Modern Paper Advent Calendar

Growing up, my family always had advent calendars. Each year we had one of those push-out chocolate ones that you can pick up at any grocery store, and one that was shaped like a paper chimney with little boxes that my mom filled with candy and dollar bills. So this year, I knew I wanted to put together an advent calendar for Tim and I to open each day.

I had this idea for a super modern black, tan, and gold advent calendar made from patterned paper boxes, and then I stumbled upon this free printable by Hey Look. It's literally the exact idea I had, but the printable was so great that I decided to give it a go. I printed the boxes out on kraft cardstock and followed her great instructions. I highly recommend this printable, the patterns are so cute!

Once I had all my boxes folded and glued, I moved on to mounting them.

To mount the boxes into a calendar you'll need, your boxes (which I glued together with Paper Mod Podge), a piece of wood or foam board, rubber cement or other strong adhesive, a cheap paintbrush, and washi tape.

Start by laying out your boxes in the order you want. I took a picture to refer back to once I started gluing. Keep in mind spacing and order.

Take each box and spread the rubber cement on the bottom. Use the paint brush to spread it evenly along the entire bottom. After the glue is applied, press each box into place. Hold the box down until it appears to begin sticking before moving onto the next box. Once all the boxes are glued, take something with some weight to it (such as ceramic coasters or a trivet) and lay them on top of the boxes to help the sticking.

Candy time! Fill your advent boxes with candy, dollar bills or change, mini liquor bottles, snacks etc. Anything you want that's tiny and fun!

After you've filled your boxes, use strips of washi tape to secure your boxes and make sure the candy doesn't fall out.

And that's it! Each morning, you are greeted with a little chocolatey surprise. Advent calendars are great for children, but as adults, we are also enjoying our little treats each day. Welcome to December!