With the holiday season fast approaching its time to start thinking about Advent fun for the kids. My kids adore advent calendars almost more than Christmas itself. This year my daughter requested an advent calendar, filled with unicorns, rainbows and stars please! I'm sharing all the details on how I made this fun unicorn calendar using plain white envelopes, a few simple craft supplies and my free printables. Fill the envelopes with goodies that your kids will be so excited to open and watch their little faces light up each morning. Be sure to download the Free DIY Unicorn Advent Calendar Printables here!
First download the Free DIY Unicorn Advent Calendar Printables here to make the envelopes. Trace and cut out the envelope bases and flaps onto different colors from the Pastels Cardstock Variety Pack,Foil Paper Sheets and the Unicorn paper provided as the free printable. Trace the Christmas tree template onto the green and brown card stock and cut out. Trace the Santa hat template onto the red and white card stock and cut out.
Turn the white envelopes over (placing the opening flap at bottom with the front of the envelope face up). Glue the envelope backs (the rectangle) onto the front of the envelopes. Next, paste a different colored envelope flap (the triangle) on top of the envelope back. Create different color combinations, these will be the base envelopes for decorating. Place sticker numbers on each envelope in the bottom corner.
I decorated each envelope differently. Choose your favorites or create your own designs. There are so many options. For some of the envelopes I used Sparkle Unicorn Photo Stick Props as decor. I removed the prop from the stick and glued it to the envelope. The rainbows and stars were perfect for the unicorn theme.
On other envelopes I used flower stickers, snowflake stickers and different combinations of stickers from the Unicorn Party Sticker Sheets. The Color Your Own Unicorn Crown Kit also comes with glitter star sheets that I used as decoration.
Create the Christmas tree and Santa hats. For the Santa hat, paste the rectangle sized red card onto the envelope, then paste on the top of the hat. This will overlap the bottom section slightly. Paste the hat trim & add hat pom-pom. Then paste the larger tree section directly onto the white envelope, the white becomes the background. Paste the smaller piece of tree, overlapping slightly. Add on gold stars from either the Color Your Own Unicorn Crown Kit or the Unicorn Party Sticker Sheets.
Next, begin creating the unicorns. Print out the unicorn eyelashes provided in the free printable template, cut-and-paste onto the envelopes. If you have a Cricut you can cut the eyelashes onto adhesive vinyl and attach these to the envelope. Then use either the hearts provided in the template, a Glitter Heart Sticker or a Heart Rhinestone Sticker to create the nose. Place the heart nose over the flap of the envelope.
Next, add the unicorn horn and ears. There are several different horns and ears available. I cut the horn and ears from the Color Your Own Unicorn Crown Kit, colored, added stickers and glued to the envelopes. The horns and ears can be used as templates by tracing onto pastel card stock to create different colors and designs. You can also use the Sparkle Unicorn Photo Stick Props, remove the horn from the stick and paste to the envelope. Or print the horn and ears in the free printable template and glue these to the envelope.
On some of the unicorns I added crowns and curls. To create the crowns I used a Foam Tiara Kit. Cut the middle part of the tiara into a smaller crown and glue it on the front of the envelope. I used the Sparkle Unicorn Photo Stick Props as curls. I removed the rainbow hair prop from the stick and cut it into smaller pieces, creating multiple hair curls. I then glued these onto the unicorn forehead.
I decorated each unicorns' forehead differently. Some have a cluster of gems, others star or flower stickers.
Once all of the envelopes are decorated and numbered, decorate the branch for hanging the envelopes. Tie 3 pieces of light pink satin ribbon evenly spaced across the stick. The ribbon should hang from the top to the floor. Tie a Jumbo Goldtone Jungle Bell at the top of each ribbon. Paint DIY Unfinished Wood Star Shapes a pretty pastel color and attach these over the ties using glue dots. Note: I used a birch stick (hang from temporary hooks, use wire or twine at each end to hang the stick).
I found some fur pom-poms in my daughters room and tied them around the end of the branch. You could also use wool pom-poms, more bells or stars. I nestled a unicorn Christmas ornament amongst the fur. Lastly, I took the pastel color tassels from the Bright Tassel Garland and tied a couple of these to the end of the birch stick to give the look of a unicorn tail. Tip: Use a steamer to remove any crinkles from the tissue.
Next, it's time to add the treats to the envelopes. The envelopes are a great size, you can add gift cards, sticker sheets, chocolates or more. I also used the unicorn design paper in the download to create small activity vouchers for the kids to cash in.
Once the envelopes are filled, use pink clothespins to attach each envelope to the 3 streams of ribbon. Mix the order of the numbers a little so the kids have extra fun trying to find the number for the day! I hope your kids enjoy this happy unicorn advent as much as I my daughter will!