A DIY advent calendar is 24 small pockets, one for each day from December 1 to Christmas Eve, and you can make one from envelopes, paper bags, cardboard tubes or a jar of folded notes. Fill the pockets with activities instead of things and it costs almost nothing. Below are 8 ways to build one and 24 free activities to put inside.
Updated by the Frugal Santa elves
Pick 24 small pockets, number them 1 to 24, put one note, activity or treat in each, and hang or stack them where the kids will see them every morning. The pockets can be anything that holds a slip of paper: envelopes, paper lunch bags, cardboard tubes, paper cups, matchboxes or socks on a line.
Start on December 1 and the last pocket opens on Christmas Eve. Build it the weekend before, so the first door is ready on the morning of December 1.
24 envelopes, string, clothespins
Number the envelopes, slip a note or a flat treat inside and peg them along a string over a doorway.
24 lunch bags, a stapler
Fold the tops over, staple them shut and stamp a number on each. They hold small treats and toys.
24 toilet paper tubes, glue, paper
Glue the tubes side by side in a tree or house shape on a sheet of cardboard and cover the ends with numbered paper circles.
24 paper cups, tissue paper, rubber bands
Put a small surprise in each cup, cover the top with tissue paper held by a rubber band, number them and punch one through each day.
24 empty matchboxes or small boxes, glue
Stack and glue the boxes into a block, number the fronts and tuck a tiny note or sticker in each drawer.
A jar, paper, a pen
Write one activity per slip, fold them and pull one out each morning. The cheapest calendar there is.
24 ornaments you already own, a small bag each
Wrap the ornaments one by one. Each day a child hangs one on a bare tree or branch, so the tree fills up by Christmas Eve.
Christmas books from your shelf, paper
Wrap the family's own Christmas books and unwrap one for each bedtime story. Library books work too if you skip the wrapping.
Copy one onto a slip for each pocket, or open the doors here to peek. Every one is free, and most link to a page with everything you need for that day.
Walk or drive to see the lights
Bake cookies together
Cocoa and a Christmas movie
Pick a toy or a can for a donation drive
Mix free days with small treats: activities, notes and jokes cost nothing, so a few chocolates or stickers go further. Ideas that fit inside an envelope or a paper bag:
For grown-ups, try tea bags, a favorite snack, or a slip with a memory from each year you've known them. Keep the biggest surprise for December 24.
Most advent calendars start on December 1 and run to December 24. The church season of Advent starts earlier, on the fourth Sunday before Christmas. In 2026 that is Sunday, November 29, because Christmas falls on a Friday; the other Advent Sundays are December 6, 13 and 20.
Families who light an Advent wreath often start on November 29 and still open calendar doors from December 1. Our Christmas countdown shows the exact days and sleeps left.
In the 1800s, German Lutheran families counted the days to Christmas with chalk lines on a door, rubbing one out each day. The printed calendar came later, from a German printer named Gerhard Lang:
A homemade calendar is a return to the first idea: a parent, some cardboard and 24 small surprises.
One door can be a call with Santa. On Frugal Santa, a grown-up starts a live video call in the browser, and kids (or grown-ups) tell Santa what they are hoping for. Santa is an AI video character who listens and answers out loud. After the call, the wishes come back as a list with store prices, lowest first. $1 a minute. Read how calling Santa works or start a call.
Most have 24 doors, one for each day from December 1 to December 24, so the last one is opened on Christmas Eve. Some have 25 and include Christmas Day.
The weekend before December 1. Filling 24 pockets takes an evening, and fillers like notes and activities cost nothing to prepare.
Activities, jokes, stickers, a puzzle piece a day, a note about something you love about them, an ornament for the tree, or a coupon for staying up 15 minutes late.
It can cost almost nothing if you use envelopes, paper bags or a jar of folded slips and fill it with free activities. Small toys and treats add up, so mix them with free days.
Live videoSave one door for a live video call with Santa. A grown-up starts it in the browser, and kids can tell him what they're hoping for. $1 a minute.
Call Santa
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