Christmas Tree Advent Calendar

Thanksgiving has come and gone and now it's officially time to start gearing up for Christmas! As my toddler has told me, "My so 'cited Christmas!" So to help us count down the days to Christmas Eve, I finally did what I've been wanting to do for years and made this fun advent calendar. Starting December 1st, we'll add a new ornament to the tree each day until the halls are fully decked. I just love how it turned out. Doesn't it make you want to start singing Christmas carols? "Oh, Christmas tree! Oh, Christmas tree..." Just me? Well then...moving on....

My tree is a hodge-podge of various free patterns that I found across the web. The biggest piece is the tree itself. I used the clever Advent Tree pattern by River Weaving. It's a large-ish piece, but it works up quickly because it's worked with three strands of yarn at a time (this also makes the piece stiff enough to hold it's shape so you won't get curling edges). I just used whatever green and brown yarn I had around at the time (I think it was mostly Red Heart Super Saver and some I Love This Yarn on the trunk). The only change I really made was to add a loop for hanging the tree by slip stitching to the back, chaining until it was the length I wanted (about 18 sts) before then slip stitching back to the same spot. 

Then I sewed on buttons in random spots. I only used 24 because I wanted to count down to Christmas Eve, but feel free to use 25 if that's more your style. And, of course, we need some ornaments to hang on those buttons! Deciding which ornaments to use was the most daunting part of this project for me, so I thought I'd share which ones I ended up using, but feel free to branch out and use whatever design catches your eye. I'd just recommend that you try to keep them on the smaller end so that your tree doesn't get too squishy. 

I kept most of the patterns as written, with a couple of modifications here and there like adding loops to hang them on the tree. To add a loop, I'd suggest that you either tie on a loop of yarn or chain one at the top of your piece (I usually chained 12 for mine). These ornaments are all free patterns that I've linked to (yay for so many generous and talented crafters!). A few of these are original patterns of my own that I haven't posted quite yet. I'll get them up on the blog soon and update this post with links once they're ready, but in the meantime this should be plenty to get you started. And feel free to contact me if there's a particular pattern you'd like to see first. 

 So, without further ado, here are the patterns I used. I tried to note any changes I made (hopefully I'm not forgetting anything...after I make enough little ornaments my mind starts to get a little fuzzy). 

• Star by Snappy Tots (I made a hole in the middle for hanging on this one by skipping a couple hdcs in row 2 and chaining 2 instead; then I worked the rest of the pattern as written, crocheting the next row into the chains.)
• Santa by Hooks and Yarns (I used a smaller hook; I'm pretty sure it was a G 4.0mm)
• Christmas Tree by Repeat Crafter Me
• Snowman by Repeat Crafter Me
• Holiday Light by Yarnspirations
• Simple Angel by The Cookie Snob
• Trumpet by Kim Lapsley Crochets (I left the valves off of mine because I'm lazy)
• Rudolph by The Cookie Snob
• Wreath by Oombawka Design
• Christmas Orange by The Cookie Snob
• Camel by The Cookie Snob 
• Cardinal by Jennifer Hatch (I used a slightly smaller hook; it was an F 3.75 mm)
• Christmas Bell by Crafteando, que es gerundio (I used an accent color and surface crocheted two rings around the bottom of the bell as an added decoration)
• Snowflake by Sarah London
• Holly by Trifles N Treasures
• Mitten by Rebecca Lynn Taylor
• Gift by The Cookie Snob
• Gingerbread Man by BellaCrochet (I decorated mine slightly differently with white yarn and a tapestry needle)
• Simple Ornament by The Cookie Snob
• Peppermints by Petals to Picots
• Gingerbread House by Ursula Markgraf
• Penguin by Simply Collectible 
• Granny Square Stocking by Eating Out Loud
• ​Heart by Skip to my Lou

And in case you missed the link earlier in the post, you can find the tree pattern here: ​http://riverweaving.blogspot.com/2012/12/advent-tree-pattern.html

I hope that this gave you some ideas and inspired you to make an advent calendar of your own! And I hope that you have a wonderful holiday season full of peace and light...and yarn. Lots and lots of yarn. Happy Hooking!