remove your project. Slowly peel the foil off of your project to reveal your shimmery design. Discard the excess foil.

Use the foil sheets to add sparkle and shine to the activity cards and tags. Feel free to get creative, cover the entire design, or just use the foil to highlight certain words or elements on each tag.

Once you have added sparkle and shine to all of the cards and tags it’s time to put your advent calendar together. I decorated mini envelopes with washi tape, ribbon and holiday stickers. Place one of the activity cards inside the envelope and add the countdown tag to the outside.

Each day our family will open up the countdown envelope to reveal what activity we will be doing together that day. The list ranges from simple things like having hot cocoa together to inviting friends and family over for a red and green dinner. Based on your schedule you can decide what days work best for each activity, but this will help you and your family to celebrate with intention this holiday season!

After I made our families Christmas Activity Advent Calendar I decided that it would be the perfect gift to give to friends and family members. I created a little gift box with all of the supplies for our friends to create their own countdown to Christmas. I included the shimmery activity cards, countdown tags, Baker’s Twine, and mini clothespins. I made a label for the front of the box and delivered these little gifts so that our friends can countdown to Christmas and experience their own holiday magic!