Countdown in Colour: 24 Mini Ribbon Makes for a Handmade December

December has a habit of arriving faster than the to-do list. A daily craft calendar is a lovely idea in theory, but most of us do not have a spare hour on a Tuesday night in the middle of the school nativity run. So this one is deliberately small. Each of the 24 pockets holds a project you can finish before the kettle cools, using ribbon you already have and bits and bobs from around the house.

Why ribbon makes the perfect advent filler

Ribbon is light, inexpensive, endlessly reusable and takes up almost no space. A three-metre length of 10mm grosgrain will make three small bows, a couple of gift tags and a jar topper. Offcuts are not waste — they are tomorrow's project. That is the whole idea behind this calendar: a daily nudge to make something small and cheerful rather than one enormous Christmas craft you will abandon by 3 December.

Build the calendar before December

The 24 pockets do not need to be fancy. A cardboard shoe tidy, a length of hessian pinned with numbered wooden pegs, or 24 small paper bags hung along a ribbon garland all work beautifully. Number the pockets with a fine-liner or stamped kraft tags, then fill them in one go on a wet Sunday in late November.

Keep the actual ribbon in a separate box and slot a small card into each pocket listing that day's make. It means you can shuffle projects around if life gets in the way — and nobody will ever know that day nine became day eleven.

What to gather

• A core box of 3mm, 6mm and 10mm ribbon in two or three colours
• A metre each of 25mm velvet or satin for the statement pieces
• Fine scissors, pinking shears, a glue gun, needle and thread, and fray check
• Household bits: jam jars, cardboard, old greetings cards, hair clips, mini pegs

Everything is easy to find on the high street or from UK suppliers — independent haberdashers, garden centre craft aisles and online ribbon shops all stock the basics. Where possible, buy reels rather than pre-cut lengths. You get far more for your money, and the leftovers feed next year's calendar.

Week one: quick wins (days 1 to 6)

Day 1 — Mini hoop wreath. Easy, 10 minutes. Wrap a 6cm embroidery hoop or a ring cut from thick card in 10mm ribbon, then add three small bows and a hanging loop.

Day 2 — No-sew hair bow. Easy, 5 minutes. Cut 15cm of 25mm ribbon, pinch the centre, wrap a short length of 6mm around the pinch and glue the whole thing to a clip.

Day 3 — Gift tag upgrade. Easy, 5 minutes. Lay two strips of 6mm ribbon diagonally across a blank kraft tag, trim, punch a hole and add baker's twine.

Day 4 — Jam jar band. Easy, 8 minutes. Glue 10mm ribbon around the rim of a clean jar. Fill with sweets, hot chocolate sachets or dried orange slices.

Day 5 — Ribbon bookmark. Easy, 6 minutes. Take 30cm of 15mm ribbon, fold and glue the ends, then add a small bead or charm.

Day 6 — Peg decorations. Easy, 10 minutes. Glue tiny bows to wooden pegs. Use them to clip cards to a ribbon line or seal snack bags.

Week two: a little more technique (days 7 to 12)

Day 7 — Folded star ornament. Medium, 15 minutes. Five strips of 10mm ribbon, folded into a pinwheel and glued at the centre, with a thread loop on top.

Day 8 — Napkin ring. Easy, 8 minutes. Loop 20cm of 25mm wired ribbon and tuck the ends behind. Make four and feel terribly organised.

Day 9 — Card topper. Easy, 12 minutes. Fan out scrap ribbon strips behind a die-cut circle and stick to a blank card.

Day 10 — Candle band. Easy, 7 minutes. Wrap 6mm ribbon around a pillar candle and secure with glue dots and a tiny bow. Never leave a burning candle unattended.

Day 11 — Photo corners. Easy, 10 minutes. Small ribbon triangles turn a plain photo mount into something special.

Day 12 — Keyring loop. Medium, 12 minutes. Fold 40cm of 10mm ribbon, stitch or glue the layers and thread on a split ring.

Week three: makes worth showing off (days 13 to 18)

Day 13 — Ribbon bunting. Medium, 20 minutes. Run 6m of 6mm ribbon as the string, then fold nine 15cm ribbon flags over it and stitch or glue.

Day 14 — Place card. Easy, 6 minutes. A tent-fold card with a neat ribbon knot at the top. Perfect for Christmas dinner.

Day 15 — Tiny rosette. Medium, 18 minutes. Loop 25mm ribbon, gather at the centre and finish with a button.

Day 16 — Notebook closure. Easy, 10 minutes. A slim elastic band plus a ribbon tab keeps a journal shut.

Day 17 — Bottle tag. Easy, 8 minutes. Tie a kraft tag to the neck of a bottle with 15mm ribbon and add a small bow.

Day 18 — Plant pot wrap. Easy, 12 minutes. Glue 38mm hessian ribbon around a pot and finish with twine. A lovely gift for a neighbour.

Week four: the home straight (days 19 to 24)

Day 19 — Fairy-light ties. Easy, 10 minutes. Small bows clipped along a string of lights stop the cable from tangling.

Day 20 — Cracker name tag. Easy, 6 minutes. Write a name on a slim card, punch a hole and tie with 3mm ribbon.

Day 21 — Bauble hanger. Easy, 5 minutes. Replace a tired metal hook with 15cm of 3mm ribbon.

Day 22 — Mini gift pouch. Medium, 20 minutes. A small felt envelope with a ribbon tie — ideal for jewellery or a gift card.

Day 23 — Memory bauble. Easy, 8 minutes. Slot a short length of ribbon saved from a 2026 present into a clear fillable bauble and add the date.

Day 24 — Thank-you bow. Easy, 5 minutes. Make one generous bow for the Boxing Day thank-yous. You have earned it.

Make the most of your scraps

Keep a jam jar of offcuts under 10cm on the table. They are perfect for card toppers, tiny bows and place cards. Seal cut ends with fray check or pinking shears so they do not unravel, and sort scraps by colour rather than size — you will reach for them far more often.

A few honest tips

Do not buy 24 new reels. Use what you have, supplement with one or two reels in a colour you love, and let the calendar be a way of using up the oddments at the bottom of the ribbon box. Batch similar techniques — all the tags one evening, all the bows the next — and embrace the wonky ones. A slightly lopsided bow made on a dark December evening is worth more than a perfect one you never got round to.