I love the idea of an Advent Calendar. A tiny little countdown to Christmas that gets kids and adults alike excited for the upcoming holidays.

I am all about starting new traditions and keeping old ones going and an advent calendar is the perfect way to get into the spirit of the holiday season early, and to do it with family or friends too. (Or alone, if the calendar happens to be filled with chocolates 😉

But, the advent idea can go much farther than just a traditional calendar too. Last year I decided to put together an advent calendar gift for some friends that live farther away that I can’t see as often as I would like. I picked out 25 different gifts, one for each day leading up to Christmas, and then wrapped them and attached different numbers to each package. They opened one gift everyday, starting on December 1st and ending on Christmas!

I had a blast shopping for each gift, wrapping them all up, picking the order that they’d be opened, and tying on the corresponding tag and ribbon for each day. (The shopping was definitely the most fun).

So this year, I created some modern and fun printable advent calendar gift tags to share, just in case you’ve been bit by the advent bug too and want to spread a little holiday joy for someone this year! And I know that it’s not even Thanksgiving yet, but this gift idea does take a little bit more time to plan than a traditional gift, and they all need to be delivered by December 1st, at the latest, so that they can start being opened. (If possible, I like to drop them off a few days before).

Keep in mind, when picking gifts, they don’t need to be large or grand at all. You can even include homemade items or crafts too! The gift is 25 separate days of gifts, so remember to not go crazy for each one, unless that’s the goal!

I also like to throw in a few holiday themed gifts too, so that the recipient can add them to their decor as the month passes!

Here’s what you’ll need to make your own:

• 25 Gifts
• Wrapping Paper
• Scissors
• Tape
• Twine or Ribbon
• Hole Punch
• Printable Advent Calendar Gift Tag File

Make a list of each of your gifts and assign them a number from day 1 to day 25. (I like to do this so I don’t have similar gifts opened back to back).

Wrap each of your gifts individually and tie with ribbon.

Print the file for the printable advent calendar gift tags and cut each of them out.

Punch each tag with a hole punch and attach onto each wrapped gift in the correct order.

Deliver the wrapped gifts before December 1st and wait for the holiday magic to unfold.

It was really fun to get pictures sent everyday of the new gift they had unwrapped and how excited they were. It definitely takes some more effort, but is worth the time in the end.

Happy gifting!