This year I decided to make my own advent calendar. 24 glassine bags filled with lollies on a board, counting down to Christmas day.

I bought a piece of ply from my local hardware store.  It had to be big enough to fit 24 little lolly bags on.  So make sure if you wish to make this advent calendar that all your bags will fit on it.

I then painted it with chalkboard paint.  This is also available from your hardware store.  I used a roller which gave better coverage.

When it was dry, I got my hubby to help glue the string lines on.  We used a hot glue gun as this was easier.

We found it easier to put a few string lines up and then test how the lolly bags were going to hang.  We did a little test run.  Then measured out where each string should go.

I used a stencil and a black sharpie to write the numbers on the glassine bags.  Available from Blank Goods.  I bought some lovely glitter tapes and spots to decorate the bags and board with.

I filled the bags with an assortment of lollies, you can use whatever you desire.

I wrote Merry Christmas with chalk and this is the finished product.

The kids cannot wait until the 1st December to begin the countdown.

Are you going to make your own advent calendar this year?