The Sweetest Gift…

A few years ago, I began making advent ‘calendars’ for the people I love most. I use the term ‘calendar’ loosely, since what I really create are advent boxes filled with 24 wrapped and numbered gifts, to be opened starting December 1^st. I began making these boxes for my children and a sister who lived thousands of miles away from me. Over time, I’ve added a box for my hubby and our daughter-in-law too. It’s such a fun way to provide child-like excitement to the adults in my life and has quickly become a beloved family tradition. Read on and learn how to start an advent box tradition of your own…

Here are the steps I follow each year to make these advent boxes a reality.

Decide on a 12 versus 24 Calendar. These boxes work with any budget and what you spend is dictated by how crafty you are about planning, making, and shopping for the gifts throughout the year. A 12 versus 24-day calendar will likely cost less to purchase and ship, and less time to make, shop for and wrap.

Decide on the Number of Boxes You Will Give. This is important because the more you make, the bigger your budget and the longer it will take you to come up with shop for and wrap your gifts.

Establish a Budget. Over time, the boxes I make have become more elaborate and expensive. That said, the first time I made an advent box I set a $50 limit, and came in under budget.

You Don’t Have to Buy Anything. Get clever, and crafty. Think about gifting things you’ve made, or the best gift of all, your time. Babysitting, car or house cleaning, yard help, a home cooked meal, or time spent watching a trashy show – there are tons of ways to spend your time helping someone you love that won’t cost a thing but are priceless to receive.

Decide on the Gifts. You’re going to be shopping, and maybe even making, your gifts so having a plan of what to buy/make will be incredibly helpful. I use a spreadsheet with the days going down and the box recipient going across. I come up with a mix of silly things, food, decorations, useful things, and some surprises.

Adopt a High/Low Shopping Mentality. I am no snob when it comes to where I buy these gifts from. I continue to get great, unique gifts from yard sales, thrift stores, artisan fairs, Dollar General (especially their POP sections), Walmart, grocery stores, department stores, small businesses – you name it and I shop it. This allows me to get the biggest bang for my budget.

Start Wrapping Early. Depending on how many boxes you plan on making, it takes time to wrap and number all of the gifts. This year, I am making 4 boxes (one of which is shared by a couple) with 100+ gifts that need to be wrapped. It will take me about 10-12 hours total to get assembled and ready to distribute, and then a few more hours to get everything securely packed and shipped off.

Time is Your Friend. When I started making these boxes I only gave myself a month to shop, wrap and mail the calendars so the box arrived before December 1^st. I’ve quickly learned I need more time for a few reasons. First, more time allows me to casually shop all year long since I am always on the lookout for unexpected, cool items to add to these boxes. Secondly, spreading the purchases over time helps with budgeting. Last, I can be a project procrastinator (see here) so the more time I give myself to turn my box dreams into reality the better.

Have Fun! These boxes can take any shape, for any age. You can gather a different gift for each day, follow a theme, color, hobby – the shape of the box is only limited by the shape of your gift-giving imagination.

Still not sure how to proceed? Need help generating box ideas or how to budget for your advent box? Would you consider making a box or have you done so already? Drop me a line…I’d love to know.

The Sweetest Gift – Linda Rondstadt

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