DIY Advent Calendar for Dogs

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For years, I’ve thought about making an advent calendar for dogs. The other dog crafts and recipes I’ve posted here have always been popular and I thought a pet-themed advent calendar might be a lot of fun … but maybe a little too over the top for some {wink}. This year, I keep seeing companies selling advent calendars for pets and I decided it was time to hop on my idea and share a DIY version. If you love your dog or cat, this is a fun upcycled idea … and it can obviously be created for a child as well, with candy hidden inside the compartments inside of dog treats.

To make this advent calendar for dogs, you’ll need a new or old muffin tin {you can always hit up the thrift store for a cheap one}.

You’ll also need to use your Cricut Maker and colorful cardstock to make the doors for each day and the decorations to embellish each door.

I used the new perforation blade to make the doors, which means they can easily be torn open to reveal the treat. If you don’t have the perforation blade, you can just pull the entire circle off the muffin tin each day.

{To read about the newest blades/tools released for the Cricut Maker, check out this post.}

To make this calendar for a pet, fill each tin with a treat for a dog or a cat. Storebought treats are perfect or you can also bake your own small dog treats or cat treats if you’ve got some extra time {click on those links for recipes}.

If you’re making this advent calendar for a child, add candy or a small toy to each section of the muffin tin instead.

To make the coverings for the advent calendar, you can either create your own or use the file that I created in Cricut Design Space. It can be customized any way you want, adding more details, changing the colors, or removing the perforation lines.

Cut all the pieces out of cardstock then assemble each door, adding the creative elements and the numbers. I also popped each tab up a bit so that once the cardstock is glued onto the muffin tin, it would be easy to grab the tab and tear open each day.

Use a glue gun to attach the circles to an old muffin tin, gluing around the outside of each muffin hole. {If you plan to reuse the muffin tin after Christmas, just remove any extra paper and put the tin in the freezer. The hot glue will pop right off once it’s frozen.}