Nothing like sharing this easy DIY Paper Bag Advent Calendar last minute. We did this Calendar last year after becoming inspired from this one by Monica Hibbs. 

It's super easy, cute and fairly inexpensive. We have a chocolate calendar and a fun Playmobil one too that Emery got as gifts, so we are going to have lots of fun this month!

Supplies Needed

-Brown Paper Bags (25)

-Clothes Pins

-Command Strips or something similar

-Black Pen

I drew different wreaths on each envelope. I just looked up different illustrated wreaths on Pinterest for ideas. Instead of filling each bag with a toy or trinket, each envelope has a different Christmas activity in it. Then I put a piece of the command strips on the back of the clothes pins, and hung them up on the wall, spacing them out with the bags. I'm sure you could use a ruler to make sure the bags are even but I just eyeballed it.

Here is a list of some activities I came up with. I got Emery to help brainstorm ideas too. 

Christmas Activities 

-have hot chocolate & marshmallows

-go ice skating

-put up the Christmas tree

-watch a christmas movie with popcorn

-paint our nails Christmas colors

-buy toys for other children

-watch a Christmas movie with popcorn

-make Christmas cookies

-make bird food ornaments

-go look at Christmas lights

-go toboganning

-decorate a gingerbread house

-donate to the food bank

-make Christmas Playdough

-Write a letter to Santa

-Play Christmas music on the piano

-have a bath with a Christmas bath bomb

-Read the Christmas Story

I try to map out the activities on days that make sense. For example decorating the tree would be on a weekend day when my Hubby would be home. Try to plan them out with what fits your schedule. You can also always ad-lib them if your kids are younger & can't read.

Emery can't wait to start this tomorrow! I'm so excited for us to all make some fun Christmas memories together!

<3 Kastles 

We love love love reading in our house, and I have been loving collecting special Christmas books. I keep old ones tucked away till it's December. Here is a list of some of our favourite Christmas books for babies and toddlers.

12 Sleighs of Christmas: this one is new for us & it's a cute story about the elves coming up with new sleigh ideas for Santa. It's very creative & if you have a kid who loves cars, trucks, etc, they will love it!

Little Blue Truck's Christmas: We love the book, Little Blue Truck. Getting the Christmas version just made sense. It's a sweet little story about delivering Christmas trees, and it even has Christmas lights in it (which of course Emery & Alder  both love).

That's Not My Reindeer: Any of these books (That's Not My...) are awesome beginner books for babies. The pictures are bright & bold, and contain different textures for the babies to feel. 

Spot's Christmas: These books are simple and sweet, with bright colours for the babies. Em loves it too.

I've slowly been collecting vintage Christmas books from different thrift shops. You can also get reprints of these ones as well. If you are in the local area, the last time I was in Max and Maude they had some.

The Night Before Christmas

Rudolph the Red-Nose Reindeer

The Poky Little Puppy's First Christmas

The Littlest Christmas Tree

Christmas Mice

The Christmas Story

What are your favourite Christmas books?

<3 Kastles 

I have always loved Christmas, like a lot. Now that I have a toddler who is actually aware of what it is, it makes me even more in love with Christmas. It has been so fun to share my love of Christmas with her. She is just like me and is absolutely obsessed with Christmas. Naturally we have been having fun with all sorts of Christmas crafts.

My favourite place to pick up craft supplies is Value Village. It always has hidden gems for making fun crafts. They usually have a section with craft supplies but I also like looking for random little things in the Home Section. You can find all sorts of awesome things for making some fun and creative crafts. I found all these little Christmas trinkets, and a bag of faux snow there. I thought they would be perfect for making little snow globes.

I can't be the only one with an obscure mason jar collection. I just can't help myself, I think they are so cute and purposeful. Mason Jars make the perfect vessels for DIY snow globes.

Supplies:

-Christmas trinkets-bottle brush trees, little reindeer, people, etc

-Faux Snow

-Mason Jars-the wider the base the more things you can fit in it

-Glue Gun

-Bowl & Spoon

Emery helped pick out which little trinkets she wanted in each jar. While I hot glued them, I gave Em a spoon & bowl filled with snow. I got her to spoon the snow into the mason jar. Then I just put the lid on, and viola! A very easy and cute little snow globe!

We made ours super Christmasy but you could also make them more of winter theme forgoing the Santa, etc. 

Emery's cute and amazingly soft pjs are from Kickeepants. They are a favourite in our household and always make a great gift! Here is a list of places you can find them in Canada, also if you are in Sherwood Park, Max and Maude carries them. 

If you are still looking for a few gift ideas for Him or Her, I have a few last minute ideas that will be a winner for sure.

This adorable gift set from THE FACESHOP is not only darling but practical too. Each little kitten comes filled with hand cream. Perfect for throwing in your purse, and the unique container makes them easy to find.

You can never go wrong giving anyone a gift set from Fresh Beauty. Their line of skincare/beauty products is luxurious, effective and swoon worthy. Their Black Tea line is one of my favourites, especially the firming overnight mask. They have a variety of gift sets ranging in price and size at Sephora.

Beauty Gift Sets are always one of my favourite gifts to give and receive. This Smashbox gift set is a crazy good deal, and the packaging is so fun! SmashBox collaborated with neon artist Meryl Pataky to bring you these super cool neon packaging that glows from within. It comes with a eyeshadow, lip and contour palette which makes for a great starter kit. The Photo Op Eyeshadow palette features pigmented, rich bendable colour. The Contour palette has the perfect colors for bronzing and highlighting, and the Lipstick palette lipsticks are super moisturizing and feature a good range of colors. You can find them at Sephora or at Shoppers Drug Mart Beauty Boutiques. 

Burts Bees is such a classic and well known brand. They have 100's of products that are 100% natural, which is a bonus to their already awesome products. I like how this gift set has a good range of the different products they offer. Their lip balm is such a classic product and a favourite in our household. You can pick up their products at several different stores which is great for any last minute shoppers. 

I first discovered MIYU Beauty at Anthropologie and fell in love. Their beauty mists are so divine, and I have been using their De-Stress Mi Beauty Essence a lot during this stressful and busy season. I simply adore this gift set that features their Hydrate Mi Beauty Essence and is accompanied by a matching tea. Such a brilliant gift for any tea lover in your life! Also these darling little party favors would be so fun to have at a New Years Party! Here is a list of where you can pick up their products. 

Ok first of all the packaging on this gift set from Rocky Mountain Soap Co. so stinking cute! Even my husband commented on how cute it was! Vanilla paired with Candy Cane is just the perfect match, it smells divine! This gift set features several of their best selling products which is a great way to give them a taste of the brand if they haven't tried Rocky Mountain Soap Co. before. You can also build your own gift set which is super fun! Here is a list of where you can find their products.

If you have been reading my blog for awhile then you know what a huge fan I am of Make Up Forever. I am constantly being impressed with all the new products they keep coming out with. Any beauty guru in your life would be so thrilled to receive this brush set from them. It features a good variety of  their cult favourite brushes in travel size. They come in a cute little tin which is perfect for throwing in your bag or suitcase. You can find this gift set and other fun ones from Make Up Forever from Sephora. 

Why are men so darn hard to shop for? Maybe it's just me, but shopping for the men in my life is a constant challenge. I've rounded up a few classic gifts along with some fun ones that I think any dude in your life would appreciate. 

This letter board from Letter Folk Co. has got to be one of my favourite gifts to give this year. It is so fun, creative and unique. It comes with a couple packs of letters so you can get creative and write any sort of message on it. I think a bachelor, brother or attached dude would love to receive this as a gift. It's a little late to order one now but their site does offer gift cards, so I highly recommend picking one up. 

Two tired and true gifts. If your husband is anything like mine he could always use new socks, seriously where do all the socks go? Haha! Old Navy has a great variety of casual and dress socks right now. 

Also baseball caps are always useful and super trendy right now. If your a Canadian like me, you can't go wrong with Toronto Blue Jays cap. I personally like the Snapback style as it's a little more fashion forward. I picked this one up at Lids in Southgate Centre. I'm sure any Sports store would have a great selection of baseball caps. 

Ok this gift is pretty darn awesome! I've been a fan of Lomography's products for many years and so I was thrilled when they came out with an Instant Camera. This Instant camera comes with three different lenses so you can play around and have fun. It's not only a fun toy but you can create fun memories with it. You can find them at your local Urban Outfitters.

I think buying gifts for Emery & other little ones is one of my favourite things to do. Stuff for little kids these days is so incredibly fun and unique. I really enjoy giving little gift baskets, especially when they are in practical & cute baskets such as this Pom Pom one from Pehr Designs. A perfect and fun way to wrap any gift. 

Here are a few of my favourite gifts to give ranging from babies to toddlers.

Ok, Clever and Arrow has the most adorable items in their shop! Their cupcake coin bank would be a sweet gift for a new baby to have in their nursery or for a toddler to help them learn about saving money. Either way it makes for adorable decor! Speaking of adorable decor, enter their felt garlands! They are so stinking cute and come in so many different colors & variations. They even offer custom orders if you are looking for something specific. They would be great to hang above a crib, dresser or I was thinking on a cute little indoor tent. For all my Edmonton readers, Clever & Arrow is based out of Stony Plain and offers local pick up and deliveries. 

One of my all time favourite items as a Mom with a baby (& toddler) is a sleep sack. Pehr Designs has the most beautiful designs for Bunting Bags. They are basically a wearable blanket to keep your little one cozy at night. You don't have to worry if they keep kicking off their blanket, they just keep snug & warm in this little Bunting Bag. I love this Alphabet print one, it's such a fun print and it's unisex. 

Trae Designs does it again with this adorable little Heart Monochrome Family wooden peg toy set. It would be a great gift to give to a toddler who is an only child but has a sibling on the way. It would also make a great keepsake. I can't wait for Emery to play with this and pretend it's our little family. 

After my post about Toddler Stocking stuffers, I couldn't very well leave you without some fun ideas for any lady in your life.

When I was younger I would get Lipsmackers in my stocking, so it only makes sense to pick some similar grown up options. 

This two ended Amuse Bouche Lipstick Duo from Bite Beauty is perfect for the holiday season. It has a signature Amuse Bouche colour with a foiled, limited-edition top coat that adds just the right amount of holiday sparkle.

Essence Makeup has a great variety and range of beauty products that are on trend but don't break the bank. I love this plumping gloss from them, plus I feel the colour is very Kylie Jenner but without the insane cost.

You definitely need to have some fun items in your stocking, so obviously anything from Ban.do is a no brainer. This set of gel pens brings me back to my junior high days, in the best way possible. They go hand-in-hand perfectly with this box of Compliment Greeting Cards. Who wouldn't want to find a box inside your stocking that says "You are better than Unicorns and Sparkles Combined".

This next gift is pure luxury people, pure beautiful luxury. Myself and my husband have gotten into the habit of sleeping with sleep masks, and this bad boy from Slip is just heaven. Their sleep masks are 100% pure silk, inside and out. Believe me you can tell. Any Mom or Dad for that matter will definitely appreciate this gift. Anything that helps improve your sleep quality is always a win.

The FACESHOP always has the cutest & darling beauty gift sets around. Any beauty guru in your life would be thrilled to get this little set of beauty sponges. Even if they already have one, they can always use more. You can use them for anything from primer, foundation to cream blush. I especially like them for blending in any contouring I might have done. P.s-they are on sale today. 

If your friend is a huge fan of FACESHOP and Korean beauty/skincare already you should definitely  pick her up some products from Belif. It's a new Korean skincare line, and it's just delightful. This Aqua Bomb-True Cream is a gel cream that's refreshing and hydrating. 

Rocky Mountain Soap Co. is one of my favourite Canadian beauty/skincare brands. I especially like that they are based out of the Alberta Rockies. All their products are handcrafted in the Rockies, and there is something for everyone. The Vanilla Coconut Body Oil is a luxurious treat, especially for those with dry skin. Their Hydrating Face Mask has Aloe & Honey in it, and this little package you can get four masks out of, which is really great. Here is a list some other stocking stuffer ideas from them.

Rodial is a very innovative skincare/beauty line so if you want to find something that is up and coming for your friend/girlfriend/wife etc, I would pick her up anything fro Rodial. I am a huge fan of their Snake Serum line, and this new Snake moisturizer from them is a new favourite in my skincare routine.

I'm such a fan of anything Coconut, so naturally I'm in love with Cocovit's products and anyone in your life would be equally thrilled to get them as a gift. 

Winter skin has got to be one of my biggest pet peeves, especially when my lips started to crack and peel. This Mint Lip Polish is so great for combating that. It rubs away the dead skin, is so refreshing and then leaves your lips super moisturized. The Coconut Water Hydro-Mist is also amazing at leaving your skin feeling moisturized. Whenever I start to feel a little dry during the day, I just spritz a little of this and instantly feel better.