The Countdown Is On

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I always loved chocolate advent calenders when I was a kid. There was something great about knowing that you were going to get a special little treat everyday, like mini-Christmas for 24 days. The only down-side was those little chocolates in those advent calenders were never that great.

Last year I wanted to make a calender and stock it full of better chocolates. I was thinking of using those magnetic spice tins. They would be big enough to hold a variety of treats, and I loved that I could put them on the fridge acting as Christmas decorations and a reminder of my special daily treat. The only problem was that the best price I could find for these containers was almost $10 for a set of six. $40 for an advent calender was a little too pricey for me.

So when I saw this pin I thought it would be the perfect solution.

Source: lovemikao.blogspot.ca via Tanya on Pinterest

 

I bought everything and assembled a calender in one night. The above pin provides a good explanation so I will not go into the steps (they are also pretty obvious), but here are my tips.

1. I used the magnets from magnetic picture frames purchased at the Dollar Store to glue them on the back on the watchmaker's tins. So far they work perfectly. I cut them in 2" circles then super-glued them to the back of the tins.
2. Since I have a 2" paper punch I use it to cut out circles of scrap-book paper. Since this is slightly smaller than the tin lid I needed to glue them in place. I use Mod Podge to cover the glass surface of the lid then placed the circles on top and smoothed out the bubbles. I suggest a fairly think layer of Mod Podge to best prevent bubbles. When I used a thinner layer they did not dry as clear.
3. I also needed to pinch some of the lids to make them fit more tightly. But it is a simple solution that works well.