Counting Down the Days 'Til Christmas (with Chocolate)

As soon as I was done my big Halloween project, a big Christmas one came my way. For years we've counted down the days until Christmas with the Lindt Chocolate Advent calendars. This year though, those particular advent calendars added nuts to some of their chocolates, which the girls would not be fond of. That made me brainstorm for other ideas, mainly a reusable wooden advent calendar that I could fill with chocolates (that I know the kids love) every year.

I shopped around but found that everything out there was either too expensive, too flimsy, too small, and/or not the style I was looking for. And whenever that happens, I figure I should just make it myself! Here were the many steps involved in my Advent Calendar project:

STEP 1:

Shop for the traditional Lindt Calendar, but scrap that idea when you find out they have nuts.

STEP 2:

Look in all the stores for a wooden advent calendar, but find that none of them fit the bill.

STEP 3:

Check thrift stores for wood and/or wooden items that could be used to build a calendar. In my case, I found (what looks to be) a handmade bathroom cabinet at Value Village for $4. It came complete with a mirror and bottom drawer.

STEP 4:

Take measurements and sketch a design for the completed calendar.

STEP 5:

Buy hardware for the calendar doors on Amazon.

STEP 6:

Buy remaining wood at Lowe's and enlist my dad's help to cut the wood.

STEP 7:

Cut and sand all the wooden pieces.

STEP 8:

Make minor adjustments to even out the openings as much as possible.

STEP 9:

Glue/nail wooden slats to create 25 little openings.

STEP 10:

Use wood filler to clean up the gaps on the front.

STEP 11:

Cut and sand 25 little doors, each a custom size for their opening.

STEP 12:

Admire your work so far.

STEP 13:

Prime and paint (two coats of each) all the pieces.

STEP 14:

Find a good place to hang the calendar. Install appropriate anchors and screws (it's heavy!). Luckily the bathroom cabinet already hat two sturdy hooks on the back of it.

STEP 15:

Ask dad to cut two new doors because they didn't fit quite right. Sand, prime, and paint those doors as well as the base of the Santa topper.

STEP 16:

Sort and select 25 hinges, hooks, and latches for the doors.

STEP 17:

Install said hardware and doors using a homemade template and over 200 screws.

STEP 18:

Enlist the help of Jessica to provide screws when needed.

STEP 19:

Enlist everyone's help to finish the (screw) job.

STEP 20:

Install the Santa topper and admire your work some more.

STEP 21:

Purchase red vinyl sticker sheet and ask your friend with a Cricut Maker to help you with the cutouts.

STEP 22:

Install the numbers on every door and "Merry Christmas" on the bottom drawer using painter's tape and a lot of patience/precision.

STEP 23:

Fill the calendar with assorted chocolates and a special treat in the bottom drawer.

STEP 24:

Add tiny lights to the scenery on top.

STEP 25:

Starting on December 1st, open a door every morning for a chocolate treat. The countdown until Christmas begins!

And that's it. Ha! I am so happy with the way the calendar turned out. Did I save money? Nope. Did I spend a whole lot more time than I expected? You betcha. But was it worth it? YES ma'am!

14 days 'til Christmas!

Backyard Skating Rink!

Back in the Fall I had this crazy idea that it might be fun to have a backyard skating rink. So my handyman dad and I made a plan, bought our materials, and got to work on it in early December.

We built an L-shaped frame under the deck using 2"x8"x16' wood boards. I figured the patio would be a perfect spot for a rink: decent size, flat surface, easy access from the basement, and protected from snowfall by the deck.

A couple weeks later I lined the bottom and frame with a rink tarp. Luckily it was a rainy December, so the rink filled up pretty quickly with just rain water. Then we patiently waited for the temperatures to drop below zero...

Once the weather was finally cold enough (it's been a mild winter!), we flooded the rink with more water and let it freeze. But then we ran into a problem when the temperatures rose again and we got two days of rain. All that rain water and melting snow from the deck filled the rink too high and caused dips in the ice!

To help with flattening the bumps and getting a better surface, I bought this T-shaped hose connector that spreads water more evenly (It's called a "Rink Resurfacer", sold at Canadian Tire). We've used it a couple of times and are really happy with it!

Yesterday the rink was finally ready for its first use! The girls were so excited.

The excitement lasted for about 30 seconds with Jessica. Once she realized she couldn't stand up with skates, she demanded to have her boots on instead.

Emily worked hard on getting her balance. She enjoyed herself for about 15 minutes and then both girls were done. It probably didn't help that they were both tired out from a long day at school.

So the first skate was short, but sweet. Steve said he had a blast!

Daddy hugs ♥

Overall, building a backyard skating rink has been a bit more work than I anticipated, but it's also been kind of fun! Hopefully it will get better as Steve and I gain experience and the girls gain confidence on the ice.

Tall & Narrow Bookcase

Remember when I posted about a woodworking project that I started over a month ago? Well it is finally complete and as of today has been in use! My project was to build tall, narrow bookcases for the girls' bedrooms, complete with (bunk-bed) ladders for fun and easy access.

I followed this tutorial to make the bookcases (using my own dimensions).

source

Here's what my sketch/dimensions looked like:

My dimensions:

7' tall, 18" wide, 12" deep

It took a lot of planning, cutting, putting together, priming, painting, and installing to get the work done. I am so thankful to my dad for all of his help -- it was actually a really fun father-daughter experience where I learned a lot about woodworking.

The workshop -- putting the first bookcase together

Ready for painting

Even Jessica pitched in on the painting

(Though she got bored pretty quickly!) 

Front/side view

I went with white for the bookcases but then added a pop of colour for the tongue-and-groove paneling at the back. Emily got green (of course!) and Jessica got pink. I have to say there's a good amount of pride and satisfaction that comes from building your own furniture!

Finished product

Testing it out

Side view

Emily stocking up her shelves

 Girls choosing their bedtime books for tonight

A lot of time and effort for sure, but totally worth it. Thanks again Grand-Papa for helping me turn my vision into reality!

I think the girls can expect some books for Christmas this year :).