This fun and easy project will be enjoyed throughout the whole month. Remember that you will want to make this early so that it can be used starting on December 1st. A good time to make it would be after Thanksgiving dinner is eaten and put away. While you are making the project you could tell the kids a little about the history of where advent comes from.

During the middle ages advent became associated with preparing for the coming of Christ, but it has only been in the last fifty years that advent has been thought of as the time leading up to the birth of Christ or Christmas day. Advent calendars originated in Germany in the 1800’s where little doors were opened to reveal a picture. Advent calendars quickly became popular throughout most of Europe.

Tree Advent Calendar - Christmas craft project for kids What you will need:

• White pipe cleaners
• Tin can
• Marbles
• White paint
• Paintbrush
• Fishing line
• Scissors
• White ribbon
• Permanent marker
• Snowflake confetti or white paper

Directions:

1. Paint the tin can with the white paint.
2. Allow the paint to dry.
3. Apply two more coats of paint allowing it to dry between coats.
4. While the tin can is drying, help the Kids make their tree out of the pipe cleaners.
5. Use one pipe cleaner as the trunk of the tree.
6. For the bottom branch twist a pipe cleaner once around the trunk so that the pipe cleaner is exactly in half around the trunk.
7. Help the child cut about two inches off one pipe cleaner.
8. Find the half-way point of the pipe cleaner and wrap it once around the trunk about an inch and a half away from the first.
9. Repeat this process until you’ve reach about a half inch from the top of the trunk.
10. Pour marbles into the tin can until you’ve reached the top.
11. Push the trunk of the pipe cleaner tree into the marbles so that it stands up straight.
12. Help the child tie a bow around the tin can with the white ribbon.
13. String confetti onto fishing line and tie it so that it forms a loop to hang it on the tree like an ornament. Or have the child make his own small snowflakes out of white paper with scissors. String the paper snowflakes onto the fishing line in the same way as the confetti.
14. Use the marker to write a number on each snowflake, 1-24.
15. Let the child hang the snowflakes on the tree and put it where the child can reach it to remove a snowflake for each day.