Recycled Reindeer – Advent Calendar

The anticipation of Christmas is in the air! What better way to count down the days than to
create this cute advent calendar. All you need is a cardboard box, scissors, PVA/ craft glue,
paint, paintbrush, a marker, blu tack and some small sticks or leaves. Optional extras are
string and masking tape if you would like to hang your calendar. Let’s begin…

Cut your box into smaller pieces. Choose one of the side flaps from the top of the box for
the reindeer body. Round off the two top corners of this piece. Use these corners to trim
and make two ears and a tail. Now cut four evenly sized rectangles for legs, and one thicker
rectangle for the neck. For the head ,you will need a medium sized rectangle with one side
trimmed into a curve for the back of the head. Create an angled shape for the nose at the
front of the head by trimming off the remaining two corners.

Arrange all your pieces and use the PVA to attach everything in place. Grab your sticks or
leaves and glue them onto the head for antlers. Put your reindeer aside and while the glue is
drying, cut out a series of circles to attach to the body. I have cut out seven in this example
to count down the seven days leading up to Christmas. Feel free to add more if you wish!
Lay the circles on the reindeer’s body and trace around them. This way we can paint the
circles a different colour so our countdown numbers will stand out.

Painting time! Reindeer range in colour from black through to varying shades of brown, to
white. Choose a colour for your reindeer and paint the entire thing except for the circles on
the body. Choose a different colour for these so your numbers will stand out. Paint your
little circle cut outs also.

Try experimenting with colour mixing by sponging and blending a few different colours onto
your reindeer. Experiment with creating texture by applying thicker areas of paint and
scratching back into it with the end of your paintbrush to create fur. These reindeer also
look great when collaged with torn up paper, if paint isn’t an option.

Time to add the details! Grab your marker and draw a face for your reindeer. You may want
to add more texture by drawing patterns on different areas. Write your numbers into the
circles on the body. Rather than using dates, I have opted to count down from seven. You
could add in little messages along the way also, rather than numbers.

If you would like to hang your reindeer, attach a loop of string at the back of the body,
securing it with masking tape.

Lastly, grab your blu tack and use small blobs to attach the circle cut outs over the numbers.
Hang up your reindeer and get ready for the countdown!

Looking for some other cool upcycle Chrissie projects – try these ideas….

Cereal Box Reindeers

Crafty Christmas Trees x 5 ways