We’re still plugging away at the kitchen, so expect an update soon—probably not post #561, more like #19—but still: progress is coming. This week we’re hoping to share some big milestones like new countertops and a working sink again. In the meantime, it feels right to shift gears and get into the holiday spirit. There’s something extra special about spending our first real Christmas in our new house, and this year we want to go all out. We technically moved on December 13th last year, so we were here for the season, but we were living out of boxes and Clara was too little to understand any of the holiday excitement. This year, she’s old enough to enjoy the countdown, so I started by making a simple advent calendar for her:
Seeing the calendar from Clara’s point of view is priceless—soaking up the days while she’s still shorter than me is one of those moments I want to savor.
This little DIY cost only $7.99 because I used supplies we already had and bought just one item: a scarf hanger from Ikea. The idea struck while I was wandering the store. I walked past the scarf hanger, realized it had many circular openings, and it clicked: it would make a perfect advent calendar. The hanger had 28 openings, which is close enough to 25, so I decided three of the circles could be “free spaces” while the rest would hold numbered tags and ornaments.
- I passed the scarf hanger and liked its shape.
- I wondered if it could be used for something other than scarves.
- I noticed the number of openings and the advent calendar idea landed.
To make it, I used metal ornament hooks we already had and threaded ornaments onto them where necessary. I looped each hook over the circle or the bar above each circle so each ornament would hang into the circle below and look neatly framed. We included a few quirky ornaments in honor of our other family member, Burger: a tiny hamburger ornament I found on clearance last year, a snowflake frame with his mug, and even a glittery disco ball because we love to dance. The disco ball doesn’t really relate to Burger, but it might mean a celebratory twirl when we hang it.
For the numbered tags I cut 25 tag-shaped pieces of cardstock, using the first one as a template to keep them consistent. I punched a hole in each tag so it could slip over the ornament hook. Before writing the numbers I looked at a few typefaces for inspiration and sketched each numeral lightly in pencil, then traced over it with a pen once it looked right. They’re hand-drawn, not perfect, but charming in a simple, homemade way.
I hung the finished calendar on the front of our coat closet door using a removable 3M hook so we didn’t have to make a nail hole. I assembled the calendar on December 2nd, but we still haven’t set up the tree yet, which feels like classic procrastination. For now we’re enjoying the ornaments on the calendar and planning to set up the tree soon so we can “catch up” by hanging several ornaments at once, then continuing the daily ritual from there. The hope is that this will be a fun, shared activity each morning with Clara: hang an ornament, count the days, and savor the season.
Besides the advent calendar, holiday plans include decorating two trees this year—a tabletop tree and a full-sized tree—and actually putting lights outside. We’re determined to get festive and make the house feel merry. I also signed up for a Secret Santa swap with a group of fellow bloggers. I’m excited but nervous because I get stage fright and worry about picking the right gifts. The secret exchange should be a lot of fun and hopefully will inspire some creative gift-making. When the mystery package arrives we’ll try to guess who sent it and enjoy the surprises together.
So that’s where we are: kitchen progress in small doses, and lots of holiday cheer in the meanwhile. Have you started decorating for the holidays? Are you already finished, or are you still in the procrastination club with us? Have you ever repurposed an Ikea item for something completely different? If you’ve done a Secret Santa, did you find the perfect gift? We’re hoping these few holiday projects will spark more ideas and get us into full festive mode.
Update: We rounded up a few favorite holiday decor picks recently—many are affordable and make great additions if you’re still finishing up decorations.