How to Make a Cheap, Sustainable Book Advent Calendar

With so much emphasis on sustainability in our current climate, as well as a need for an awful lot of us to try to save money this Christmas, I challenged myself to make an advent calendar for my adult daughter (I know, I know, don't judge me, she still gets a stocking too, I just can't stop myself!), spending as little as possible, while also reusing and repurposing as much as I could. Here's how I got on and I hope I haven't left it too late to pass on these ideas to anyone who could use them. The best part is, you can make this advent calendar for any age from toddlers to grown-ups who are probably too old for this nonsense, but why let details spoil the fun? 

Part 1 Acquiring Books

There's something really charming about a second-hand book. It smells like a book should smell, it's well-thumbed from being enjoyed by others who have been captivated by the same story, and sometimes, if you're really lucky, you get little post-its or other clues to what the previous reader loved best and you can compare metaphorical notes with a like-minded stranger on the finer points of the story. The other great part is that they are often very cheap, and sometimes even free. In my pursuit of reading matter for this project, I visited no less than three mini 'libraries' or book exchanges which are situated in red telephone boxes in villages around my area. They're brilliant because all you have to do is dig out some books you have finished with and then you can swap them for some new ones. Even better, once the reader has finished with some of the books in the calendar, they can always return them whence they came, in a neverending cycle of free literature. This is even better if you are making a book advent for a child because it's a good way to clear out some of the books they've outgrown in order to make space for the new ones they will soon be unwrapping. Other places where I sourced books for this project included charity shops, second-hand shops and my own bookshelves. The most I paid was £2 and I am so behind with my 'to be read' pile that I was more than happy to pass a few along to someone who reads a lot quicker than I do, safe in the knowledge I can probably borrow them back one day. Particularly if you are making an advent for children and would like to include some new books, The Works always have great multibuy offers on children's books at this time of year. 

Part 2: Sorting and Wrapping

Once I'd sourced enough books to fill all the days of the calendar, I turned my attention to making them a surprise. In the interests of sustainability, I was keen to reuse items I already had in the house, but of course, you can use your own ideas to make the wrapping more colourful or child-friendly. First of all, I dug out a huge roll of parcel paper, which I had to buy about a year ago because I needed to wrap one parcel and that was the only size they had in the shop. Thus, my rustic theme was decided and I set about seeing what else I could find to jazz it up a bit. It's so much easier, in a way making things for adults since they're just pleased you made the effort and are generally amenable to whatever bonkers idea you come up with. To decorate the wrapping I found some stamps that I've had since the last millennium, and a few stickers, which are technically wedding themed, but I just picked out the bells and circles, which could just about pass for baubles, to make it a bit more Christmassy. -Next, I wrapped and decorated all the books, which took ages and I would strongly suggest sticking to a 12-day advent, as opposed to 24, as it's an awful lot of effort finding and wrapping enough suitable books, when really 24 books is possibly too much for one person at one time anyway. 

Part 3: Putting It All Together

There is more than one way to organise a book advent. Some people prefer to have all the books in a big pile, so you have to dig through to find the right number, but I liked the idea of creating a little library, so I arranged them all into two rows and measured the outside of the rows, to establish the size of the box I needed. The best way to acquire a box if you need one is to either; get down to your local supermarket and ask the staff if they can help (apple boxes are a great size for this), or befriend a warehouseman at a local cut price shop, such as Poundland or Home Bargains, they've always got loads. You could also repurpose a storage box if you have one that's suitable. If I'd had more time, I would have loved to have wrapped the box in something to make it look prettier, but I had committed to using as few new materials as possible and also run out of time, so we had to settle for the rustic look. This is the finished product. It was a little rushed and I would have liked to do a better job, but it was very well received and there's always next year to improve. 

I found out afterwards that you can write little clues on each of the parcels, hinting at what the book is and I would really like to do that next time. There is a lot to be said for a mystery though and this year's books are certainly that. I'm looking forward to them being opened, to see if I chose well and I haven't long to wait. This was definitely one of the easiest advents I've ever attempted and there's a lot of flexibility to adapt it to your needs as well as your budget. It will also last the longest too, as there is easily a year's worth of books there for the average reader, so it's excellent value for money.