Do you want to pamper the loved ones in your life (or yourself!) this holiday season? How about giving the gift of self-care? This easy-to-recreate DIY advent calendar is absolutely gorgeous – and is full of fun health and wellness gift ideas.
Hello, beautiful people and welcome to my favourite time of the year . . . Christmas! Now, I know – you’re all sitting there going “but Mia, it’s only November, don’t start breaking out the Mariah Carey quite yet”. (And to that the only correct response is Mariah is a 365 day a year event. You guys are letting me down here, c’mon.)
No, but seriously – I am a DIY blogger. My entire existence has been a run-up to Christmas. If people would let me, I’d have started posting my ideas back in October; this is me showing restraint. (Not to mention the very obvious aspect of lead times – you need advent calendars ready to go in December, so it’s only logical that you set them up in November. Right? Right?)
Anyways, let’s talk about this beauty. This advent calendar is all about self-care. It’s about good vibes, positive energy and keeping your soul festive over the season.
I designed this DIY as a lovely little present I’m sending home to my mumma (and I know you read this blog, so avert your damn eyes woman). Each gift is something a little warm and happy, designed for taking care of yourself. Some things are little, like some special tea bags. Some things are cosy, like fluffy socks. And some things are (hopefully) motivational, like the self-care planner stickers!
(And there is, naturally, also chocolate. Because what kind of advent calendar doesn’t have chocolate?)
WHAT YOU NEED:
- A set of clear DIY baubles in a 24 or 12 pack
- Ribbon
- Tissue paper
- Acrylic pour paint (I used lavender, white and silver)
- Acrylic paint
The gifts:
It was a little hard to write up an exact tutorial for this advent calendar because it naturally depends on what gifts you’re going to create or buy yourselves. Here’s what I used:
- Bath bombs (for this I followed my DIY bath bomb tutorial, in a couple of different colours and scents. You can DIY the bath bombs or buy a multipack here.)
- Floral crystal (I made this following my DIY crystal tutorial, but you can buy these off my Etsy store if you like!)
- Tea candles
- Crystals
- Fluffy socks
- Face masks
- Bath salts (for this, I followed my DIY jasmine bath salts and activated charcoal bath salts tutorials)
- Tea bags
- Self care stickers
- Beauty samples
- Chocolates
STEP-BY-STEP:
I would love it if you watched the tutorial for this in Youtube version and subscribed to me over on there too! I honestly think this video is one of my favourite I’ve ever made, so if you’re in the mood for some holiday cheer, whack it on.
- Set aside the baubles you want to have a marble painted effect.
- Split these in half and, in one half of each, squirt a dollop of each colour of acrylic pour paint into the corners.
- Fix the ornament back together and keep turning it around until paint covers the entire surface.
- Separate the two sides and leave overnight to dry.
- For the rest of the baubles, get scrunch tissue paper up and add a ball of tissue to each side. Hide the presents in between!
- (Optionally add dried flowers into some of the baubles to add a special finishing touch.)
- Once you’ve hidden all the presents inside, use your white acrylic paint and thin brush to paint numbers onto each one.
- Thread ribbon through the top of the ornaments to create a hanger.
- Pack everything away into secure packaging . . . and you’re all done!
Guys, not to toot my own horn too much, but think this is such a cute and thoughtful gift idea. The reason I chose it for my mama is because she has anxiety and I know self-care is something she can always use. But honestly, with 2020 being the absolute shit-fest it has been, I think this would make a great gift for a friend.
Plus, it’s completely customisable! You can dress it up or down to suit your budget – this was super affordable, I’d say the most expensive part was the paint!
Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed this DIY as much as I enjoyed creating it. If you did like it, or maybe want to give it a try yourselves, make sure to save it on Pinterest! It’s a massive help to my blog, so I always appreciate the support.
Would you guys like to receive a self care advent calendar? Is this a gift you would try yourselves? And what did you think of the video? Let me know your thoughts down below!
Peace,
Instagram // Twitter // Bloglovin’ // Youtube
I love this idea! I’ve been thinking about making my Mom a homemade advent calendar filled with Lush products and have been looking at so many ideas from bags to boxes but I love the idea of the clear baubles. Thanks for sharing 😘
Thank you, Calluna! That sounds amazing, I’m sure she’ll love it. I’d definitely look into the clear baubles, you can decorate them up and keep them year after year x
These are so cute!! It would be a lovely gift to a friend for sure! ❤️
I’m glad you liked it, thanks for reading Toma 🙂 <3
This is such an amazing idea !
I love DIY advent calendars.
And I can’t wait for Christmas
xx
Margot
https://troughthepasturesofthesky.com
Thank you so much Margot! I love them too, they’re so cute xx
Ah I love this, creating personal advent calendars for people is so much fun and I love your use of the baubles. A couple of years ago I made a Anniversary advent calendar for my parents counting down the days to their anniversary and honestly it’s my favourite gift I’ve ever given, I enjoyed putting it together so much (everything was love / wedding themed of course hehe) so cute. Thanks for sharing this doll <3
Oh my goodness, Jay, that is literally the cutest thing I’ve ever heard! <3
Awww ❤️❤️❤️
Oh this is such a lovely idea! I need to get an advent calendar for this year!
Corinne x
http://www.skinnedcartree.com
Thank you Corinne!x
How amazing!! I love this 😍 trying to think of more DIY presents this year, even in how I wrap my gifts so this is the perfect motivation. Your mum will love it! 🤩
Aw thank you! I hope she does haha!
Loving this post thanks for sharing sweetie!! 🙂
JadieeGosh
JadieeGoshInstgram
Thanks for reading! 🙂
what a beautiful idea! i would love to hang these on the tree and search for the day each day ❤
Samanthahttp://www.samanthassnaps.co.uk
Thank you Samantha, I’m glad you enjoyed 🙂 xx
This idea is super cute. I’m sure your mom will love this advent calendar.
Keep the christmas diy’s coming!
http://www.fashionradi.com
Wow! What an excellent idea! I’m definitely doing this.
xoxo
Lovely
http://www.mynameislovely.com
This is such a lovely idea! I love anything creative and thoughtful gift-wise x
http://www.dellalovesnutella.co.uk/
Such an absolutely gorgeous DIY! I love this idea so much as you can completely personalise it. Such a great Christmas gift too. Great tutorial – I’ve subscribed to your YT and Insta too! Can’t wait to see more DIYs.
Helen x
http://www.whathelenloves.com
This is so cute and original and smart!!!
I love this idea so, so much! I’d really like something different to the typical chocolate advent calendars, but the beauty ones are so expensive. This is a great alternative and would make great gifts too. Thanks for the tutorial!
Loved the idea!https://myfurvest.com/
Loved your idea!
Thank you for sharing the post.
This self care advent calendar is such a great idea!
I hope you are having a great week!
Amber
Visit AvecAmber.com
Follow Avec Amber on Bloglovin
I love this idea! I can see this being a really good kinda pick-me-up gift for a friend during this challenging time!
Yasss girl! I am HERE for all the Christmas Content! I would post in October as well! I ADORE this idea! This is so cute! Thanks for sharing sweets! <3
This is such a cute idea and it can double up as tree decor so you can kill two birds with one stone! My best friend & her mum always make each other advent calendars filled with beauty gifts and I have always loved the idea. Kinda want to make one of these for myself but also, I would know what I am getting haha. xx
what a great idea to treat oneself 😀 i think the bathbombs look super cute and good, i love how they almost look like decorations themselves 😀