Origami Advent Calendar
Myra From My Little Mochi sent us this great craft and is the last in our Advent calendar ideas:
Hello! I’m Myra from My Little Mochi. Here’s a last minute advent calendar that you can put together fairly quickly with an ink jet printer, a little bit of folding and cutting, and materials you probably already have around the house. It also makes a nice gift or goodie bag that can be used throughout the holiday season.
You will need:
Color ink jet printer
8 1/2″ x 11″ white paper (or A4 but you will need to trim down the paper to 8 1/2″x 11″ - Ed.)
Scissors
Glue or tape
Black construction paper
1. Print out 24 copies of the snowman PDF file onto 8 1/2″ x 11″ (or A4) paper.
2. Follow the folding instructions provided.
3. Once all the folds have been completed, place snowman face down and bring the left and right columns toward the middle while simultaneously bringing the top and bottom up toward the middle and you should now have a little folded gift bag. Fill as desired.
4. Use a pen to number the snowmen or cut out countdown numbers provided in the PDF file and attach. I glued mine to the scarf knot.
5. Trace the hat pattern template onto black construction paper and cut out 24 hats or print optional black hat provided.
6. Glue or tape the hat to the top of the folded snowman to hold bag closed.
And you’re done! Some display ideas:
- line them up on a shelf or mantle
- pin them on your Christmas tree or a clothesline
- arrange them on a tiered cake stand
For an even quicker version, use colored or patterned 8 1/2″ x11″ holiday scrapbook paper and follow the folding instructions. Then use a hole punch to punch two holes at the top of the bag, and then string a ribbon through the holes and tie a bow to hold the bag together.
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Kiddley uses and recommends 
This is exactly the type of advent calendar I have been looking for! This really made my day - time to get folding!
Marne December 1st, 2006 00:39
Um, I’m not sure how this turns into a little bag after all the folds are complete. Does anyone have a picture or a side diagram or more detailed instructions for me? Thanks!
Julie December 2nd, 2006 01:37
Julie, I added some photos of the bag in my flickr account here:
http://flickr.com/photos/12177876@N00/311608827/
Once you have all the folds complete if you bring the left and right column toward the middle (without flattening the valley folds) and then pinch the edge of top and bottom middle sections and bring them together, it should create a little bag.
I hope that helps.
myra December 2nd, 2006 12:55
[...] Cute, eh? You can print up and fold your own here. Christmas exploded at work; over the last week we’ve gone a bit overboard decorating the office. While the other offices seem happy with traditional red and green, my officemate loves pink. So I raided the Target dollar aisle, and we’ve covered everything we can in pink and blue snowflake wrapping paper. [...]
Straying Power » Christmas Explosion December 10th, 2006 09:44
What a wonderful idea! I will be doing this activity with my students this week!
Thank you! And, merry christmas!
London Southern Belle December 12th, 2006 03:19