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Best DIY reusable advent calendars for Christmas 2022

 (Pexels)
(Pexels)

In 2022, you can get a Christmas advent calendar for every kind of person, from the beauty obsessive to the gin lover and jewellery fan.

Usually made from cardboard and plastered with festive decorations, they trigger a rollercoaster of emotions: highly coveted before the big day, shoved aside and forgotten afterwards. The result? Millions of empty boxes ready to join piles of rubbish around the planet.

Recycling empty advent calendars is one way to minimise Christmas’s effect on the planet, but the process takes time and energy.

Luckily, there are ways to enjoy the excitement of advent without trashing the environment. Behold, a reusable advent calendar.

From beautiful hand-stitched designs to toughened cardboard structures, each of our selected calendars is made to withstand years of use.

With the right care and storage, they could even become a cherished Christmas heirloom, to be passed down through the generations.

The bonus? Apart from being kinder to the planet, buying a reusable calendar means you can curate the gifts behind each window to create a more personal and meaningful gift.

If you’re looking for wooden advent calendars, see our separate list of sustainable advent calendars.

Shop more of the best advent calendars for Christmas 2022

For everything else, scroll on.

Worldwide Christmas Advent Calendar

A fabric advent calendar patterned with traditional Christmas house scenes - what could be more festive? It already looks like a cherished piece of holiday decor thanks to the rich, dark colours used, as well as plentiful retro details like the Scottie dog on the doorstep, a jolly carrot-nosed snowman and Father Christmas and his reindeer flying over the top of the mansion through a starry sky. It’s as if an 80s Christmas card was transformed into an advent calendar, and we love it.

The handmade piece comes with three red ribbons at the top so you can easily suspend it from a door, mirror or frame. There are 24 pockets, each measuring 7.5 x 6.5cm which should provide enough space for tiny treats.

Calendar measures 68 x 54cm, free delivery.

Buy now £39.99, Etsy

L’Occitane Reusable Advent Calendar 2022

While reusable calendars have been around for years, it’s heartening to see big brands adopt the style for the festive period. Sticking to the same rustic French aesthetic, L’Occitane’s cotton calendar is finished with botanical drawings from French illustrator Éva Offredo. It comes packed with the mini versions of the brand’s best-sellers - think Divine Cream, Shea Butter Foot Cream and Immortelle Precious Overnight Mask.

L’Occitane has been offering resuable calendars for a few years now, so if you’ve got an older design that needs restocking, you can find miniatures here (£120).

Buy now £165.00, L’Occitane

Lisa Angel Personalised Fill Your Own Postbox Advent Calendar

With this being Letters-to-Father-Christmas time, there’s no better way to riff off the tradition. Shaped like a classic red postbox, there;’s a slim slot at the top to post North Pole-bound letters and 25 small drawers beneath, waiting to be filled with a small surprise like a toy, chocolate coin or festive candy cane. You can also personalise the calendar with ten characters at the top cut out of the wood.

Buy now £50.00, Lisa Angel

Ellie Ellie Personalised Couples Reusable Activity Advent Calendar

If you’re celebrating your first Christmas as a couple or newlyweds, this is a fun way to get into holiday mode together. Instead of gifts, this mindful calendar will have you embarking on a classic festive activity to do together - think taking couples selfies, going on wintry woodland walks and baking Christmas treats together. There are 24 things to check off until the big day and you can have the calendar personalised with your names too. Comes with a red ribbon so it’s ready to hang immediately.

Buy now £22.00, NOTHS

The Seasonal Aisle Advent Calendar Stars and Hearts

Bags of charm are the order of the day with this precious advent calendar which replaces windows with 24 cotton bags of delights. Following a festive red and white palette, each bag is printed with a number so you can keep track of which day’s bundle to open. Perfect for children and adults alike, it even comes with a strand of micro fairy lights to complete the look.

Requires 3 x 1.5V AA, not included.

Buy now £84.99, Wayfair

Advent Calendar Christmas Village House Kit, Make Your Own

If you have the space, this is such a lovely idea for an advent calendar - and it’s suitable for all ages.

You can build your own model Christmas village with house-shaped boxes. Simply fill with treats and open one at a time until the big day. Paint them or cover them in collage to make them personal to you. We like the idea of them styled on a shelf with fairy lights interlaced through the buildings to add some magic.

If you plan to reuse this for Christmas 2023 you’ll need to ensure you flat pack the buildings in a sealed envelope or watertight box so that no moisture can get to the cards.

Buy now £20.00, NOTHS

JoJo Maman Bebe D.I.Y Christmas Advent Calendar House

Introduce children to the pleasures of the advent countdown with this cute Christmas house-shaped calendar. There are 24 boxes in which to hide small presents to delight them every morning until December 25. It’s made of strong, sturdy cardboard, so while you can recycle it if you wish, keep it wrapped in plastic after the festive period to use again next year - and beyond.

Buy now £20.00, JoJo Maman Bebe

Hobbycraft Wooden Train Advent Calendar

If you want to start your own DIY advent tradition, there are few better places to start than arts and crafts giant Hobbycraft. The store has dozens of ideas, from basic shells for you to paint and decorate to fully festooned ones for which you need only add your treats.

For parent-child bonding time, get this wooden calendar, shaped like a locomotive. Complete with an engine room, wheels and spouts, it can be painted and decorated to look like anything, from the Hogwart’s Express to the Polar Express. There are 24 small boxes to fill with delights to uncover on December 1.

Buy now £16.00, Hobbycraft

Hobbycraft Christmas Stocking Advent Garland

Decor and an advent all in one? Hobbycraft’s festive garland has you covered with 24 darling stockings strung up on 3m of red string, ready for hanging up in bedrooms. The mini stockings have just about enough room for a small treat - think a Lindor truffle, lip balm or small toy and will ramp up the anticipation for the big stocking to upend on Christmas morning.

Buy now £16.00, Hobbycraft

Christmas Tree D.I.Y Advent Calendar Chest

Shaped like a classic fir tree, this calendar is as much a gift as it is a festive Christmas ornament. It brings the spirit of the season into any room effortlessly. Fill the 24 drawers with special treats of your choosing, and watch as they wake with excitement to discover what’s inside the day’s box.

Buy now £12.00, JoJo Maman Bebe

Hobbycraft Red Advent Star

Give your traditional advent countdown a new spin with this star-shaped design which comes with 24 numbered drawers to fill for the days before Christmas. Handsomely decked out in classic festive colours, there’s just about enough space in each triangular drawer to stash a special treat. Best of all, it can double up as a piece of Yuletide decor, sitting pride of place on a decorated mantelpiece.

Buy now £15.00, Hobbycraft

Verdict

Maybe it’s the retro Christmas vibes, perhaps its the wondrous detailing but this handmade fabric advent calendar is our favourite pick for a DIY advent calendar. Keep it safe and store it well to use it for many Christmases to come.