INSTRUCTIONS:
First, lay the large piece of felt flat
on a table or
on the floor in a place where it will be out of the way. You
might want to put some newspaper under it, to protect your work surface
from glue.
Next, lay the 25 smaller felt rectangles
on the larger
one. One by one, glue around the sides and bottom of each small
rectangle, leaving the top open to form a pocket. Give the glue a
chance to dry (at least an hour) before continuing.
Using the markers or fabric paint (or
school glue and
glitter), number the pockets from 1 to 26. Then use the small
pieces of fabric, markers, fabric paint or glue and glitter to decorate
your calendar any way you wish. Once again, let it dry completely
before continuing.
Hang the calendar on the wall in some
prominent place
(two possibilities are the kitchen or dining room). Place one
candy cane, other candy or small toy in each of the pockets. Then
have an adult write a special Advent project, task or message on each
slip of paper and put those in the pockets too (one slip to each
pocket). These can be Bible verses to memorize, good deeds to do,
a special Advent or Christmas poem to read or song to sing...use your
imagination!
Each day during Advent, remove one slip
from a pocket
(starting with pocket # 1 on the first Sunday in Advent) and read
it. Do whatever the slip says. When the task is
accomplished, you may take the candy or toy from the pocket and enjoy
it.
When Christmas is over, store your Advent
Calendar
carefully, so you can use it again next Advent!
MAKE
YOUR OWN ADVENT
CALENDAR
