A sustainable Advent calendar ensures maximum joy for the recipient with little effort – and saves a lot of packaging waste! We'll give you ideas for calendars and tips for filling them up.
Advent calendars are not only popular with children, adults also look forward to the chocolate countdown. There is now a large number of different Advent calendars, from cosmetics for him and her to Harry Potter characters, everything is represented. Admittedly, that's a lot of packaging waste every year – if you want, you can approach it more sustainably.
The best ideas for sustainable advent calendars
Would you like to sweeten someone's time until Christmas, but do without a lot of packaging waste? With these three ideas for sustainable advent calendars plus 22 tips for filling you are spot on:
Reusable advent calendar
Do you prefer to fill advent calendars yourself anyway? Perfect! Then a reusable advent calendar is just the thing. This can, for example, be made of wood to stand or of textile to hang up. The good piece is filled with sustainable products that the recipient can enjoy for a long time. Need some inspiration? Here are a few ideas that others will love:
- Beeswax cloths
- Bread bag
- Hair soap
- For children: wooden toys
Here you can find more inspiration for sustainable gifts. Another nice option that is guaranteed to bring joy is to sew gifts – handmade, individual and full of appreciation.
Upcycling advent calendar
Do you still remember what you received for Christmas three years ago? Or what was in your advent calendar? Probably not. Do you still remember the fun Christmas party with colleagues and the cozy get-together with the family? Probably yes. Experiences make you happy – happier than material things. That's why nobody has to do without an advent calendar! But instead of things, you can also give away vouchers: not for the next purchase, but for time together.
The we-experience-something-together-gifts earn even more admiration in a self-made Advent calendar. In order to make this as sustainable as possible, it is best to recycle things that you no longer need. Kerstin Franz from the blog mini-presents knows how to make an upcycling advent calendar à la DIY. The calendar is tinkered with empty matchboxes in which vouchers are waiting to be redeemed. In this video she shows three different ways of making such a calendar:
You need that for the sustainable DIY advent calendar:
- Fairy lights (including batteries)
- 24 matchboxes
- 1x A4 cardboard box
- 4 x A4 sheets
- scissors
- adhesive
- Adhesive tape
- printer
- Templates / vouchers
You can get the templates on the mini-presents blog.
Zero waste calendar
For a zero waste calendar you use e.g. B. Containers that you already have there and that can ideally continue to be used, such as small bags or glasses. Screw jars can be decorated, labeled and collected in a box. For example, you can use homemade gifts for the content:
- Homemade cookies
- Put together the baking mix yourself
- Mix the spice mixture
- Homemade chutney
- DIY bath balls
- Self-sewn cosmetic pads made from scraps of fabric
- Pour candles yourself
- Homemade jams from the pantry
Or, for example, shopping for groceries, care products or decorations in a bulk store. Here are a few ideas:
- Candles
- Soap
- chocolate
- nuts
- Dried fruits
Sustainable advent calendar: what else can you put in the door?
Giving away useful items and / or time and experiences together make your sustainable Advent calendar unique. For a special mixture you can take up the following ideas:
- (Self-written) poems, sayings or stories
- Photos of shared moments
- Homemade inspiration cards ("I am thankful for ... ","Today is a good day because …")
- Sponsorships / donations (on behalf of the recipient)
If you are not sure for what purpose or which organization you want to donate, you will find ideas here: Donations made easy.
Reading tip: Discover 7 creative alternatives to wrapping paper here!