Fabulous Felt Christmas Advent Calendar Ideas

Bright felt fabric Advent Calendars count down the days to Christmas in festive and kid-friendly style that is way more durable than a cardboard version that lasts only the one year.

With its non-fraying fabric and soft stuffed shapes, an Advent calendar made of felt is a long-lasting choice, easy to store and looking good for years to come. An added bonus is in the relative toughness of felt sewn in layers - you know your little ones won't easily break the calendar by accident, in their excitement at finding the hidden treasures for each day!

Featured: Gingerbread Advent Calendar with Felt Applique with 24 pockets just perfect for hiding those countdown treats or tiny toys.

Photo: Christmas tree baubles by Mary Hutchison, on Flickr [CC BY 2.0]

So, how dow you get yourself a felt Advent Calendar for the next Christmas countdown? Well, you've got three options for lining up this fun item of holiday décor, and here we'll take a look at each of these:

1. Buy a ready-made beauty to decorate your wall right out of the box - a smart choice if you're running short on time!
2. Choose a craft kit to put together - and depending on their ages, your kids can help, for another family holiday tradition in the making!
3. Make your own one-of-a-kind felt Advent Calendar from scratch.

Whether you prefer to make your own countdown calendar or buy one, it often comes down to how much spare time you've got for crafts right now, considering all that you've got to do before the holidays are on us. Keep reading for lots of quick-and-easy fun ideas for felt Advent Calendars, and see what you find to suit your family!

Gotta love an Advent Calendar that does more than give kids a sugar rush - let's keep them busy, too!

Here's my top pick for a felt Advent Calendar idea right now: a ready-to-use Advent Calendar made up of 24 treat bags in soft felt fabric, each holding a different surprise to encourage creative play.

Activities are included with this calendar, but you can substitute your own if you want - and choose your own activity "treats" to use with the calendar again next year, and for years to come.

If you have 24 small felt ornaments with a number on each one, and somewhere to hang them (one more to be put up on display as each day of the Christmas countdown goes by), well then, you've got yourself an Advent Calendar!

A decorative wall hanging in a seasonal theme, with a small numbered treat pouch for each day of the Christmas countdown, these felt Advent Calendars are both festive and fun. Here are some ready-made calendars to buy, if you are short on time - and who isn't these days? On the other hand, if you're a keen crafter, you may enjoy the awesome Bucilla felt craft kits to put together one of the most popular designs yet keep that homemade-with-love quality.

Instead of a wall-hanging for your felt Advent calendar, what about a festive swag at a doorway or window? Go for a kit, for a quick decoration, or DIY it if the mood strikes. It's the kind of easy craft you can do with kids, or where a teen can exercise her own imagination. Got a nice Christmas ribbon? Got a bunch of little felt Christmas stockings? Make your own garland Advent Calendar inspired by this one!

If you're interested in a kit, but the color schemes are not quite right to match your holiday décor, you can always take inspiration from these calendars and kits, and make your own DIY Advent Calendar by adding easy-to-sew felt pouches or pockets to a purchased wall quilt in a holiday theme, or to any other fabric Christmas wall décor you may already own. Another option is to decorate a festive wreath with the Christmas countdown treat bags, but of course you'll need to choose quite tiny bags or else a good big wreath!

Customize your felt treat bag Advent Calendar by choosing mini gift bags in a Christmas theme, tiny Christmas stockings or miniature felt mittens - cut the easy-to-draw shapes from purchased felt fabric, and use a decorative (easy) blanket stitch to sew the edges closed, then add stick-on numbers (or iron-on numbers, if you prefer) 1 to 24 for the days of December. Hang the goodies on your wreath or wall hanging, or on a length of thick bright yarn (braid several strand of yarn for extra visual impact and strength, if you like) to use as a swag or garland, or hang vertically from a hook on the wall or door.

Photo: Felt Christmas Light Pins/Ornaments by Ritzee Rebel, on Flickr [CC BY-SA 2.0]

Is there a flannel board in your home? Homeschooling parents know what a great educational tool a flannel board and felt pieces can be – and what a fun toy for imaginative play – but have you considered using your flannel board as an Advent Calendar?

Bright red flannel or flannel with a Christmas print would be a nice variation if you decide to make your own Advent Calendar flannel board. Add a felt shape each day to build a festive scene!

Instead of an ordinary flannel board to put your felt figures on, what about a big Christmas tree shape? Cut a Christmas tree out of stiff cardboard and cover it with flannel fabric to make a special seasonal flannel board.

Alternatively, a big Christmas tree shape of felt fabric can be decorated day-by-day with small soft Christmas ornaments. Velcro dots on the back of each will help you avoid using pins to put up the ornaments, a safe choice for a home with small children. Make your own tree Advent Calendar - the beauty of felt is that you can just cut out the shape you want, quick as easy, as felted fabric doesn't fray at the edges - and the ornaments, too, if you're feeling especially crafty.

Check your local fabric store for remnants at a good price, as you won’t need a great deal of fabric. And if you plan to make your own felt shapes for the calendar, keep an eye out for assortment packs of felt in different colors, to get the variety you need without the cost of buying a whole lot of separate felt colors.

Or, indulge in one of the colorful DIY easy-to-make kits for making felt ornament in a fun and colorful range of styles. How about a crowd of chubby snowman figures, or a forest of funky festive trees? Dimensions has the best kits, I think. Here's just a sample for you -