Advent Boxes

A few weeks ago, my mom and I were talking about some Christmas traditions we did as a family growing up.  As we were talking, she remembered a special gift that a dear friend had made her when all of us kids were young.  She had saved it and gave it to us to use with the boys.

We used it as inspiration to make our own advent boxes. We made lots of changes, but for the most part, it is very similar to the advent boxes we had growing up.

There is a box for each day in the month of December (up to Christmas Day). Each box holds a small item and a scripture (or Biblical principal) to go along with each day. You can download the Word document with each day’s message here. Download Advent Boxes Printable here.

I love how each tiny box holds a treasure that can be found in Christ alone! After all, He is truly the reason for the season!

You can also download the labels for each day here. Download the Advent Box Labels here.I used Avery return address mailing labels (30 per page) and then cut them in half. You will have to use Microsoft Word, then go to the “Tools” menu, choose “Letters and Mailings”, choose “Envelopes and Labels” and then find the labels you are using on the “options” tab. You will then have to copy and paste the label download into your label page.

And in case you’re wondering….

  • The small silver boxes are from here. They were the cheapest I could find, but come in sets of 100. If you buy the boxes at a craft store, you’re looking at paying around $0.89 EACH. With shipping, each box cost me only $0.28.
  • We found most of the trinkets at Hobby Lobby or Michael’s.
  • The bows are elastic ribbon cut to 12″ strips and tied around the boxes. 
  • The large decorative boxes that hold all of the smaller boxes were purchased at Dollar General in packs of 2 for $2.50 per pack.
I’ll be honest…these boxes weren’t easy (and the trinkets inside them certainly weren’t cheap). They took A LOT of time to put together (especially when making 12 at once)! BUT I think all the hard work was totally worth it as it will be a fun tradition that we can look forward to year after year…and one that focuses on the true meaning of Christmas!

16 Comments

  1. Thanks for sharing this!! I have a felt advent calendar that my mom made when my sister and I were little. I plan on printing out the daily scriptures to read with my daughter :)

  2. This is so neat! I've just been reading up on the Jesse Tree idea (I saw it first on Life as Mom). Is this at all like that? Are these ornaments, or just "gifts"? Could you post a picture of all of the things you did for each day? I want to work on something like this or the Jesse Tree through the year this year so we have it for Christmas next year. Thanks so much for the ideas!

  3. Thanks for sharing the great idea. I have an advent calendar that we already use so I'll just put the daily scriptures in it and read them each day with my sons!

  4. Thank you for sharing this! I'm printing it out to use in our homeschool Bible class. Does Day 9 have a story, comments, or question to go with it? Just wondering…:)

  5. Merry Jo–I don't think it is the same as the Jesse Tree, but I'm not sure. I haven't really heard much about the Jesse Tree.

    Alison- You could just print off the scriptures and a picture of the item…then it would be free!

    RogerUIO- No for Day 9…just the scripture. I couldn't think of anything non-morbid to add. :)

  6. This is not the Jesse Tree. The Jesse Tree is mostly made up of the people in the family line of Jesus. (or people that personify aspects of him)

  7. I stumbled upon you blog about a month ago and have found many wonderful ideas. I'm a SAHM with two girls ages 2 and 4 months. Creativity is not my forte so getting ideas from you has helped tremendously. I also attend BSF and my family did Advent Boxes (we called it Box of Blessings) growing up. This is my first year doing it with our girls. Thank you for taking time to share your ideas with us.

  8. I LOVE these – what a wonderful idea! I have been looking for something like this, so we will be doing this. Thank you so much!

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