Grab your Santa hats and head to Hobby Lobby to get the supplies to make this one-of-a-kind Grinch themed advent calendar! It is functional and OH SO CUTE! Each little door opens to reveal a treat or Christmas activity idea!
This post is sponsored by Hobby Lobby. All opinions and ideas are my own.
Ready or not, Christmas is just around the corner. And what better way to count down the days with the cutest advent calendar! Hobby Lobby had this fun wood house with 25 doors that I knew would make the best advent in the most Grinch-tastic way possible! Introducing the Grinch-themed Advent Calendar – a whimsical and mischievous way to celebrate the holiday season.
Supplies to create a Grinch Advent Calendar
I grabbed all the supplies to make this darling calendar from Hobby Lobby!
- Advent Calendar from Hobby Lobby (out of stock online but my store still has some in stock! SKU is 6046403)
- Grinch Stickers
- Green Grinch Pick from Hobby Lobby
- Grinch ornaments (Grinch, Max and Cindy Lou Who)
- Red sleigh (miniature section at Hobby Lobby)
- Santa Hat
- White faux snow
- Mod podge
- scissors
- Paint (I used lots of colors!)
- Printable (Down below)
- Hot glue gun
The supply picture makes me laugh because when I started this project I had a different vision in mind! I was going to paint each door colorful. Use the puff paint to make it look like snow on each door. Add a white numbered sticker to the door and possibly a cute sticker wreath on the door! I just wanted to show you the other options!
The thing with the advent calendars is that they are rather small when you are trying to fit in 25 doors/drawers! But Hobby Lobby has lots of mini decorations for little Christmas trees as well as stickers, buttons, and jewelry charms that would work perfectly for these types of calendars!
How to make a Grinch-themed advent calendar
Let me walk you through step by step how I put my Grinch calendar together! But like I just mentioned, there are so many variations and items you can add to make this project truly your own! So put your own creative spin on it!
Step 1: Painting the calender
I wanted my Grinch calendar colorful (although an all-green one would be darling too!) I went over everything with white paint so all the other paint colors would pop.
Originally, I used spray paint, but the wood absorbs it- so it took a few coats. Using a white acrylic paint might have worked better!
Once the paint was dry, I painted each door a different color leaving the frames white. The top portion is the grinch’s lair so I kept that all green. I also painted red and white stripes on the chimney. The roof had fake snow, so I didn’t add too much paint on it. If you want to omit the snow, you can paint the roof.
Each door required two coats of paint. I also added some patterns and designs on each door to create the Grinch whimsy we all love!
If you wanted to skip the next section and omit using the printables, Hobby Lobby had white number stickers that would fit perfectly on these colorful doors as well as Grinch stickers and wreath stickers that you could use to decorate each door!
Step 2 The Doors
The original plan was to paint a little door on each advent calendar section- but I realized it would be pretty hard to get the details on each door since they are so small, so I ended up drawing each one on my Ipad and turning it into a printable of 25 doors so everyone can use it. (It’s down at the bottom of this post if you it! )
Printing out the doors
If you are looking for a great printer to use – I love my HP! I wrote up a whole post why The reasons I love the printer. This post also shows how you can make sure you are getting the best prints by adjusting your settings!
IF YOU DON’T HAVE A PRINTER: You can also upload the files to staples or office max and have them print them! Sometimes the local library has a printer for public use!
Cutting out the printables:
Just take your scissors and cut out each little door. If you have an electronic cutter, you can use the print and cut feature to have it cut it out for you.
Attaching the printable:
I used matte Mod Podge to adhere the doors on. The doors are all number 1-25. You can put them on in order, or scramble them up!
Step 3 Grinch Details
While the paint and mod podge dried, I worked on the Grinch details! Hobby Lobby had the perfect Grinch ornament! I hot glued on a mini santa hat and then glued him into the sled.
AND What is the Grinch without a heaping bag of decorations and toys that he stole? I cut up a piece of red felt and created a little bag- all with hot glue! No sewing skills needed! I glued the things inside so nothing would topple out!
Step 4 Assemble the Advent Calendar
Once the paint was dry and the pieces were all ready, it was time to put it all together!
I wanted it to be a snowy roof so I could put the sled and the bag of toys on top of it. This is accomplished with hot glue and some white faux snow found in the Christmas section at Hobby Lobby! (Batting from the sewing section could also be used!)
I built up the snow so it was more of a pile and that made it so the Grinch wasn’t sitting at such a harsh angle! You can also just put the grinch and the sled on the chimney or right at the peak of the roof!
I took the Max and Cindy Lou Who ornaments and took out the metal screw on their heads. It easily came out with some pliers. Just a little hot glue and attached them to the sides of the advent. You will want to make sure you don’t put them in front of the doors so they can’t open.
Hobby Lobby has these green furry picks made to go in a Christmas tree. They are just the cutest! They look a lot like Grinch hands. I took one apart and hot glued it to the back of the advent so it looked like little trees peeking around the sides!
On a whim- I grabbed these Grinch stickers when I was at Hobby Lobby thinking I would put them as toys inside the advent calendar but they were PERFECT for this project!
I added the little signs at the top, presents by Cindy lou who, and in the santa bag and even placed the leftovers inside each door!
If you didn’t want to do the door printables, you could add these stickers to the fronts of each door!
The top section is the Grinch section- all green. I even added some snowballs!
I’m giddy with how it turned out!
What to put in an Advent Calendar
Once you have your darling advent calendar completely- You might be wondering what to put inside each of these cute little doors! Here are a few ideas
- It’s the perfect size for a little piece of candy!
- Fun Christmas activities (I have a free printable)
- Christmas Movies (Free printable! Just cut them up and add in what ones you want to watch.
- Christmas stories to read. One for each day!
- Christmas songs.
- Gifts: Toys, Chapstick, socks, bath bombs, gum etc!
These doors aren’t big, so if you want to do actual items that don’t fit, you could slip in a piece of paper with a hint of where you can find the present/gift!
Hobby Lobby has a great section of Grinch crafts, stickers and toys that you could use if you want to make the whole thing Grinch-themed!
Download the free Advent Door printable below:
These colorful little doors can be used on any little advent calendar!
Click on the image below and the printables will automatically open in a new window.
Save for later
Too busy to get crafting today? No problem! Pin this post to remind yourself about this project later! Sharing my projects helps me reach more people, allowing me to continue sharing free content!
Other fun Christmas Projects
This post is sponsored by Hobby Lobby. All opinions and ideas are my own.
Heather GLADNEY says
Love have to do this next year