Advent Calendars

I love using Advent calendars to count down to Christmas.  We always had Advent calendars when I was growing  up.  When I went away to college my mother sent me a piece of Advent mail every day in December.  I loved knowing that there would be something special in my mail box for me.

Last year I made an Advent calendar from a tutorial shared on Sew Mama Sew.  It was a fun project.  I was quite pleased with the finished project.  When I started to fill the calendar, I realized that the pockets were too small to hold most of the items I had gathered.  I didn't want to choose smaller items because they were gifts for a baby.

This year rather than have an Advent calendar with a pile of gifts next to it, I decided to make one with bigger pockets.  I thought about modifying an over the door shoe holder, but I never found one locally that seemed like it would be perfect.  I decided  that I would look for something perfect until September.  I didn't find a pattern or shoe holder that I really liked, so I decided to try making something reminiscent of a shoe holder.

I think this was the most complicated thing I've ever made without a pattern or tutorial to follow.  It was great fun to see it take shape. I loved seeing it come together and getting a bit more confidence as each step was finished that it would be a functional calendar.  It looks like the pockets are a perfect size for gifts for toddlers.  I really like it!  I may decide to make another that allows for different sized pockets to allow for gifts of various sizes.  I like the idea of a pocket for pajamas on Christmas Eve.

Advent calendar before stuffing

Advent calendar full of toddler gifts

I decided to make pleated pockets so they could expand to hold thick gifts if need be.  I used printable fabric for the numbers.  I'm excited to see what it looks like in use!   

I'm excited to be almost done with Advent already.  Last year I was filling the calendar as December progressed.  This year I have 23 gifts wrapped and ready to go already.  Do you celebrate Advent?  If so, how do you celebrate?