Nativity Advent Calendar

I've received a few emails asking about my nativity advent lately, so I thought I'd repost some information. If you are interested in making a felt nativity advent calendar, now is a good time to start. It is rather time consuming, but so worth the effort. This is still my kids' favorite Christmas tradition, and I am always surprised that they remember who's turn it is to put the first piece up every year.

The figures: I made my figures out of a high quality wool felt. It is more durable and easier to work with than a less expensive craft felt. The entire collection requires such a small amount of fabric, that I was willing to pay a higher price per yard. Each little piece has a magnet affixed to the back. This allows them to stick to the magnetic background and can be moved around to change the scene. I hand stitched mine together using coordinating embroidery thread, but if that's not your thing, I'm sure fabric glue would do the trick. I didn't use a pattern (felt is very forgiving that way), but a reader of my blog, Jessica, made templates based on my design that can be found here.

I made 25 pieces, so there is one to put up every day until Christmas morning. Baby Jesus is always the final piece. I keep them in small brown paper mache boxes (from the craft store, you can see them in an old post I linked to down below) that are numbered one to 25. Each morning it's like opening a little present. Oh, it is fun!

The background: I attached two metal shingles (found at the Home Depot for a few dollars) to the backing of my frame. Then I mod-podged craft paper over the top to create the sky, grass, and stable. I wanted a very simple, almost folk look. I put a layer of mod podge over the top, and several years later, it is still in great condition.

Happy crafting!

Other posts about my nativity, including some close-ups, here and here.