It’s Christmas Advent Calendar time! Because I’m a huge procrastinator, all of the Lego Advent calendars were sold out. Whaaa! I made a trip to the mall and then called 7 stores… yes… all sold out! Who knew I should have bought them back in April? With the start of December upon us, I was forced to make my own.

With some pieces of scrapbook paper, I was very happy with my non-Lego version, plus I saved $50! These calendars are SUPER easy to make (oh and I mentioned cheap right?) and it’s not too late to make one yourself! They were so easy that I even made one for each kid. Take that procrastination!

Actually, they are even more easy for you, because I designed them for you! 

All you need to do is think of what little treats your kids will get each day. The free printable is customizable, so you can either keep what I have typed, or re-type your own treats. As you can see below, my daughter is really into money, candy and crafts:-) So unless your kids are obsessed with quarters, you’ll probably want type your own. ha!

I printed the little treats on the back of scrapbook paper and the circles on sticker paper.

You can choose from three banners. Santa… (My daughter wanted Tinkerbell, but too bad, so sad, she got Santa.)

A nativity scene… (I found this pretty graphic over at The Graphics Fairy)

And for the Star Wars fans out there, this one’s for you:-) Yes, I know your son loves me about right now! (Graphic found via Starwars.com)

Download the Calendar with Instructions. Enjoy!

Free Printable Christmas Advent Calendar (7772)

(Right click the link above to download to your desktop. Mac users, hold down your control key.)

You will need the latest version of the free Adobe Acrobat Reader. All files are © 2010-2011 LivingLocurto.com, non-commercial and for personal use only. Please read the terms of use here.

Be sure to join me on Facebook for a free gift!

You might also enjoy:

• Free Printable Letter to Santa
• Free Printable Christmas Gift Tags

Be sure to join Amy on Facebook for more fun!
Also, be sure to check out Printables by Amy! Find easy and affordable digital files to download and print at home or at your local quick print shop. Each product is custom designed by Amy, a professional graphic designer. Amy makes do-it-yourself projects a breeze!

Today my gal pals at HowDoesShe.com are guest posting with an awesome giveaway!! I absolutely love this product and sure you will too. Take it away girls…

Win a Halloween Count Down To Candy Advent Calendar!

We want to help you get to the fun stuff faster…CRAFTING

Kids love changing the numbers on this as they anticipate the big day of SUGAR OVERLOAD and costumes!

We are giving 3 of these kits away to 1 lucky reader!

3 Count Down to Candy Kits!

We sold these on HowDoesShe.com last week and they were gone in 3 days so we contacted headquarters (our garage) and got a few more rolling!

If you don’t win, don’t worry because we made extra! You have plenty of time before Halloween to plan a productive girls’ night out with your friends – if you get at least 9, you can buy the kits for $10.00 less - all together you’ll save $100.00!

Take out the trip to the hardware store($12), the trip to the craft store($14), the order of the vinyl lettering($10), the ribbon store ($14), the cutting of the wood($?), the sanding($?), the tweezing($), the paper cutting ($), the pain($$).

These will be delivered right your door…and the shipping is FREE! YAY…who doesn’t love FREE shipping!

We are only offering this for a limited time. We need your order by next Tuesday, September 14, 2010 (unless we sell out) so we can get them shipped to you on time.

Count down to Candy Kit includes:

• 2 Small blocks sanded
• 1 Large block sanded
• 14 pre-cut small squares of paper (As seen in the picture below…it’s cute:)
• 1 large pre-cut rectangle paper
• 1 pre-cut piece of wired ribbon
• “Count Down to Candy” vinyl
• Vinyl numbers for the count down
• Instructions sent to you so you can complete it.
• Free. Shipping.

All you’ll need is:

• Mod podge
• Stain or a stamp pad distresser
• Foam brush
• Sand paper if desired
• maybe a little treat

You can get yours at the Crafts KITS Store.

This giveaway is now closed. Congrats to Aimee for winning!

Have fun crafting with no stress! Enter to win 3 kits:

• Leave a comment below letting me know what is your favorite Halloween candy.  (Mine is Kit Kat… although M&M’s are the best too!)

For an extra entry:

• Follow @howdoesshe and Twitter about this giveaway!  Sample Tweet: Enter to win the cutest Halloween craft kit by @howdoesshe  http://bit.ly/bylHwi (via @livinglocurto)

• Subscribe to Living Locurto via email in the form on my sidebar. There are several super cute Exclusive Free Printables available right now, plus you get a beautiful butterfly printable Thank You gift.

Let me know if you are already an e-news subscriber or twittered in a separate comment so you can get extra entries – 3 entries per person

Contest Ends Tuesday, September 14th at 5 pm (Pacific) / 8 pm (Eastern)

Be sure to visit the Craft KITS Store for some wonderful Holiday kits!

Guess what? Because it’s my birthday month, I’m giving away my Candy Corn Bags & Tags FREE to e-news subscribers!!!

This is only for a limited time. (Available through Monday Sept 13th) So subscribers check the sidebar of my e-news for the freebie code and grab your gift while it lasts. Fill this with candy for a great gift or goodie bag! Works for Halloween, Fall and Thanksgiving. (Emails go out around 10 am CST Monday-Friday)

Be sure to join Amy on Facebook for more fun!
Also, be sure to check out Printables by Amy! Find easy and affordable digital files to download and print at home or at your local quick print shop. Each product is custom designed by Amy, a professional graphic designer. Amy makes do-it-yourself projects a breeze!

It’s never too early to get started on Christmas gifts. I’ve found some great ideas for homemade gifts… all with free printables. I’ll be working on some fun gift ideas in the next few weeks as well.

Blonde Designs have some easy holiday gift ideas with printable labels.

Make this cute spool Advent Calendar by Cathe Holden

No Fuss Fabulous has an adorable idea for cookie giving with fun tags.

I love these Shopping notes and tags by Paper Glitter. You could tie a pretty ribbon around these for a cute gift!

Make a Christmas Song CD and print my label for your cover.

Make LollyChop’s Hot Cocoa Mix. She has a great recipe and the cutest packaging you can print.

Executive Homemaker (aka Laurie-Tip Junkie)has a list of 24 quick, easy, cheap gifts. Download a free printable with all the labels and poems. How about these fun gifts… Cheese and a cheese grater: “Cheesen’s Greetings To A Really “GRATE” Neighbor!” or a Wire Wisk with Hershey kisses wrapped in cellophane: “We Whisk You A Merry Kissmas!”

Print Tip Junkie’s Christmas Planner for yourself or make a binder for a friend.

Hope this helps you get a jump start on Christmas gifts! What is your favorite gift to make?

Be sure to join Amy on Facebook for more fun!
Also, be sure to check out Printables by Amy! Find easy and affordable digital files to download and print at home or at your local quick print shop. Each product is custom designed by Amy, a professional graphic designer. Amy makes do-it-yourself projects a breeze!