Gingerbread Advent House
My daughter was born in winter, and her birthday is coming up soon. Our family’s holiday season begins with Thanksgiving, is connected to Christmas, the end of the year, and New Year’s, and finally ends with her birthday.
It’s the most exciting season of the year. With so many gifts already in hand and birthdays right around the corner, gift ideas can be tricky to come up with.
So I decided to prepare a birthday advent house to count down the birthdays. The idea came from last year’s advent calendar. I filled a house-shaped tinker tray with gifts. For the five days leading up to her birthday, she will open one box a day to celebrate.
Inside are clothes and accessories from mice, which she requested. To this, I added five small books. The books are our stories. It is a story about the mice who meet, get married, and have a baby coming. My daughter loves to hear nostalgic stories about before and after she was born. It’s the story of how we met and became a family. I have created an original story by weaving in some funny episodes.
It is a miraculous story that is seemingly ordinary, but very special to us. One book a day for five days, until her birthday. I prepared, wondering how it would look and feel in the eyes of a nine-year-old.
In this way, our family’s holiday season finally settled down with the arrival of our daughter’s birthday. Next year, she will finally turn 10!
Materials
– Tinker tray *Details are below
– Craft Paper
– White marker
– Double-sided tape or glue
Tinker Tray in the Shape of a House
The house-shaped Tinker tray from Kiev, Ukraine was perfect for this project. My encounter with this tray was by chance. I had purchased it some time ago with the intention of supporting small businesses in Ukraine, and the quality of what I received was beyond my imagination. I am happy to be able to use this for special occasions like this. There are three types in different sizes. You can purchase them here.
Instructions for making
Step 1. Place the Gift
Place the gift inside the tinker tray. This time I included clothes and accessories from mice, requested by my daughter. I put a miniature book of original stories in there. The details of the book are described at the end.
In each of the compartments, each mice has a miniature book.
Step 2. Draw a House
On the paper that will serve as the lid, draw a picture of the house with a white marker. Write details to match the shape of the tray and the dividers inside. If you have a specific order in which to open them, add a number.
Step 3. Stick the Paper
Apply double-sided tape (or glue) to the edge of the tray and the paper that will serve as the lid. Cut off the excess paper with a cutter. The advent house is complete.
The other gifts were also wrapped in kraft paper and drew with a house. A town of gingerbread houses was created.
Miniature Books
A tiny miniature book, 30 x 36 mm, to fit the size of mice. The inside paper is folded into the accordion style and made into a book. Finally, a thick cover is attached to complete the work.
