Advent Calendar Made from Shoe Organizer
I love a good count down to any holiday, so making an Advent calendar this year was a no-brainier. I found inspiration here while browsing the holiday section. To me, using a 24 slot over the door foot-gear organizer made the most sense for my budget.
Follow along and you can make your very own Advent Calendar!
Supplies
– 24 pocket over the door shoe rack – white
– Red wool
– Gold paint
– Spouncer
– Reusable number stencils
– Scissors or rotatory cutter
– Glue gun and glue sticks
First, I began making my Advent calendar by stenciling numbers in sequential order to the fronts of the 24 pockets on the sneaker holder. I used my spouncer, gold paint, and stencils to make the flawless numerals.
My recommendation to you if you are attempting this project, is to splurge a little bit on the plastic stencils vs. paper. Once my papers ones got wet, they started to pucker which made it hard to get crisp lines. There were also hours spent sitting around waiting for the paper stencils to dry. I had to reuse the 1 and the 2 many, many times so I am sure you can image the boredom I put myself through.
Next, I cut 4 strips of the red wool about 5 inches wide that are for the outline of the calendar. There was no exact science to this, I just eyeballed it. The red wool I used was something I had inherited from my grandmother. This just seemed like such a wonderful project to use this special fabric for. It adds another layer of meaning and a pop of color to the Advent calendar. I used the hot glue gun to attach the fabric strips to the edges of the footwear organizer and trimmed the entire border with a rotatory cutter to give it clean straight edges.
Finally, it was time to hang it up and place all kinds of Christmas goodies for our little ones in the pockets. There are a few toys and candy dispersed throughout the days, but most of the pockets have a festive family activity for us to do.
Just because I love personal touches, I decided to use these adorable personalized gift wraps and gift tags from Tiny Prints to conceal our packages and write special messages in.
I am really excited how this project turned out and our boys really love it too!
9 Comments
Jennifer
This has to be the first shoe organizer idea that I really love. Fantastic idea. I’ve been admiring the PB Advent Calendar but I can’t see spending the money. This is a great alternative. ????????
Emily
Thanks so much Jennifer! This is definitely a more budget friendly option. Glad you stopped by!
kati
Love this and plan on making one this year—how did you hang this?
Erin
There were existing holes on the shoe organizer and those were used to hang it on hooks on the wall.
Jennnifer
What kind of family activities do you use?
Dawn Beard
Where did you find family activities to put in calendar?
Erin
Hi there! You can put any kind of holiday activities that your family enjoys in the advent calendar. Things like hanging ornaments on the tree, building a snowman, decorating Christmas cookies, etc. Hope that helps!
Patricia
Your advent calendar inspired one I am making for my college son. He doesn’t like chocolate, so I ordered 24 various flavors of craft beef jerky (1.5-2oz bags). The bags fit perfectly in the pockets!
Detailed craftsmanship would be lost on him and in his dorm room (and probably won’t make it back home)- so I am simply numbering each white pocket with a wide tipped, red sharpie.
Thank you for the inspiration!
Anita
What a fabulous idea. I’m heading to the Dollar Store. Thanks and Merry Christmas!???