Countdown to Christmas

How many days to Christmas? how many days to Santa? Let's count together with our children ...

This is no expensive and easy-to-make advent calendar.
It's a cheap Christmas decoration if you have leftover felt pieces from other works (you need a very little amount of every colour).
Besides you can use the magnetic board for other purposes after Christmastime.
Be creative for the holidays!

Step 1. Enlarge the board with a frame made with cardboard and covered with adhesive paper. This frame is the support for the figures.
Use an old shoe box and cut four rectangles with these dimensions: 39,5 x 9 cm - 9 x 23 cm - 31 x 3,5 cm - 3 x 20,5 cm. Cover the first with green adhesive paper and the others with blue paper.
Stick the four rectangles on the edge of the board using UHU patafix. So you'll be able to detach the frame easily. But we suggest to reinforce the adhesion between patafix and cardboard with a drop of hot glue.
At this point spray the glue on the green rectangle and then sprinkle it with white glitter dust (snowy effect).

Step 2. Download and print all the patterns. The patterns can be downloaded by following this link .... and then printed into white A4 paper

Step 3. Put the calendar inside the white board and use magnetic Santa to fix it. If you don't find the magnetic Santa you like, you can make it gluing a little magnet on the Santa's back you prefer.

Step 4. Cut out the other patterns and then copy the elk (twice) and bird patterns into the brown foam rubber sheet and the snowman and moon patterns into the white foam rubber sheet. Cut out all the shapes.

Step 5. Make the elks. Using the template cut two elk shapes from the dark brown felt and glue them on the corresponding brown foam rubber.
Now work on the details. Cut out the following details from the paper pattern: the hoofs, muzzle, horns and ears. Now using the template cut the muzzle shape at first from the brown foam rubber and then from the orange felt; at this point glue the rubber muzzle at its place and then the felt muzzle above it.
Go on with the other details: the horns and ears are to be cut out from the orange felt while the hoofs from the pale brown felt. Glue all these details at their place. Complete with the wiggling eyes. Draw the nostrils on the muzzle and more details on the hoofs with a pen.
Look at the photo for more details.
Glue the elks on the green rectangle with the hot glue gun.

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Step 6. Make the snowman. Using the template cut out the whole snowman from the white felt and glue it on the white foam rubber. Cut out the details of the hat and right arm from the paper pattern. Now cut out the arm from the white felt, the hat from the blue, green and red felt. Cut out a long rectangle from the orange felt: it will be the snowman's scarf. Tie the scarf around the neck and glue the other details at their place. Draw the details of the face, buttons, arms and legs with a pen. Look at the photo for more details.
Glue the snowman between the green and blue rectangles.

Step 7. Make the moon. Using the template cut out the moon from the yellow felt and glue it on the foam rubber pattern. Place the moon in the upper right corner with a drop of hot glue.

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Step 8. Make the bird. Using the template cut out the bird from the brown felt and glue it on the foam rubber pattern. Then go on with the details. Cut out the tail and wing from the pale brown felt, the beak and chest pieces from the orange felt, the collar from the yellow felt. Place all these details and a wiggling eye at their place with the glue. Glue the whole bird above the snowman.

Step 9. The last details. Make some leaves in two different green colours and a little branch. You have the best result if you cut out them at first from the brown foam rubber and then from the felt: the tecnique is the same you have just used for the other figures. Complete with some red berries. Complete your work gluing a lot of stars on the sky and the leaves near the elks.

Look at the photos for more details.

Note

• - Hang this D.I.Y. Christmas decoration where you prefer but the most important thing is that you let your children work with you. There is no better way to get into the holiday spirit than crafting with kids.
• - It can be a nice solution for decorating the window of a children shop.
• - You can also use this Christmas decoration in the following years but you can choose to undo it and use the white board as memorandum.