How to make a Christmas advent calendar

Step 1: On a piece of card, draw five different Christmassy shapes such as a robin, snowman, stocking, Christmas tree or gift box - and cut them out.

Step 2: Glue fabric or felt to both sides of each shape, then decorate with other pieces of fabric, felt, glitter, sequins, ribbon, buttons, twigs or the googly eyes! It's a good idea to mix and match fabrics to make the final results look more fun. I made my snowman out of white felt and gave him a patterned fabric scarf, black eyes and a big orange felt carrot nose. The robin was made in a polka dot fabric, with a red felt beak, googly eyes and a red patchwork cloth breast. Twigs worked well for his legs.

Step 3: Cut five rectangles approximate 4cm wide and 10cm long in red felt. Iron these in half lengthways to create little 'bags'. Then either glue or stitch the sides up.

Step 4: Cut out numbers for each date (20, 21, 22, 23, 24) and glue one to each bag. Hang a branch big enough to suspend all your characters from, then attach each shape and treat bag using either florists' wire or fishing twine. It's important to attach everything while the twig is hanging to ensure you keep it balanced.