Christmas Advent Calendar with Creative Memories the NEW Christmas Joy products

Christmas is only 35 days away.

Are you ready to count down the days to Christmas? 

If not, let me help you by showing you how you can make 

this cute simple Advent countdown before Christmas.

To make this project you will need:

• Creative Memories Christmas Joy Paper pack
• Christmas Joy Stickers
• Christmas Joy Sliding in Pack (24/pk)
• Shades of Red Paper pack 
• Shades of Green Paper pack 
• Shape Maker System 
• Creative Memories Tape Runner
• Creative Memories All-Purpose Scissors
• Stapler
• Ribbon
• A Large Paper Clip
• 2 - 12 X 12 card boards inserts, one will be in your Christmas of Joy Paper pack. If you don't have another one laying around,  I'd suggest buying another Christmas of Joy Paper pack or any of our pattern paper pack from our core line. The "Shades of" colors do NOT have a cardboard insert in them. 
 

I used ink from former Creative Memories line to ink edges of cardboard because the cardboard will be a bit larger than your paper.  If you don't have this ink you can purchase/use any ink. If you do not have any ink, you can choose to trim up the cardboard. You will need a piece of ribbon 40" inches in length to hang the calendar up. I used the stapler to staple the ribbon onto the cardboard, like pictured above.
This will not show, as you will cover with paper.

To help keep the kids engaged on counting down the days, I made this Santa Claus. He is from the Christmas Joy Sticker (3/pk).  He has a sticky back, so you will need to mount a paper to it to make it not sticky, otherwise it will catch on your paper. I use a large paperclip and I attached it to the sticky part of the Santa Claus. Then from the Shades of Red paper pack cut a 3"x 3 1/2" piece of paper. Place the paper between the sticker and the paper clip.  Cut a slit in the red paper to be able to slide the paper clip behind to have the whole back of Santa mounted with red paper and to hold the paper clip in place.

Use  your Creative Memories Scissors trim around the Santa Claus. 

With little fingers, you might want to laminate Santa to last longer?

I used the Christmas of Joy Paper pack, Christmas Joy Slide-in Pack and Christmas Joy Stickers to create this Advent Calendar. Use the 2 green polka dotted paper from Christmas Joy Paper pack for your base. Use your Creative Memories Tape Runner and attach each sheet to the cardboard backer. With same paper pack you will find the holly leaves border that you will use at top and bottom. They are on the Christmas of Joy page with 8 multiple borders on it. They’ve been designed so you can simply slice each of them apart into 8 separate 1.5″ sections like this:

 

Using the one page with numbers on the Christmas Joy Paper pack, cut numbers out all the numbers to use for countdown numbers.  I used the Square on the Shape Maker System and I cut out 5 squares in Shades of Red Paper pack for the calendar numbers 3, 5, 12, 18, and 25. Trim up numbers to allow red border show when mounting on front of the squares.  Then using Shades of Green paper pack, cut out 4 squares. Trim up and mount numbers 8, 16, and 24 to green squares with Creative Memories Tape Runner.  Numbers 1, 10, 14, and 21 cut out squares from the Happy Holidays card and Ornament from the Christmas Joy Slide-in pack (24 cards).  Then trim up numbers and attach with Creative Memories Tape Runner. I would suggest taking all the numbers and mounting them on card stock to make them sturdier when moving Santa from day to day.

Use the second sheet with numbers on front and the cranberry red stripes, cut a 5/8" inch strip. Attach this to the bottom of first cardboard square. Be careful to make sure this strip is cut the same angle as the stripes on the holly leave border.

Using the Christmas Joy Silde-In pack find the vertical Santa Clause Is Coming to town card and trim up like example. This needs to be trimmed up close to fit at top left corner. I used the remainder of  the cranberry strip red paper to mat and trim to add border.  Then find the vertical It's Begging to Look a Lot Like Christmas card and trim off the top and bottom of rep stripes, leaving a 1/8" border of red.  One of these trimmed pieces, you will mount the sticker with word DECEMBER from the Christmas Joy stickers. Using all these elements lay them out on the green polka-dotted sheets, like example shown above.

Use your Creative Memories Tape Runner, run tape around only three sides of back side of numbered card stock squares, like pictured below. You only want tape on three sides to allow the top opened to place Santa in.

The ornament under the number 20, the word NOEL, the Large Christmas tree at bottom and the Naughty and Nice ornaments are all stickers from Christmas Joy sticker pack. Place them on the the green polka-dotted in spaces as the example shows.  The Christmas tree on white square, under the number 12 is from the numbers page.

The Merry Christmas at bottom is a sticker too. I mounted that on the cranberry red strip paper because it is sticky and then using Creative Memories Scissors I trimmed closely, to not see paper. Use pop up dots and attach to the border.

If you want to add more to this, you could slip a piece of paper behind the numbers and have activities that the kids would pull out and then move Santa into it's place.  Here is some ways activities you could add:
Deck the halls!
Write letters to Santa
Take photos for Christmas cards
Buy a new Christmas album and listen to it
Make paper chain garlands
String pop corn
Make a Family Handprint Christmas Tree
Make the house smell like Christmas
Make Christmas Cards
Read a Christmas Story Book
Wrap Christmas Gifts
Make a new Christmas Decoration
Take gifts to teachers and friends
Red or Green night….Serve food in these colors, decorate the table in these colors
Color a Christmas picture
Build a snowman or hang up paper snowflakes
Make hot chocolate and stir with candy canes
Make a treat and take it to a friend
Watch a Christmas movie and eat popcorn
Go out for a Christmas treat
Do something nice for someone
Build a Ginger bread house
Go visit Santa Clause
Do service for someone in need
Have a camp-out or game night in front of the Christmas tree
Call grandma and grandpa and sing a Christmas song
Drive around and look for Christmas lights
Make cookies and write letters for Santa Clause
Read "The Night Before Christmas"
25th - Christmas!!!

For more information about these GREAT Creative Memories products used in this project you can fins on my website www.creativememories.com/user/CandaceBouldin  Of course, if you don't already have a Creative Memories Advisor, I'd be love to be your personal Creative Memories Advisor.  If you'd like to join my team and earn products like these at discount, click on this link to Join my team! Or ask my how!

I hope you enjoyed this project. Comment below and let me know what you think!