I made this advent calendar for my nieces, based on instructions from Chica and Jo. Theirs depicted the Grinch; for mine I used my favorite childhood Christmas special, Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town.
The pockets are great for inserting small gifts. I used a red felt backing, and trimmed it with fun fur to make it look like a Santa suit.
Here is what it looked like with all the presents inside:
I got a (garish pink zebra striped) plastic buckle in the bargain bin of my local fabric store, sanded it a little and then spray painted it gold. Then I used a wide ribbon to simulate Santa’s belt, so it would look cool even when it was empty and in storage:
Ho! Ho! Ho!
A coworker said she liked this because most “gift-a-day” advent calendars don’t really have enough room for the gifts, so the shoe pockets are better because they are roomier.