Add a rustic touch to your Christmas home decor with a natural advent calendar. This easy homemade Christmas countdown calendar uses stones or rocks as an easy way to countdown to Christmas. (First published November 17, 2016; this post is updated and republished to improve the content.)
Countdown to Christmas with this easy DIY advent calendar! An advent calendar with a Nativity Scene Display is a fun and interactive DIY Christmas decoration. Add a bit of rustic whimsy to your holiday decorations with this festive Christmas project.
First, use the DIY Christmas craft tutorial below to make a stone Christmas countdown calendar. Next, use your stone advent calendar as a fun and easy way to countdown to Christmas. No sugary treats, candy, or gifts are necessary (unless you want to include them)!
Scroll down for complete step-by-step DIY instructions to set up this easy Christmas advent countdown calendar. You might also enjoy these fun family Christmas Traditions.
DIY Advent Calendar Christmas Countdown
Creating a Christmas countdown with stones and rocks can be a unique and nature-inspired way to celebrate the holiday season. Advent means ‘coming’ in Latin and represents the coming of Christ. In other words, a Christmas Advent represents Baby Jesus’s coming into the world.
This homemade advent calendar makes it fun to count down to Christmas. Every day, starting December 1st, turn over or remove one stone to count down the days until Christmas. This Christmas activity adds a creative touch to your holiday decor and is a tangible way to build anticipation for Christmas Day.
It also makes it easy for Toddlers, preschoolers, and kindergarteners to engage in the joy and excitement of the holiday season. Removing one stone or object per day helps them know how many days are left until Christmas. So, it’s a wonderful DIY Christmas decoration for families with young children.
First, gather 24 stones or rocks of various sizes, ideally smooth, for easy painting or writing. Each stone represents a day from December 1st to the 24th. You can paint or write numbers on each stone, add festive designs like snowflakes, stars, or Christmas trees, or leave them natural, as shown in the photographs.
Next, arrange the stones or painted rocks in a special area of your home. Scroll down for the complete instructions to make this simple Christmas countdown calendar.
Our Stone Advent Christmas Countdown Calendar
My daughter has always had an obsession with rocks. So, our fall nature table has become littered with them! When I saw THIS advent nature table by Explore and Express, I knew it was perfect for my daughter and our home, so I decided to make one for her on her nature table.
We made a festive homemade popsicle stick nativity stable and set up a simple Nativity Scene with a wooden holy family to go with our stone advent calendar DIY that you can make for your DIY Advent calendar.
Or, use any of these lovely stables or nativity sets to set up with it. This simple Willow Tree Nativity Set is one of my favorites, but I also love the simple look wooden peg dolls can create, as shown in the photograph below. Learn how to set up a Nativity Scene for Christmas–> HERE.
Related: Rustic Walnut Shell Manger Christmas Ornament
Christmas Advent Countdown Calendar Supplies
- First, go on a nature hunt to find some stones or rocks, stones, or other natural treasures to use. Or, visit your local landscaping or gardening store to buy a few rocks or stones you can use.
- If you can not find any rocks, use other natural objects, such as raw gemstones, pebbles, shells, pinecones, acorns, flat-backed gems, colorful sea glass pieces, wood slices, etc. Or, try rainbow blocks, lego bricks, or toy cars.
- Or, use tiny, individually wrapped pieces of chocolate like Hershey’s Holiday Kisses or milk chocolate novelty Christmas figures to give your children a treat each night. Any wrapped food material that is not likely to perish before Christmas will also work to make this Christmas countdown craft.
Related: Baby Jesus Christmas Ornament
Christmas Countdown Calendar Materials
- 24 stones, rocks, or other items (acorns or acorn caps, shells, wood slices, flat-backed marbles, gemstones, crystals, et cetera; see linked recommendations in the section above) to countdown to Christmas or another winter holiday.
- Nativity stable with holy family and nativity scene (optional)
- Beeswax tealights and a unique Christmas candle (optional)
Related: Angel Christmas Ornaments
Related: Ultimate Family Gift Guide with DIY and ready-made options!
How to Countdown to Christmas with a Stone Advent Calendar
A quick summary of how to make and use a stone countdown calendar follows. Please see the complete step-by-step DIY instructions for this Christmas countdown activity and craft in the next section.
- Layout 24 rocks or stones (in a straight or curved line) across a table, shelf, or windowsill, or make a spiral advent.
- Place a nativity stable and the holy family into the nativity scene at one end of the line of stones. (optional)
- Use the stones to countdown to Christmas starting on the first of December or any day after that. (Count the remaining days and add the corresponding number of stones, objects, or ornaments.)
- Remove one rock (or object) daily until the last stone is removed on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, depending on the design of your countdown.
- Light a beeswax candle in place of the stone or stones removed each night, and a unique candle on Christmas Day. (Optional)
- Follow the Christmas countdown calendar with three wise men peg dolls. (Optional–see Christmas countdown activity ideas below.)
Related: Christmas Gifts Kids Can Make Your Family Will Love!
DIY Stone Advent Calendar Step-by-Step Instructions
The step-by-step DIY project tutorial below explains how to make a simple Christmas countdown calendar.
Related: Christmas Ornaments Kids Can Make
Layout stones or rocks to create the Christmas countdown calendar craft.
- Layout 24-25 stones, rocks, gemstones, acorns, or other objects or ornament (in a straight or curved line) across a table, shelf, or windowsill.
- If starting your countdown after the first of December, count the days remaining until the desired date and add the same number of stones (or other objects) to the DIY countdown calendar.
- Or, place the stones or other objects into spirals or circles to make this festive holiday decor. You can see our DIY advent spiral countdown calendar–> HERE.
2. Add Wise Men behind the last stone or other objects. (optional)
- Place three Wise Men (or three wooden peg dolls to represent the Magi) or another object behind the first stone of your advent calendar (optional).
- Adding wise men looks lovely but does not make the countdown entirely accurate. According to the story of Christmas, the wise men continue to travel after Christmas day. Some people believe their Journey ends on Epiphany (January 6), while others believe the Magi traveled for several years before they reached Bethlehem. So, inform your children of this difference or modify your countdown to continue after Christmas in any way you like.
- One way to do this is to leave the Nativity Scene up after Christmas by adding another twelve stones to the countdown on Christmas Day (December 25). Then take away one stone per day to count down to Epiphany on January 6th.
3. Add a nativity scene (optional).
- Make or buy a stable with a holy family to set up a nativity scene with the homemade stone advent calendar.
- Place Mary, Joseph, and Baby Jesus into the nativity stable at the end of the stone Christmas countdown.
- Or add Baby Jesus to the Nativity Scene on Christmas Eve (December 24) if you prefer. (Learn how to set up a Nativity Scene–>HERE.)
- Make our easy popsicle stick nativity stable craft tutorial, or purchase this lovely nativity stable.
- Make this wooden peg doll holy family with Baby Jesus in a half-walnut shell manger.
4. Countdown to Christmas by removing one stone or object per day.
- Begin your countdown on December 1 or any day before or after that. (Count the days remaining until the desired date and add the same number of stones or other items to the DIY countdown calendar.)
- Remove one stone from the advent calendar daily to count to Christmas or another winter holiday.
- Continue to remove one stone every day until the last stone is removed on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, depending on how you want to design your countdown calendar craft.
- Light a beeswax candle in place of the stone or other object removed each night (optional).
- Follow with three magi or wise men peg dolls or other Christmas figurines. (optional).
- Light a unique candle in place of the removed stones (or other objects) on Christmas Day (optional).
Related: Fingerprint Christmas Tree Cards
DIY Advent Calendar Kids Can Make
That’s it! Setting up this Christmas countdown calendar is quick and easy. You can make a handmade nativity stable to accompany your homemade countdown calendar or use these lovely stables or nativity sets. Learn how to set up a Christmas Nativity Scene –>HERE.
Look at these fun family Christmas traditions for even more great holiday ideas! You might also want to look at our winter bucket list seasonal activity guide. It has several fun winter activities you can enjoy.
Learn more about Rhythms of Play HERE!
Sheila says
Hi Nell, I love this post! So glad that you have been able to use this idea, and thank you for linking back to Explore and Express.
nell says
Hi Sheila!
I fell in love with your idea the minute I saw it and knew it would be perfect for my daughter. I love the idea of the stones symbolizing the journey of the wise man. Not many advent calendars these days can bring the meaning of Christmas to life quite like this one can. Thank you for the inspiration to create such a beautiful nativity scene on our Nature table this year.