Advent Calendar

Total Time Needed: 1 Hour

Count down the days 'til Christmas with a calendar filled with sweet surprises.

Materials

Construction paper
Scissors
25 small treats
2-inch wide colored tape
Puff paint
Tape or glue
Rickrack
Pencil
Colored yarn

Instructions

1. Gather 25 small treats, such as gumball-machine prizes, wrapped candy and trinkets. Cut a 4 1/2-foot length of 2-inch wide colored tape. Lay the tape sticky side up and place the treats along the length of it, approximately 1 inch apart.

2. Next, tape together several pieces of construction paper or sections of a paper grocery bag to create a 6-foot long, 3-inch wide strip. Place it atop the treat-covered tape and press together the paper and tape around each treat . Trim off any excess paper.

3. Write the numbers 1 through 25 in puff paint on pieces of colored construction paper and cut them out. For extra fun, shape pieces into green trees, red Christmas balls and a yellow star. Starting at the bottom, tape or glue the numbers to the paper strip, one over each treat. Finally, glue rickrack along the edges of the paper and tape the top of the calendar to a pencil.

4. Tie a length of colored yarn to the ends of the pencil, and the Advent calendar is ready to hang.