Advent or Countdown Calendars from Recycled Materials

Find out the five most common household items that inspire homemade countdown calendars! It’s a great family tradition and a way to teach patience. We’ll learn about calendars that you can make with your kids while using items from the recycling bin. When I was a kid, my mom made an Advent calendar from a felt evergreen tree, and my siblings and I would take turns pinning felt ornaments on the tree. These calendars are a great way to raise an important idea in our family life, and that is the value of waiting patiently. I believe that a lot of trash is caused by our inability to delay gratification. We generate trash by buying things that are packaged for convenience. If we bought the ingredients and made it ourselves, we would often produce a lot less trash. Watch a TED talk about the Stanford study on delaying gratification. I am a fan of calendars that don’t involve buying gifts or candies because that typically leads to more garbage. I prefer calendars that increase collaboration rather than consumption. Another advantage of collaborative calendars is that you don’t have go out and buy a bunch of candies or small gifts each year. You just pull out the calendar and off you go. I found many ideas that encouraged family members to get creative, which I share in this podcast. To see photos of many inspirational calendars, visit the Trashmagination Pinterest board on Advent and countdown calendars from recycled materials. Calendars Described in this Podcast Fabric Calendars Fabric pockets by Just Crafty Enough Jean pockets by Pillar Blue Box Cardboard Toilet Paper Tube / Roll Calendars Tubes Attached into a Square Shape by Oh Oh Blog Tubes Attached in a Star Shape by La cour des petits Tubes Attached in a Wreath Shape by Krokotak Tubes in a Tree Shape by Coffee and Vanilla Tubes Hanging from a Clothesline Flattened Tubes in a Snowflake Shape by Krokotak Tubes as Turrets in a Castle by Krokotak Tubes as Trees in a Forest Variation – Plastic Yogurt Containers by Le cour des petits Boxes (Match Boxes, Altoid Tins etc.) Christmas Calendar House by The Messy Crafter Match Boxes Arranged in a Tree / Triangle Shape by Country Living Boxes in a Book by Le Scrap de Manou Boxes Attached to Toy Reindeer by Baballa Altoid Tin Tree by Sassy Crafter Scrap Wood Tree Calendars Vertical Trunk with Horizontal Branches and Small Baggies by The DIY Dreamer Tree with Decorated Cans Attached to Branches by Les p’tites décos de Lolo Holiday Card Calendars Fabric and Wood Trim Card Hanger by Crafty Nest Sock Calendars Knit Socks by Die Ehefrau Items to Put Inside Advent or Countdown Calendars Fair trade chocolate advent calendar by Divine Chocolate Written Ideas Inspirational messages Activity coupons for things you might do together Poems Jokes Family recipes Comics Family memories Grandparent Wisdom Small Gifts Tea bags that you can compost after using Items that your family member collects such as coins or stamps Finger puppets Socks Craft supplies such as beads, buttons, scissors, erasers, washi tape or punches Soaps, especially made locally Sidewalk chalk – you can make your own Crayons in fun shapes – you can melt down old crayons into molds [] Musical items such as wind instrument reeds, harmonicas, shakers, castanets or guitar picks Cookie cutters Pin cushions Emergency items such as a small flashlight, mini first aid kits or mini sewing kits Reindeer poop (chocolate covered raisins) Show Details Script for this podcast episode about Advent and countdown calendars made from recycled materials (not a transcript but gives the main ideas) The Trashmagination podcast theme music is Kitchen from the Marian Circle Drum Brigade.