Project of the Month - Advent Calender

I know I know, it isn't Christmas yet. But if I post this next month it would be of no use. Why you may ask? Well, this month we are going to be making an advent calendar. By the time I sort through all these ideas and actually get one done maybe I'll have it ready by December 1st. Originally I wanted to make one like the one my cousin did last year. Aren't these boxes so cute? She got the idea from this blog.
Knowing that there were other ideas out there, I started looking around for more and found so many I feel a little overwhelmed. What should I make now? I have decided that it would be okay to have more than one advent calendar. One for each person in the family is good right? :) Anyway, here are my findings. Hopefully there will be one here that you like or at least give you a little inspiration to try your own design. Here we go!

For the quilters out there I found this calender. You can put fun activities or small gifts in the pockets. So cute. For another variation on this one click here.
If you don't feel like you could sew one like this, but love the quilted look, than this next idea is for you. Isn't this scrappy calendar so cute?
While I was browsing I ran across this website that has some of THE CUTEST ideas. Here are some of my favorites. You will have to click on the link to see just how super cute they are. :) The watchmaker tin and the paper advent box (more scrapbook ones), the advent in a box (another variation on the one my cousin made), and the baby sock advent (would look so cute above your fireplace. You could even make the socks to match your decor if you wanted.) Don't forget to look at the first website link to see their other fun ideas.

For a cute tags advent calendar and another fun funky fabric one click here.

If you are like me, and totally have too many projects on your Christmas to do list and probably don't have the time to commit to one of these advent calenders. Here are a couple super easy projects.

This first one is just a box full of envelopes. Each envelope has an activity inside and a sticker on the outside with the number of the day on it. I think the lady made her envelopes but you could totally use some you have to make it really easy. This is also a good idea if you don't have the wall space for some of the previous ideas.
When I saw this next one I thought to myself, "I must make this one!" Isn't is beautiful? This would look lovely on your table with a Christmas wreath and runner underneath. Each day it would be so fun to dig around in there and find your special matchbox with some fun activity inside. With a little tweeking you could follow this template and make your own matchboxes. Instead of the matchboxes, what if you used globe ornaments? You could carefully take the top off and slide your rolled up activity inside. Or you could use those fun chipboard boxes or Christmas tins. Really anything would work.
Whoa! I told you there were a ton of ideas out there. I think I have just grazed the tip of the ice burg. For even more places to look for advent calendars go to Google Images and type in "advent calendars". I like this search because you can see the pictures and when you find one you like you can click on it to find the link. Or you could go to Etsy for some super cute handmade ideas and try to recreate them yourself.

I have just one more link before I end this post. If you are having problems of thinking of activities you could do for each day click here. It's a pretty good list and should give you some fun ideas, or at least get your creative juices flowing. Another thought is to put a fun Christmas quote or scripture that you could talk about each day (or Sundays). I hope one of these ideas works for you. Let me know if you try any of them. I would love to see the finished project. Good luck!