Growing up I always had mental countdowns for various targets going on in my mind simultaneously. X days till school ends. X days till my birthday. X days till such and such event. X days till Eid. The concept of an advent calendar is common for Christmas but I didn’t even know that existed until I saw the options of Eid countdown calendars on various websites years before I started blogging.
This year my daughter is three years old and still too young to understand what a countdown calendar is, but I couldn’t wait any longer! I decided to work on an Eid Countdown calendar that is inexpensive, easy to make, unique, has plenty of room for daily treats/activities/goodies, is customizable and reusable for at least a few years if taken care of properly.
I knew I was planning on using cardboard favor boxes for my calendar but was not sure how I would arrange them. Some days later this design was inspired by the Canterbury Mosque, more famously known as the Christchurch Mosque. I was arranging and rearranging the boxes to come up with a layout and realized I can totally turn them into a mosque!
Items Needed:
30 cardboard favor boxes 3 x 3 x 3 inch
Clear packing tape
Washi tape of choice
Paper punches to decorate boxes
Colored cardstock to cut out dome, minarets and decorations
Double sided foam tape to give a 3D effect
You can add sticker numbers, use stamps or a heat embossed numbers like I did. It all depends on your comfort level, time and amount of money you want to invest.
All items can be bought here: My Amazon Page
I started off with thirty 3 x 3 x 3 inch cardboard boxes. I assembled and arranged them into my desired shape, a mosque. I then started taping together two boxes at a time and then taped the taped boxes together. Slowly the structure formed and got more reinforced with the additional tape.
After this, I Measured the area where the dome and minaret would go. I then measured and folded a piece of paper in half and freehanded half a minaret. I cut it out and opened to a minaret. I repeated this again for the second minaret and a third time for the dome. I traced these papers onto my glittery cardstock and cut out the designs as shown in the photos.
Next, I cut out circles with a 2.5 inch and 2 inch punches and heat embossed numbers 1 through 30 onto the 2 inch circles. I adhered the two circles onto each other with double sided foam tape to add a 3D effect. The photo below is from a failed attempt with 1 inch circles. I couldn’t add double digits to the 1 inch circles, so then used the 2 inch punches.
Finally, I used washi tape to decorate each box as shown in the photo and then stuck the circles onto the center of the box with double sided foam tape.
The special thing about washi tape is that it is removable without damaging the boxes. If I decide to change the color of my decor next year, I can easily redecorate the boxes with different tape.
The countdown calendar can be stored in a clean and dry place. I recommend putting it in a storage bin or big bag with silica gel packets (the beads that come in shoe boxes!). They will help prevent moisture from damaging the calendar. By the way, I recommend using these gel packets in all drawers and jewelry boxes. They’re excellent!
You can purchase all of the items I used from my Amazon influencer page at no additional cost to you: My Amazon Page ♡
What do you think of this countdown calendar? Would you make it? Have you ever made one yourself?