Guest post: Advent Tree
December 2, 2009 by Brenda
Filed under Featured Posts, Things To Do
Advent Tree
This is an idea I came up with a few years ago. Most Advent calendars – particularly the chocolate filled ones – are at their best at the beginning of December, before all the boxes are opened. I was looking for something which would actually look better as Christmas approached.
It’s quite a simple idea really. Cut out a tree shape, paint it green, hang it from the wall, push in some pegs and day by day hang decorations on them, culminating with the Star on Christmas Eve.
Our tree was made from an off-cut of thin MDF, but it should be possible to make one from cork or even heavy cardboard, either painted or covered in material, just be sure it is deep enough to take pinboard tacks . There’s no reason why it needs to be a “proper” tree shape with branches – a tall triangle shape gives the tree impression just as well – and no need for it to be green- silver or gold would work equally well, or perhaps match it to your Christmas decorating theme. The open box at the base holds the decorations before hanging. It isn’t really necessary but keeps things together but hidden till they are needed – being just out of sight for a small child you can add new surprise decorations.
The decorations can be any thing you choose. A lot of ours are home made from scraps of felt – simple shapes tacked together, stuffed with the off-cuts and decorated with sequins or beads- but some are trimmings from crackers or Christmas cards and some are very small purchased ornaments. For a more natural looking tree, you could use small pine or alder cones or dried flowerheads.
This is the first guest post from Mary, our latest guest post contributor, you can find more examples of Mary’s ideas below:
http://maryomsgarden.blogspot.com
http://maryomshomepage.blogspot.com/
http://ourbookreviewsonline.blogspot.com/
Related posts:
- Guest Post: Hoarding and Planning
- Guest Post: Enjoy Christmas Season and Then Recycle the Tree
- Guest Post: 5 Environmentally friendly ways to decorate your home for Christmas
- Guest Post: How to make a Felt Purse
- Guest Post: Hosting an Eco-Friendly Holiday Party
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Thanks for the handy idea. An Advent tree is a perfect way to engage your children in the excitement of the upcoming holiday. They have very little notion of how far away christmas day actually is. They just know that it is coming and they want it to arrive as soon as possible. The Advent tree gives them a reference and a time frame that in turn teaches them the concept of the days and weeks of the calendar. It also serves to stop a bit of the whining about when Santa is going to arrive.