DIY Tea Advent Calendar (Super Quick & Easy!) #drinkwhatyouown

Did you miss out on getting a tea advent calendar this year? Whether they sold out before you got a chance to snag one or you just didn’t want to add to your already large tea collection, this do-it-yourself is meant for you! With a DIY tea advent calendar you get to use teas that you already own to make space for more tea to come in the new year. While you can get super fancy, this tea advent calendar tutorial is meant to be super easy so it won’t take long to put together. This is especially great to do if it’s last minute. In fact, when I first created this tea advent calendar last year I made it the night before!

I started this #drinkwhatyouown challenge 2 years ago. For the most part, it has been successful.

When I made this quick tea advent calendar last year it was so much fun to wake up and see what tea was waiting to be steeped.

I was surprised by how exciting it was even though I used teas I already owned and it took me less than an hour to make.

How to Select Teas For this Advent Calendar

The best part about making your own tea advent calendar is that you get to fill it with teas that you know you love!

When you select the teas for your own advent calendar I would start by looking at the ones that only have 1 or 2 servings left. That way you can finish them up faster.

With this advent calendar last year I was able to finish off several teas and also enjoyed some teas I forgot I even had.

Don’t forget to also look for teas in your collection that are somewhat festive so you can stay on theme.

If you’re like me you might have holiday teas from last season still (oops!). If not, look for any teas that are perfect for winter time or blends that are dessert-inspired.

But will the teas in this advent calendar still be a surprise?

YES!

If you’re worried about remembering the teas you used in the advent calendar, you could get someone else to pick them out for you.

However, my experience last year was that I often forgot the teas I picked out as the days went on.

Plus, the main part of this DIY is to shuffle up the pieces of paper before numbering them so you never actually know what tea is on which day.

DIY Tea Advent Calendar Tutorial

Okay! Advent season is beginning very soon so let’s get crafting!

Here is what you will need:

– cork board or foam board
– thumbtacks
– construction paper
– markers
– scissors
– 24 or 25 different teas

Directions

1. Begin by deciding how many days you’d like to make your #drinkwhatyouown DIY tea advent calendar. Advent is typically 24 days, but I like to do 25 so I have a surprise tea on Christmas morning, too. Cut out 24 or 25 shapes with construction paper. To keep it simple, I did squares but you can also cut out circles, triangles, etc. To be festive, I did a pattern of green and red paper.

2. Select 24 or 25 different teas from your tea stash. This is where you #drinkwhatyouown … don’t buy new ones for this! You can do all pure teas or a mix of pure teas and blends.

3. Write a tea on each piece of paper. Then, shuffle the pieces of paper and number them from 1-24 (or 1-25) on the reverse side. Don’t flip the pieces of paper over again or else you’ll reveal which tea is under which day. Keep it a surprise!

4. Line up the pieces of paper in order on a cork board or foam board and secure with a thumbtack.

5. Hang up your tea advent calendar and patiently wait for the first of December. No peeking! 🙂

How to use this tea advent calendar

On December first, begin the countdown! Simply flip over the piece of paper that is labeled “1”, read which tea it is, then grab it from your stash to steep and enjoy. Leave the day turned over once complete. Repeat until Christmas day is here.

Like this DIY Tea Advent Calendar idea? Pin it for later here –> https://bit.ly/3fEWqI1

If you make a #drinkwhatyouown tea advent calendar this year, tag me on Instagram @teaaholic and use the hashtag.

I will be sharing what is behind each of my dates on my Instagram Stories starting December 1st, so be sure to follow if you’re curious!