Gingerbread Advent Calendar

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DIY Gingerbread Advent Calendar. Get excited for the holidays by making your very own gingerbread advent calendar to count down the days until Christmas.

Are you loving all the gingerbread-themed decorations this year as much as I am? They are so popular and for good reason. They are adorable and oh so fun to decorate with.

When I saw a plain brown advent calendar at Hobby Lobby, I knew I had to make it into a sweet gingerbread house.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

How to Make a Gingerbread House Advent Calendar

Today, I will show you step-by-step how to make your own gingerbread house.

Supplies:

I purchased my advent calendar box from Hobby Lobby, but you can also find them at other craft stores and on Amazon.

The great thing about the box is it is already the color of gingerbread, so you don’t have to paint the box or the drawers if you don’t want to!

Draw Gingerbread Decorations on Each Drawer

I wanted to be able to paint on the entire surface of each drawer, so I started by turning all the drawers so the notches were on the inside of the box.

It can help to sketch out a design ahead of time, but you can freehand any design you want.

I included a lot of flourishes and hearts in my designs. Using a fine-tip paint pen was the easiest way to add the designs to each drawer. You could also use white paint and a small paint brush.

I made sure my house had a door at the bottom that took up two drawers, one on top of the other. Then I added windows. Lastly, I added snowflakes and other flourishes to decorate the calendar drawers that were still blank.

RELATED: More Advent Calendar Ideas

Create the Paper Roof

You could skip the steps below for creating the roof, but I think it makes it look more like a true gingerbread house.

My box is exactly 11″ wide and 2″ deep, so I used those measurements to create a roof. I used 8 1/2″ x 11″ kraft paper sheets to create all the pieces.

You will need a triangle for the front and back, as well as two long straight side pieces. Cut and score them using a trim and score board.

I added a quarter inch to the bottom of the triangle roof pieces and scored them on this line. This gives you something to attach to the paper mache box.

For the sides, you will cut a 2 1/2″ strip. Score and fold at 1/4″ on each side of the paper strip. Then, cut on a small diagonal on each side at the bottom to allow the strip to lay flat against the house. (See the above diagram.)

Use hot glue to attach the two triangle shapes to the front and back of the house first. Glue the straight strips to the front and back triangles. I added additional hot glue at the top of the roof peak, and at the bottom of each straight side piece to give it a little more support.

Then, I painted the roof using white craft paint and glitter paint.

I drew some embellishments using the paint pen under the snow. I did this after I installed the roof, but it would be easier to draw on before you glue everything together.

Add Numbers for Advent Calendar

Add a number to each drawer. I started from the top and worked my way down from left to right until I had all 25 numbers.

Glue on Drawer Knobs

Use hot glue to attach a clear bead to the middle of each drawer to use as a pull.

I added four wooden painted snowflakes to each side of the box using hot glue.

Lastly, I found some cute unfinished gingerbread men and painted them brown. They were a little too light without painting them.

Then, I drew on the details with a white paint pen. After they dried, I hot glued them to the drawers at the bottom in the snow that I had drawn on.

Fill the Advent Calendar

Last, but not least, fill each box with a special surprise. This was created for my daughter, so I added things like rings, necklaces, socks (which, if rolled tightly will fit in the drawer), small perfumes, and some makeup items.