12 Best Advent calendars: From buy to DIY

Choose your Advent calendar style

December 1st is creeping up quickly and that means it’s time to start prepping your advent calendar! No matter how you use it and no matter what your craft-skill level, there’s an advent calendar for you in this bunch — from the extreme DIYs to kits that you can buy from Etsy to pre-made, ready-to-go Advent calendars. Take a peek at the best advent calendars for 2014!

12 Best Advent calendars

From the top left, going clockwise:

DIY Advent Calendar with Clothespins from Visual Heart
Higher on the DIY-difficulty scale, this Advent calendar is a holiday project that you’re likely to already have the supplies around your home! Visual Heart includes a free printable for those sweet little numbers, too.

Little Polar Bears Printable Advent Calendar from French Melody on Etsy
These cute polar bears caught our eye on Etsy and when we discovered that they’re actually a printable that you easily fold into their shape, adding a few Advent goodies as you go, we fell head-over-paws. ($4 to download the printables)

DIY Advent Calendar with Plastic Animals from A Bubbly Life
This is a semi-DIY Advent calendar that will hit two birds with one stone — you’ll end up with a cute and fun Advent calendar for your kids and you’ll use up all of those little animal toys that are filling up their toy bins!

Peace on Earth Advent Calendar from Land of Nod
For an Advent calendar that is ready-to-go, we love this pick from Land of Nod. It’s a great size to hang on the wall and to stuff with little gifts and at $49, you could even pick one up for each kiddo to avoid Advent calendar morning fights about whose turn it is to get the present. We all know those exist!

DIY Customizable Christmas Advent Calendar Kit from Renee Parker Design on Etsy
For moms who are all about the DIY, but who don’t have a spare minute to collect the supplies, grab this Advent calendar kit. It comes with all of the parts and pieces you’ll need, but you can take it from there to create the Advent calendar of your Pinterest dreams. Just be sure to order this kit ASAP… it ships from Australia! ($35 for the kit, plus shipping)

Advent Calendar Kit with Paper Bags from Renna Deluxe on Etsy
Here’s another easy and fun DIY Advent calendar that you can purchase or let inspire you for December. Be sure to get creative with how you arrange your paper bags — try taping them to your wall in the shape of a Christmas tree or hang them from the mantle with ribbon! ($24 for the kid, plus shipping)

Advent Calendar with Coffee Cups from Fishly News
Well, it’s official. We’re obsessed with this DIY Advent calendar made entirely from disposable coffee cups. While this does take some serious crafting time, the results are seriously awesome and those cups are the perfect size for stashing Advent goodies for multiple kiddos. Plus, pretty sure we can drink that many lattes this week alone… you know, for the sake of the project!

Make Your Own Advent Calendar from Crafts Unleashed
This super-sweet Advent calendar will take some time to put together this year, but you’ll be able to use it for holidays to come!

Home Advent Calendar from The Paper Mama
You would never know that this intricate Advent calendar is simply made from paper bags and printables! Grab some lunch bags from your kitchen, print out these pretty (free!) printables and you’re ready to start. (Psst! Don’t miss her entire 50 DIY Days of Holiday Crafts!)

12 Days of Christmas Advent Calendar from Nutcracker Sweet (pictured at the top)
Sometimes, simple is best… especially during the holidays. This super cute box will make your kids go ga-ga! Filled just the right amount of treats for your kids each day, they will look forward to opening each box to find their next sweet surprise!

What’s your Advent calendar style?

Meet the Author | Katie Kavulla

Having just made the move from big city life to settle down in the town where she and her husband both grew up, Katie Kavulla is a mom of three who strives to slow life down a bit… as impossible as that is with three kids under the age of 10. A blogger turned writer, Katie has spent the past few years combining the things that she loves into a career, with a focus on helping other moms tell their story, because Katie truly believes that every mom has one to tell.