This year I’m embracing the holiday season more wholeheartedly than ever. I don’t know if it’s this extra week between Thanksgiving and Christmas or the fact that my kiddo is now old enough to really understand and be delighted by the season. It’s amazing how quickly your inner child comes out when your toddler stares in awe at a sparkling tree.

One of my favorite childhood holiday traditions was the advent calendar. I waited with such anticipation to mark each day. But since I’ve turned out to be one of those hippy moms who doesn’t let her kid eat sugar (yup, I’m a mean mommy) I’ve been looking for advent calendar options that don’t include chocolate nor have an overly-saccharine design. I’m embracing the holidays, but I still have my aesthetic standard to uphold people. So I’ve been hunting. And hunting. And hunting! Turns out there are very few attractive advent calendars on the market. And by very few I mean none. But in my hunt, I did uncover a litany of ingenious fellow bloggers who have flexed their DIY muscle and created some stunning advent calendars that would fit seamlessly into my vibe – and I think yours too. Case in point the simple yet stunning option hanging strings above (if anyone knows the original source, pls tell me!). Here is a quick collection of my favorite advent ideas with you.

Geometric gems don’t immediately scream holiday decor. My favorite.

While chalkboards usually feel a little too Fixer Upper for me, I love the nice font and pop of black on this guy. You could simply use a chalkboard pen to mark off the days.

While I typically don’t do a lot of holiday color (this year’s tablescape excluded) I also say metallics don’t count as color! I love the idea of little gift tags that you add to an advent “tree” one by one.

Color black, white and very happy. I love Homey Oh My’s take on cute little advent gift bags. You need a hefty wall space for this baby though.

This scaled down option could tuck in nicely just about anywhere.

This snow-white scene is certainly right up my alley. The black tip of the DIY branch is the perfect attention to detail that I adore. Of course, I wouldn’t expect anything less from one of my all-time faves, A Merry Mishap.

This little triangle calendar idea is ingenious – and you could execute this idea at virtually any scale, from teeny tiny to huge. I’d drive myself a little crazy trying to get those lines perfectly symmetrical though.

I’m actually probably going to try an idea a friend suggested – books as my advent. So starting December 1 there will be a stack of books under the tree, numbered 1-24 and we’ll get to read a new story each evening. Some will be holiday themed, some will just be wonderful stories but I love the idea of a little excitement each day as we build toward Christmas morning. I’ll be sure to share sneak peeks on Instagram! But I’m curious, how do you mark the holiday season? If you have favorite traditions, please share. I’m always looking for new ideas.

 

images in order of appearance source unknown / cherry blossom / the merry thought / we are scout / homey oh my / apartment therapy / a merry mishap / weekend carnival