Chalkboard Advent Calendar Boxes

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I created these chalkbord advent calendar boxes for the Baha'i holiday Ayyan-i-Ha. Ayyam-i-Ha is a Baha'i gift giving holiday that lasts for four or five days but when you have little kids giving gifts can get to be a little tedious and expense. Advent calendars are the perfect way to give a small gift everyday without breaking the bank. It may be easy to find an advent calendar at Christmas time but they are not so readily available at the store for Ayyam-i-Ha. These chalkboard Ayyam-i-Ha advent calendar boxes are great for the kids to count down the days.

Supplies

  • Wooden Box
  • Primer
  • White Paint
  • Chalk Board Paint
  • Chalk
  • Paint Brushes
  • Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue or Purple Acrylic Paint (optional)
  • Fine Tip Marker (optional)

Steps

1. Pick up a Box

Pick up a wooden box from a dollar or craft store. I picked up a wooden box from the dollar store the perfect size to fit in small toys.

2. Prime Box

For the chalkboard paint to stick properly the box should be primed first with a primer. You can pick some up at the craft or the hardware store.

3. Paint Inside of Box

The inside of the box should be painted with acrylic paint to seal the primer. I painted the inside of my boxes white.

4. Paint Box With Chalkboard Paint




Pick up some chalkboard paint from the craft or hardware store. Paint the outside of the box and allow to dry. 


It will most likely take more than one coat to cover the box, I had to do three coats of chalkboard paint.

5. Stencil Image and Write Inside (Optional)


This step is optional I just found that it added a nice look to the inside of the box. I stenciled an image of the nine pointed Baha'i star painted it blue and wrote Happy Ayyam-I-Ha on the inside cover for an extra detail. If you choose to paint a star on the inside cover of your box you can paint it red, orange, yellow, green, blue or purple.

6. Decorate With Chalk



This is the step where the box gets fun for the kids. With chalk write on the top the day and what number of the day it is. Right before Ayyam-i-Ha give the kids their boxes and some chalk and have them colour the outside of it. It's a great activity to get the kids excited for the start of the holiday.

What To Put Inside

Now that you have your advent calendar boxes the next question is what do you put inside of them? I personally like to a theme for the whole time so they end up with a whole set of something by the end. For my one-year-old I did a set of rattles and for my three-year-old I did mini action figures of Sonic the Hedgehog he could play with them on the day and then by the end he had the whole set. Here is a list of ideas that may work for you but it really depends on what your child likes and their age.
  • Rattles (baby and 1-year-olds)
  • Little people
  • Lego's
    • small cars or characters
  • Candy
  • Small action figures 
    • ex. Paw Patrol, Batman, Spiderman, Mario or Disney Prinesses
  • Small Playmobil 
    • small packets of single characters
  • Trading cards
    • ex. Pokemon or Hockey
  • Hair ties
  • Small craft kits 
    • Jewelry making kits, painting or drawing
  • Hot wheels
  • Nail polish
Each day erase the number and write the next number with chalk and put inside toy of your choice. Have fun making and filling your chalkboard advent calendars and happy holiday's everyone. Follow me for more at home D.I.Y. projects on a budget.

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