Drawstring Bag Advent Calendar

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One thing that I love at Christmas time is advent calendars or Christmas countdowns. We always have at least one that we do, usually several, whether it be a store-bought calendar- like a LEGO  or Funko Pop advent calendar, or a reusable homemade version that we refill each year with candies, or something we put together to open each day like Christmas books, stories, or activities. It is a Christmas tradition that I love. 

My oldest son is currently serving a mission for our church and as a result he will be away from home this Christmas. This is the first time one of my kids will not be home at Christmastime. I had been trying to think of some things I could send to him for Christmas that would give him a little sense of home and our traditions while he is away, and be something fun for him to do. I thought an advent calendar was the perfect thing. 

A few years ago I was in charge of a Christmas activity and we made a few different types of advent calendars, one of them was a set of little drawstring muslin bags that we stenciled numbers on. I thought a variation of that project would be perfect for making a little advent for my son with something he could open each day. Instead of stenciling the numbers like we did at that activity I decided to cut them out of iron on vinyl using my Cricut and iron them onto the little bags. I also chose slightly larger bags than the last ones that I used, but you could use any size bag you want. 

I cut out the numbers, I made a set of red and a set of black but I also think it would have been cute to alternate red and green. The bags I used were 4"x6" and I cut my numbers about 1.5" tall. If you use a different size of bag you may need to adjust the size of the numbers. 

Since this advent calendar is just a bunch of bags it means you can fill it up with whatever you want. I added a couple of pieces of candy to each bag. Then since my son is on a mission right now I wanted to include something that was more of a Christ focused Christmas theme so I printed off some Christmas quotes and included them in each day along with the candy. You could do the same, fill with just candy, small toys (This would work well for something like the knock off LEGO advents that just come in little plastic baggies, stick one in each bag). Or you could include something like I did- Christmas quotes, scriptures telling the Christmas story, service ideas, Christmas activities, stories to read each day, etc. You could include anything you want that will fit in the bags. Then after Christmas you can pack them away to use again next year and they will hardly take up any space. 

How to Make a Drawstring Bag Advent Calendar

You will need:

• small muslin bags (I used a 4x6 size)
• Cricut or other cutting machine (I used my Cricut Maker 3)
• iron on vinyl (I used Smart Iron On, just because I like not needing a mat, but regular iron on will work too)
• EasyPress Mini and mat
• candy or other items to fill your advent

Instructions:

For this project I typed the numbers in Design Space and chose a font that I liked. I used BFC Vintage Champagne. Once I had chosen a font I sized the numbers to fit the bags, for me that was about 1.5" tall. 

Cut out the numbers and weed. 

Press the numbers onto each bag, 1-24. 

Fill the bags with whatever little treats you would like.