DIY Christmas Lights Advent Countdown

Today I have a bit of a holiday mash-up with my DIY Christmas Lights Advent Calendar made from plastic Easter eggs! With only a few extra craft supplies, you’ll be able to create this fun countdown for the holiday season.

We already know those little plastic Easter Eggs make a great place to hide small candy or trinkets for the kids, so why not use them to hide a daily treat to count down the days in December? After kicking around the leftover plastic Easter Eggs in my craft closet for months, it struck me that the egg is very similar in shape to a lightbulb. The eggs already come in the same bright colors as Christmas lights, so I came up with the idea of adding a small top to the base of each plastic egg and voila! instant bulbs to string as a set of Christmas lights.

For the tops of my “lights”, I searched Michael’s craft stores and came up with these wooden Doll Pin Stands that I painted green with acrylic craft paint. If you can’t find these, my other thought was to use pop bottle lids – a green Dasani or Sprite/7-up bottle lid would be a great size and shape. You will need 24 each of the plastic eggs and tops.

For the “cord”, I found a Mesh Tube at Dollar Tree. It was just the right thickness and I loved the touch of sparkle in it. I lucked out and my eggs already had small holes at the tops and bottoms, so I was able to thread the cord through the wooden tops and the eggs to create my garland. (Use a bit of tape around the ends to help thread your cord through.) I was going to use a bit of hot glue to secure the tops to the eggs, but found I didn’t need it once everything was strung together.

I have not numbered my countdown, but you could use numbered stickers or neatly write on each number with a permanent marker. You could put anything you want in these eggs from small chocolates and blind bag toys, to fun family Christmas activities written on paper. You could even raid the leftover Halloween candy to fill it. I decided to go the simple route and used mini chocolate Lindor balls. Once your string of lights is made, you will be able to refill and reuse it year after year.

Even without the treats, this makes a festive garland to decorate for the holidays. You can even mix and match the egg colors to suit your décor. I choose to hang my lights as a garland, but you could also make them as individual ornaments hung on a tree or wreath.