Tea Time Advent Calendar

Plain and simple, the holiday season can get crazy sometimes. And now that December has officially arrived, things are bound to get that much more hectic.This Tea Time Advent Calendar is a reminder to take your tea breaks this December. There’s no better way to recuperate from all that shopping, cooking, and gift wrapping than with a dedicated daily tea time, a moment to catch your breath.

I like to think of this craft as an easy alternative to a Christmas tree, more practical yet just as charming. The key here is to buy fillable ornaments that can be stuffed with good-quality, loose leaf tea.This is a great opportunity to use up any tea that’s about to pass its prime. Keep in mind how large your tea leaves are–larger leaves should be used to fill larger ornaments while more compact tea leaves fit into smaller baubles.

Each of these ornaments is filled with 4 teaspoons of the good stuff, just enough for one strong pot of tea. With the exception of the glass ornament, the tea is packed into clear cellophane treat bags, then sealed and shaped to fit each type of trinket. The fact that it’s December 1st means your to-do list is probably starting to pile up. Put the kettle on and pluck off today’s tea from this Tea Time Advent Calendar. Tea breaks aren’t just recommended this holiday season…they’re absolutely necessary!Tea Time Advent Calendar

What You’ll Need:

large wooden pallet or board (mine was 20″ x 23″)

4 strands of ribbon or rope, cut to width of board

6 of each: clear glass light ornaments, mini stockings, mini pails, mini paper treat bags, or other fillable ornaments

Christmas stickers (to decorate paper treat bags, optional)

sticker labels, labeled 1-24

24 clear cellophane 3″ x 4″ treat bags

teaspoon measure

clear tape

decorative baker’s twine

hot glue gun

many kinds of loose leaf tea (24 different kinds would be ideal!)

a list of all the teas that you’ve packed into the calendar, listed according to day

Step-By-Step:

1. Place the pallet on a flat work surface. Hot glue one end of each ribbon or rope onto the left edge of board, equally apart from one another lengthwise.2. Place 4 teaspoons of tea into each of the clear treat bags. Seal them, using tape or baker’s twine, to fit into the ornaments that you have chosen to use. Place the bagged tea into the ornaments.

3. String 6 ornaments onto one affixed ribbon/rope strand. Now, hot glue the other end of each ribbon or rope onto the right edge of board, so that the ribbon/rope goes straight across. Make sure the ribbon/rope is taut. Repeat this process for the next 3 pieces of ribbon/rope.

4. Evenly space the ornaments along the string. Affix the number labels on the ornaments, numbers 1-24. It’s a good idea to provide a list of all the teas that you’ve packed into the calendar, according to the day, so that the tea drinker can refer to it if they discover one that they love!

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