Easy (and free!) Advent Calendar

On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me....a totally easy and free advent calendar!

I've been wanting to institute some sort of advent calendar into our yearly holiday festivities, but I haven't seen one that I really like.  At least, enough to spend money on.

Last night I got a fresh dose of holiday cheer (let's blame it on the new snow!), and thought I'd whip something up to countdown to Christmas.   When you think about it, I already had all of the essentials:  cardstock, photoshop, and an endless supply of ribbon.

I had a few goals to accomplish with this project.  First, I wanted some sort of religious aspect to the calendar.  Second, I wanted something fun, too.  Not that reading scriptures isn't a grand ol' time, but I've got a two-year-old.  Third, I wanted to stay away from treats.  I'm one of those total weirdos who thinks that candy isn't good for you.  I know.

So here's what I came up with.

First, I took these gift tags and doctored 'em up a bit.  I love the way they look under our tree, so I figured I might as well not re-invent the wheel.  I basically made them bigger and added text.

Then, on the back, I added a scripture that pointed to the Savior's birth.  I also added a fun activity to do, like baking cookies or watching a Christmas movie.

I finished it up by adding a glittery ribbon to each tag, and hanging them next to our stockings.  I'm super excited to show the Sunbean how it works, and to do all of the fun Christmas-y stuff with her.

Who knows?  Maybe next year I'll go crazy and do one for every day in December.  This year I thought 12 would be a good start...