Saturday, November 30, 2013

Christmas Sock Advent Garland

When I saw these adorable socks at the Target $1 Spot last year, they inspired this Christmas Stocking Garland idea!  It's a combination of a garland, a stocking, and an advent activity!  My daughter is in her first apartment, and doesn't have any Christmas decorations yet, so I wanted to send her something that would brighten up her apartment, PLUS remind her that I was thinking about her each and every day.  Thus the invention of the sock-advent-garland!


It starts with 25 socks in various colors and sizes.  I hope you can find them after Christmas on sale! The socks were strung together with ribbon and a darning needle.

The daily numbers (1 - 25) were made with my Stampin'Up Stamps and ink pads, then punched with Stampin' Up punches (some ovals, some circles). A hole was punched at the top of each number, and a piece of Baker's Twine (from Taylored Expressions) was tied to the number tag.  The tags were GLUED to the socks with Inkssentials "Glossy Accents."



 Then the filling begins!  The secret is to either not have too many heavy items, or to have several hooks on your mantel to distribute the weight.  I did not number the socks sequentially because as each item is removed from the socks, I didn't want the garland to sag from being uneven.  The numbers are scattered haphazardly.  For my young adult daughter, the socks contain makeup, gum, earrings, small candles and Scripture verses to create her own advent candle wreath, lotion, disposable razors, candy, etc. A few socks contain family recipes on little note cards for her to add to her growing recipe collection.  Depending on your budget, you could add gift cards for gas, music, and much more! 


If you have more than one child or person opening up the socks, then you can either label the back of each number tag with a different person's name and distribute the gifts that way, or make each sock a piece of paper containing a family activity  (Day 1: Decorate the Christmas tree; Day 2:  Bake Christmas Cookies, Day 3:  Shop for Operation Christmas Child shoebox gifts, etc.)  Here is a link to my favorite "Christmas to-do list" that helps your family focus on the less fortunate while at the same time preparing your home and your heart for Christmas.   Christmas Planning List


ENJOY!  If you create an advent sock garland, I'd love to see it!  Post a link here and share it with us!  Merry Christmas!