How to Make An Upcycled Advent Calendar Using Tin Cans
The best part of Christmas is the build-up, all the crafting and gift-making. It's like many things in life; the anticipation is the most exciting. I started my Christmas crafting with this simple upcycled advent calendar.
A big part of this Christmas hype is the countdown to the big day. Of course, an advent calendar is the best way to do this. We have at least 2-3 advent calendars in our house.
I like making upcycled advent calendars to put in my carefully selected treats and pictures. My upcycled advent calendars usually contain a daily chocolate treat and a cheesy Christmas joke to make my boys smile, hopefully.
Simple Tin Can Upcycled Advent Calendar
As with most of my crafting and DIY, I like to make my advent calendars with stuff I have. Last year I made a paper envelope Christmas calendar. I saved up all my tin cans this year and made my upcycled advent calendar using them.
I also love the rustic look of this upcycled advent calendar. It wouldn't look out of place in a home with a farmhouse or industrial vibe.
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What you need
- 25 Tin cans - (I saved my tin cans from all the tin tomatoes and coconut milk I use in my cooking.) You can always rope in family and friends if you don't have enough tin cans. Mine are always giving me their tin cans to upcycle.
- 25 Red Rubber bands
- White Kraft paper - You can always use brown if you want an even more rustic look. I went for the white as I thought it was more Christmasy looking.
- Number Stencil Ruler
- Red Sharpie/felt tip pen.
- Hot glue gun and plenty of glue sticks. Or you can use double-sided sticky foam pads.
To fill your upcycled advent calendar.
- Christmas chocolates and sweets.
- Old Christmas cards - for the pictures.
- A collection of cheesy Christmas jokes - I used the collection published in the Telegraph Newspaper.
How to make your upcycled advent calendar
Step 1:First, make the paper covers of your tin cans. On the white paper, draw around a bowl or something else round that is a bit wider than the top of the tin can.
Step 2: Cut out these paper discs. You will need 25 paper discs, one for each day. Then, write the numbers 1 to 25 on each paper disc using a stencil and red sharpie.
Step 3: Fill your tins with your treats. As well as a treat, I cut out the pictures of last year's Christmas cards and wrote a cheesy Christmas joke on the back of them. My kids look forward to guessing the Christmas picture and seeing how bad the Christmas joke is.
Step 4: Using a red rubber band, secure the paper cover to the top of each tin. Carry on until you have all 25 tins covered, each with a different number.
How to construct the advent calendar
Step 5: I arranged my tin can advent calendar into a Christmas tree shape. This involved a pyramid of tin cans; a row of 1, followed by a row of 2, then 3, then 4, then 5, then 6. The final four tin cans were stacked in a 2-by-2 formation to form the trunk.
Step 6: I used a hot glue gun to stick the tin cans together. I constructed each row of my upcycled advent calendar first. Then I attached the rows, finishing off with the trunk.
I found the hot glue gun worked well for this task, as the glue has a volume filling any gaps. The only thing with a glue gun is that you have to work fast. The double-sided sticky foam pads work just as well as the glue gun. I used a combination of both.
Personally, I like the numbers in my advent calendars to be in a random order. To me that is part of the fun of the advent calendar, hunting for the right day. Are you random or ordered, and what do you put in your advent calendars?
If you like homemade advent calendars, you might want to check out the paper envelope advent calendar I made last year. Or these other tin can craft ideas.
Also, if you like upcycled Christmas crafts, check out my sweater's upcycled felt garland.
This is such a neat idea! Thanks for linking up with Merry Monday!
Thank you,glad you liked it.
This is such a darling idea! So clever! Pinned and sharing. Thank you for linking up at Family Joy Blog Link-Up Party this week. We hope to see you back again starting Sunday at 12 EST.
Thank you Cristina, I'll be back.
This is a cute idea and how easy is this project to make. Thank you for sharing at Dishing it and Digging it link party. We love having you.
Thank you very much.
I've never made an advent calendar before and I just may have enough cans laying around to pull this one off. Thank you for sharing with us this week at Celebrate Your Story, have a great weekend.
Thank you ! Hope you have enough cans.
Claire, your tin can advent calendar is so fun!! I like the random order you put them in. I'm in the process of making my first advent calendar for my little kiddos, and I think I'll keep it in chronological order for their sake, but as they get older I like the idea of mixing the numbers up.
Thank you Keri, I always have my advent calendars in a random order. My kids like hunting for the right day.
Very clever! Thanks for linking up to The Creative Exchange! Holly 🙂
Thank you for hosting.
Love it, Claire! Thanks for sharing @Vintage Charm--pinned!
Thank you !
What a cute idea! Thanks for sharing on the Pleasures of the NW’s DIY party-and don’t forget to leave a comment at the party – Next week’s features that also leave a comment get pinned and tweeted!
Thank you.
So clever, I love this idea. I was such a bad mom, I hardly every had an advent calendar for my daughter. But I'll make up for it when she had kids. Pinning this!
Thank you Toni. My boys wouldn't let me get away with not making them an advent calendar.
This is a smart and super budget friendly idea - thanks for sharing! 😀
Thank you very much.
Very fun idea! I'm sure part of the fun is breaking through the seal to reveal the treat. With three kids now, I need to come up with a new Advent calendar system so each kiddo can have their own.
Thank you ! The cans are big enough to hold 3 treats. They could all just take turns in breaking the seal.
That's a great advent calendar; love the recycled materials! And cans are a good size. Making my own advent calendar is on my list; it's not happening this year, but I'm pinning your idea. Maybe I'll get my act together next year...
Thank you ! Just remember to save your cans.
I think your advent calendar turned out really cute! I think my son asked if we were going to do one this year. I'll have to keep this one in mind. Stopping by from This is How We Roll Linky Party. Hope you have a great weekend!
Thank you. One of the best things about this calendar is there is room for lots of treats.
That's so clever! I just made an advent calendar this week too & will post it on my blog tomorrow. But yours is so, so clever! Is your mind just filled to the brim with ideas?
Thank you Wendy, I will definately pop over for a look tomorrow. Yes my head is constantly buzzing with ideas and it can be hard to focus sometime and just make them.
I always make advent calendars for my college-aged children from recyclable items. Your tin can version is funky. I love it. Thanks for sharing at the This How We Roll Link Party.
Thank you. I make them for my teenage boys too.