Welcome to Heart of the Matter Online’s Christmas Series!!
We are looking forward to bringing you a fantastic array of crafts, projects, and activities everyday until Christmas Eve. Our hope is that you may use some of these to strengthen family ties, not only with your children, but between your children and Jesus. Please spread the word!
I simply LOVE this homemade Advent calendar! You can fill the cups with a list of Advent items (see below) or chocolate or other trinkets. Each day your little one can punch through the cup to reveal what is waiting inside. I have yet to find a more perfect Advent calendar for my little boy…full of ninja moves, sweets, and Jesus…what more could you ask for?
Materials needed:
~ 25 eight-ounce styrofoam cups
~ an assortment of candy or other goodies
~ a sheet of poster board
~ a glue stick
~ a hot glue gun
~ templates
(click to download)
Instructions:
1. Print and cut out the circles and header from the template (click to download).
2. Section off twenty-five 4″ x 4″ squares on your poster board. Five across and five down. Leave a 3″ section at the top to paste your header.
3. Fill each of the 25 cups with Advent items, chocolate, candy, or other trinkets.
4. Using a regular glue stick, attach the paper circles to the cup openings.
5. Using the hot glue gun, attach the bottom of the cups to the posterboard, using the 4″ x 4″ squares as a guide. Make sure you attach the cup to the posterboard immediately…hot glue dries very quickly.
What I did:
I sealed 3 miniature chocolates into the cup. At the end of the day he practices his TaeKwonDo moves on the cup of the day, and we eat the chocolates (one for each of us). Next I give him the Advent item to place back into the open cup as I read Scripture and explain how the item signifies the life of Jesus. It is really nice to view the rows of open cups containing items that remind us of our Lord.
Advent Items:
- Quarter
- Grape candy
- Smiley sticker
- Toy fish
- Birthday candle
- Bell
- Fish crackers
- Cotton ball
- Piece of a map
- Soap
- Heart sticker
- Cross
- Packet of salt
- Sand
- Flower
- Raisins
- Seeds
- Christmas carol
- Rock
- Crumpled foil
- Mustard seed
- Dove (toy or photo)
- Small scrap of woolly material
- Blue marble
- Picture of a baby
Download scripture to go along with the items above.
Amy is a devoted wife to her husband of 11 years, a Classical homeschooling mom to a seven-year-old Superhero and the co-founder of Heart of the Matter and A Woman Inspired Ministries. She has a passion for genealogy and is aspiring to be a Proverbs 31 lady. Be sure to visit her blog at Milk and Cookies.
Another wonderful idea….my problem is finding the time to put it together! I guess thinking of how fun it would be for the kids is enough motivation to prioritize it!
Thank you!
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Wow! Awesome idea! Thanks for sharing this!
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Wow! Oh, Wow. My boys would love this too. I just started making felt ornaments for a Jesse Tree (new to us this year though). Maybe we can punch through the cups to get the ornament to hang on the tree… now you have me thinking! Thanks!
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Oh I just love this idea!!! I was going to go buy a calendar but this sounds much more fun!
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fantastic idea! And so simple. I will be doing this….
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This is an awesome idea! Love it!
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Very, very cute idea!
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have just finished making this with my boys. (Thank You!) They LOVED making it with me and we cut up all the scriptures and placed them inside too. As there are 5 of us in the family, I don’t know if it will go on the wall because of the weight.
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oh I just read the directions again and I now know why mine is so heavy…I put the advent item in the cup too!!!
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and here is my finished product – ta,da! Yes, I know this is my 3rd comment but I’m not so good with the craft stuff and am very proud of this. Ha ha;
http://princessjo-anne-blessed.blogspot.com/2008/11/our-punchable-family-advent-calender.html
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