How To Make An Advent Calendar With An Old Dictionary

This post shows you how to make a paper advent calendar with an old dictionary. I have also used many beautiful images featured on Pictureboxblue over the years. Every year, I love to make all my boys a different homemade advent calendar, generally from the stuff around me. Most of my Christmas decorations are recycled.

When I was clearing out the home office the other week, I came across a dictionary. I had to blow the dust off. I don’t think it had been open for years. I mean, who uses a dictionary anymore when you have Google on your phone?

First, I put the book into the pile to go to the charity shop. Then I thought they probably had loads of them already. Along with maps, dictionaries do go out of date. Plus, most people use sat navs and online dictionaries.

New roads are built, old maps are no longer reliable, and language evolves. Every year, hundreds of new words are added to the Oxford English Dictionary and their definitions are updated.

For example, in the latest update of the Dictionary, one of the new words added was chillax.

chillax, v.

 intransitive. To calm down and relax; to take it easy, to chill. Often in imperative: ‘relax’, ‘calm down’.

So, even though some of you will hold your hands up in horror to find that I have torn the pages out of a dictionary to make this advent calendar, I am justifying it by explaining that the dictionary in question is out of date and no longer used.

I’m giving the dictionary a new use and making it into something fun, rather than the book just sitting on the shelf unloved, gathering even more dust.

Images And Advent Calendars

Before chocolate and gift advent calendars, you used to just have a simple paper advent calendar. Every day, you would fold back the cardboard door to reveal a Christmas picture or scene.

The excitement as a child was trying to guess the picture before opening the door. Also, you were one step closer to Christmas Day. I wanted to pay homage to that tradition with this handmade paper advent calendar. I have done this by printing an excellent vintage image onto dictionary paper every day.

I love vintage illustrations and maps, so I set up this site to share the wonderful vintage prints I find. This handmade paper advent calendar is a fun way to showcase the prints that have been featured over the last year.

Don’t worry, though. I have made the printed dictionary pages into envelopes, so you can also pop a treat for each day inside. I show you how to make an advent calendar for both traditionalists who like just a picture and those who expect a bit more from their advent calendars, such as a treat.

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What You Need To Make A Paper Advent Calendar

• An old dictionary or book. If you don’t have one, they are easy to pick up for next to nothing in your charity shop. Or if you do feel uncomfortable about tearing up an old dictionary, just scan in the pages you want to use instead.
• Envelope template – you can download it here for free.

• Old wooden coat hanger and red paint.
• Twine and small craft pegs.
• Masking tape
• Paper glue stick
• Number stencil
• Red sharpie.

How To Make An Advent Calendar

Step 1: A dictionary has hundreds of pages, but you will only need 24 for the advent calendar. Instead of randomly choosing the pages for the paper advent calendar, I was a bit more targeted.

Initially, I was going to choose pages from the dictionary that had words associated with Christmas on them, such as Noel, eggnog, elf, etc.

Then, as I was going to print Christmas images on the pages, I decided to use the pages related to the image. For example, if printing a parrot, I used the page in the dictionary with the word parrot on it.

Step 2: To print on the dictionary page, I carefully tore it out of the book and then taped it onto a sheet of A4 printer paper. I used masking tape for this.

Step 3: Next, I picked the image I wanted to use, and using my computer, I arranged it on the page within the envelope template. You can use free software packages such as CANVA or even just Word for this.

Now, there are thousands of images to choose from on Pictureboxblue. If you are not confident of sizing and removing the background on those images, you can use the same ones as me. These have already been resized and had the backgrounds removed. Download them here.

Step 4: I printed the envelope template outline and the picture onto the dictionary page. You will need to print 24 pages, one for each day of the paper advent calendar

I recommend that you do a practice print run first to make sure you put the dictionary paper in the printer the right way around. I printed a couple of pages upside down before I got it right.

Step 5: Next, you can see that I printed out the envelope template and image on each page. However, you can just make an envelope template out of a card and draw around it if you prefer.

Whatever method you use, cut out the envelope shape and fold the printed page along the dotted line. Secure the envelope with some paper glue along the folds at the back.

Step 6: Finish making all the paper envelopes for the homemade advent calendar. Then, using a number stencil, write a different number from 1 to 24 on each envelope.

Step 7: Paint the wooden coat hanger red for a more festive look.

Step 8: Finish off the advent calendar by filling the envelopes with whatever you want. I like to put a small chocolate treat in mine along with a Christmas joke.

Then, hang the dictionary paper envelopes from the red coat hanger. Peg the top of the envelope to the hanging twine. I hang four lengths of twine and then peg six envelopes to each length of twine.

It’s up to you whether or not you hang the envelopes in order. Sometimes, I hang mine randomly, as half the fun of a calendar is looking for the right day.

This handmade advent calendar is educational, too. Children can hunt for the dictionary word associated with the picture on the envelope.

I’ve shown you how to make an advent calendar with a dictionary, but you can also use any old book, such as a thesaurus or encyclopedia.

This calendar can be used year after year. However, since the dictionary I used has over 1000 pages, I think I will make a new one each year with a different set of images.

Other Related Posts

Did you know you can embroider the dictionary pages to add an extra fun dimension to this craft? I also used some of the leftover dictionary pages for these DIY Halloween Shadow boxes.

Many of these images would look great on one of these decoupage placemats.

If you liked this upcycled vintage image advent calendar, you should check out these other paper Christmas crafts and DIYs on Picture Box Blue that use vintage images.

• How to Craft with Free Vintage Seed packets
• Beautiful Decoupage Shell Dish
• Still Life Flowers Tray Table
• DIY Placemats with Kitchen Patents
• IKEA Floor Lamp Hack

For more Christmas craft ideas visit allfreeholiday crafts.