Advent Countdown

Advent is definitely one of my favorite parts of the pre-Christmas season.  Advent is the part that helps me slow down and remember. Advent is the part where we get to prepare, anticipate, and wait to celebrate the birth of Jesus.  Advent means coming. The coming of our Savior.  

Advent always starts four Sundays before Christmas.  So for 2019 it will start on Sunday, December 1.

I absolutely love the wooden advent countdown calendar a friend and I made this year.  I had seen a similar one on Pinterest (find it here), but the directions were in a different language. Google translate helped some, but even so, there were some gaps.  And no real directions. But still the idea and the plan started here.  

We could see the basic idea in the picture.  From that we decided to use pallet boards as the base.  Ikea candles for the candles. And miniature trees we found at Michaels for the tree.  We took the candles with us to the hardware store to determine what size spade bit we would need for the drill.  

Here is what we used:

• An old pallet board (the knottier the better – we love the character)
• 4 candles
• 1 miniature tree (ours are approximately 9 inches tall)
• Saw
• Drill bit the diameter of the candle
• Drill
• Router 
• Tape measure
• Pencil
• Protective eyewear
• Raggedy old folding table to use as a work table
• A good friend and a sense of humor

We figured out that if we cut each board in half, we could get two from each.  The cut boards turned out to be about 22.5 inches each. We put the candles on top to determine spacing.  The candles are at the 3 inch, 6 inch, 9 inch, and 12 inch marks and the tree at about the 19 inch mark.  

We cut the boards, measured the spots to drill and route, and then got to work.  

We created a little “how-to” diagram, similar to the one we had seen on Pinterest.  But in English. And then wrapped the ones we will give as gifts together with a rustic ribbon.  

I can’t wait for December 1st so we can start the countdown.

“The Word became flesh and blood,
and moved into the neighborhood.
We saw the glory with our own eyes,
the one-of-a-kind glory,
like Father, like Son,
Generous inside and out,
true from start to finish.”  ~John 1:14 (The Message)