Hey there, Friends! It’s Sarah here from the Archer & Olive Ambassador team and SHEdesignsKC over on Instagram. It’s the time of year when I switch into holiday mode and I’m ready to get festive! I love to bring the holiday cheer into my bullet journal and my very favorite thing to make in my journal each year is a holiday advent. Each day, my family and I look forward to revealing a seasonal activity to do together. We have the most fun and make the best memories. Today, I’ll show you how I set up my holiday advent spread. Here’s a look at some of my spreads from the past years.

Fun, right?! Now let’s set up this year’s spread! Get your Bing Crosby playing, grab some cocoa and let’s get started!

SUPPLIES

There are so many things you can use for decoration on this spread and it’s so fun to get really playful with it! You could use stickers, washi tape, stamps, wrapping paper, markers, scrapbook paper, etc. Get as creative as you like! I’ll be using the following items in my set up:

• Archer & Olive notebook
• X-Acto knife
• Self-healing mat
• Scrap paper
• Pencil
• Eraser
• Archer & Olive Calliograph pens
• Archer & Olive Acrylograph pens
• Adhesive roller tape
• Fine Liner

If you’re making any purchases with Archer & Olive, be sure to use my affiliate code, SHEDESIGNSKC10, to save 10%! I get a small commission when you use my code, which I appreciate so much!

GETTING STARTED

The first thing I do when I work on this spread each year is make a list of the 25 activities I will include. My family celebrates Christmas, so I like my advent to start on December 1st and go through Christmas Day. You can set up your advent for whatever holiday you celebrate and for however many days you prefer! I make a list numbered 1 through 25 and start by looking at my calendar first, to see if there are any activities or events already scheduled. For example, we may have a Christmas themed event at the library that I’ve signed up for on the 5th of December. I’ll go ahead and write that on my list for the 5th. Once I’ve filled in any planned events, I’ll write in any activities that are going to work best on the weekend and I’ll fill my empty weekends with those. So for my family, one of those will be a cookie baking day. We bake TONS of cookies, so I’ll want to schedule that on a Saturday so we have plenty of time for all the goodie prep. Lastly, I fill in the remaining days with various holiday themed activities. They don’t have to be big things, and most of the time they aren’t! This is about fun, not stress! Some things I like to include are as simple as “wear Christmas pjs”, “watch Rudolph”, “Christmas color sheet”. I have provided a free printable with a nice long list of activity suggestions. Be sure to grab that if you need a little inspiration!

PLANNING THE SPREAD

I have been making a holiday advent for 5 years, and I’ve done it a few different ways in that time. In the past, I cut out squares of paper and taped them onto a page so they could be lifted to reveal the activity beneath. This works nicely, but sometimes I’ve had trouble keeping my papers taped in place. Sometimes my little boys get very enthusiastic when lifting the flaps and accidentally pulling them all the way off. :) The setup I prefer uses two full spreads. The top spread has each window cut on three sides, the areas between the windows then get glued to the paper behind it. Now the flaps can be lifted, but it is much more secure and sturdy. Pick your style and we’ll set them up!

TAPED ON WINDOWS SPREAD

For this style of advent spread, you’ll start by drawing out your squares (or whatever shapes you prefer) for your windows. You want to be sure to leave a bit of space between them, especially along whichever side you plan to add tape to for the window to open. I kept a border of two dot grid spaces around each window and used a fairly thin washi tape. I like to vary my shapes and the sizes of my windows, but you can do whatever you like! Now grab a pen and fill in each space with an activity. Next up you’ll cut out separate paper to use as the windows. It would be extra handy to use an Archer & Olive notepad for this, like I did, since you can count the dot grid spaces on your journal and easily cut the correct size window from your notepad. 

You could also use wrapping paper (festive!) or any other scrap paper. Decorate each window as you like, draw the appropriate number on the window, and you’re ready to tape it over the corresponding activity for that date. Here’s a look at the completed spread!

FLAP WINDOW SPREAD

If you want a more sturdy and lasting spread, this one is my favorite! You’ll need to use two whole spreads, so open the journal to a blank spread, making sure there is a blank paper on either side of these pages. Draw out your window shapes. Be sure to leave a bit of space from the center of the notebook, as you’ll need a self-healing mat under the page when you cut and it can get a bit tricky there. Once you have the windows placed how you like them, put a self-healing mat under the page and start cutting, making sure to leave one side uncut to act as the hinge of the window or flap.

Now you’ll need to make sure the space you write your activities on will match up with the window flap you’ve created. Put the flap page down against the blank page behind it, lift each flap and lightly trace the shape so you know where your openings are. Now you can write each activity on the blank pages behind each flap page. When you finish, erase your pencil lines so you aren’t trying to do this after your flap pages are glued down! To stick the flap page down, you’ll want to use your preferred adhesive on the back of the flap page. Apply it to the border of the page and to areas in between your flaps. Don’t glue your flaps down! Then flatten the page onto the one behind it, and you should now be able to lift each flap and see the activity written underneath! Now it’s time to decorate! I slip a piece of scrap paper under each flap so I can color them and decorate without having to be too careful about marking any areas I didn’t intend to.

Once decorated, add the numbers on each flap. I usually draw them on, but I’ve also used stickers or cut out and pasted the numbers on. Anything goes!

Woohoo! You’re ready to holiday! Thanks so much for joining me today and I hope you’re inspired to create your own advent spread for the holidays! I’m sure you’ll enjoy creating fun memories with your loved ones! As you create, be sure to tag Archer & Olive (@archerandolive, #aoshare) and me (@shedesignskc) so we can see your beautiful work! Also, be sure to check out the Archer & Olive YouTube channel to see me set up these spreads, plus plenty more creative fun! 

Thanks again and I’ll talk to y’all soon!