A very Crafty Christmas – 24 Days of Craft – A Pakke Kalendar!

It is almost that time of the year again and what better way to countdown to the big day than with an Advent Calendar.

I have always had an Advent Calendar growing up. My mormor (maternal grandmother) felt so sorry for her grandchildren who had no access to the important stuff (Advent Calendars) that she sent over some from Denmark. And by some, I mean an impressive supply that lasted us several Christmases. While those were the traditional calendars made out of cardboard, I do remember being really excited about opening up each door every morning just to find out what picture was behind it! Though I must admit I also did get daily little treats from Santa which definitely added to the excitement.

Once I had learnt the truth about Santa, we moved on to a pakkekalender. A Pakkekalender is either little treats that can be opened on each day leading up to Christmas or every sunday if you were inclined to do a proper Advent Calendar. And even though these days, we are able to get Chocolate Calendars in South East Asia and a myriad of other types, I must say I tend to still prefer a homemade one. Partially because I really enjoy the process of personalising the gifts and there’s more variety.

To be completely honest, it does not need to be pricey. I think part of the fun is having a budget and sticking to it because you really have to get creative with the content and of course the presentation itself. Plus half the fun really is the anticipation anyway, I remember getting just as excited about a new pencil and chocolate as a child.

So this year, I decided to start preparing early and send some Advent’s to different people (aside from Dan’s of course!) And since this particular recipient loves all forms of craft, I thought what better than a “24 Days of Christmas Craft”. After a quick browse on a variety of websites, I realised HobbyCraft was my best option, and with my budget set I got my supplies. (after all I do not want a huge shipping bill!)

Now, with any good advent calendar. A little snooping is involved as every gift has some sort of reasoning behind it.

The Felt Christmas tree
I really liked the felt Christmas tree for the calendar. Not only does she loves to sew, but being Danish I know she will not have a tree up till much later in December. In some households it does not go up till the 23rd!(cough Lotte cough) And since I feel a Christmas tree really is part and parcel of setting the Chrsitmas mood, I figured she could have a small felt one to hang up at work or in her living room. She could then gradually decorate it with the ornaments. And as she loves to sew, I thought a small project (one ornament) every evening to put on the tree would be a little treat she can look forward to after work which will not take heaps of time but still give her that “quiet me time” she needs to unwind after a long day.

Chocolate
No one likes Mondays, some of the craft projects may take more than an evening and everyone likes chocolate. So chocolates are included for these reasons.

Santa Claus tea light holder
Lucia is on the 13th of December, and is a pretty big deal in Scandinavia. As I could not find an Angel (that would have been perfect) I figured she could paint the Santa Claus herself and use it on the 13th, just in time for Lucia.

Sun Catchers
Danish winters are still pretty sunny, when the sun is out that is. And Danes with their large windows, tend to hang decorations in their windows during Christmas time (well Easter etc as well). So I thought these sun catchers were pretty cute and would definitely be something she could decorate and put up that would put a smile on her face.

Gingerbread man garland
This is the “biggest” present she gets closer to Christmas eve. I am giving it to her then as I know she will have some time off at home before she goes to Sweden with the rest of her family for the holidays. And the one thing her family likes to do when they get together is knit/sew/basically any sort of handicraft – so maybe she will share the joy? Either way I know they will get a kick out of it, as they are super cute!

Cross stitch
I know she can make that into a decoration either for a Christmas card or for the Christmas tree.

Gin
Everyone needs a break, especially on Christmas! And what better way than to wind down with a G&T before the long day of prep and driving to Sweden the day after.

Now that everything is sorted, I have the pleasure of wrapping it up and adding little personal touches to them, such as this :-