Advent Calendar Tree

Let's make an advent calendar that can be re-used every year. It has 24 small round container boxes in a tree shaped frame. You fill them with daily treasures or goodies of your own choice. Starting on December 1 take out one container each day from the bottom of the frame. If a goodie does not fit into the box, hide it in your house and put a note in the box to let your family know where they can find it. 

I made this project using a table saw, band saw, lathe, laser cutter, and optionally a 3d printer. For materials I used various hardwoods, specifically maple, walnut, oak, and cherry.

Let’s start with the lids. I laser-cut a 39.5 mm diameter disk from 6 mm thick material, like walnut. You might need to tweak the diameter based on the kerf of your laser cutter. This disk will be the inside ‘plug’ for the lid. It needs to fit snugly into the round box we make later on. The round box will have a 1.5 inch inside diameter drilled out with a Forstner bit. I know I’m mixing metric and imperial units, but that’s just how it is!

Next, I laser-cut a 50 mm disk for the outside of the lid from 6 mm thick material, like maple.

Now, let’s 3D print a simple positioning jig (39-50_centering-ring) from the attached file. It’s not a must, but it can be really helpful. Use the positioning jig to glue the small disk (the plug) to the larger disk. This will make sure they are perfectly aligned. After that, you can sand the laser-burned rims to remove the black marks, or you can use the lathe to do it later on in step 4.

You need 24 lids plus a few extras, just in case.

Finally, laser engrave the lids with the numbers 1 to 24.

Laser cut a 50 mm diameter disk from 6 mm material, such as cherry, to form the bottom of each box. For aesthetic reasons, ensure that the bottoms are the same thickness as the lids. Different woods can help distinguish the top lid from the bottom.

Engrave the numbers 1 to 24 on the ‘inside’ of the lids using a smaller font size.

You may also engrave the outside of the lids with a holiday graphic of your choice.

3D print another positioning jig (48-50_centering-ring), a 48mm/50mm step ring used for sizing and aligning.

Make 24 plugs (and some extras) from a 2 by 4. I used a 2 inch hole saw to cut these plugs. The plugs are approximately 1-1/8” tall. Sand them to clean and flatten the top and bottom surfaces. These plugs are waste material intended for lathe mounting.

Glue up blanks for the round boxes, which are 40 to 50 mm tall and 60 mm square. Experiment with different wood combinations to add visual interest. Ensure that all blanks are of similar height. Mark the center of each blank, then trim off the corners at a 45-degree angle to create a more rounded shape suitable for turning.

Apply wood glue and use the lathe as a clamp to glue the plugs to the blanks. Insert the plugs into the lathe chuck and align the live center with the center of the blank.

Turn the blank on the lathe using roughing and spindle gouges. The outside diameter should be approximately 47 to 48 mm. You can use the 3D printed 48-50_centering-ring to check the size. It should fit snugly over the outside of the box without leaving too much clearance.

Finish the outside of the box by sanding it smooth and applying a wax finish, if desired.

Reduce the lathe speed to a low setting, such as 400 rpm. Drill a center hole using a 1.5” Forstner bit. Drill through the blank into the waste plug. Take your time during this process.

Clean up the inside of the box using sandpaper. Leave the round box in the lathe. If necessary, flatten the face (rim) of the box.

Take a numbered lid (refer to step 1) and insert it into the round box. Sand (or turn) the inside of the box until you achieve a good friction fit between the box and lid. Then trim the lid flush with the box to remove the black edge left from the laser cut. Use a pencil or tape to temporarily mark the box with the same number as the fitted lid.

Cut off the box at the waste end, i.e. the bottom. Clean and flatten the bottom on a flat-mounted sanding sheet. I made all boxes 43 mm tall, excluding the lid and bottom piece. Once completed, the boxes are 55 mm tall including the lid.

Use the 3d printed positioning jig (48-50_centering-ring) to glue the bottom to the round box. Match the box/lid number to the bottom number. This will assure that you always match the right lid to the correct box. I have the numbers on the bottom facing inside, my choice. 

The lid and bottom are a little proud from the box perimeter. I turned the lid and bottom flush with the box using the lathe. The resulting boxes/lids are about 47 to 48 mm diameter. 

The tree shaped frame is made from walnut boards that are 60 mm wide. The drawings in the attached pdf file give the relevant dimensions. I used both 8 mm and 11 mm thick boards to add some variety. All angles are either 30 degrees or 60 degrees. Assembly of the frame was challenging with lots of odd clamping angles. It helps to make some 51 mm wide spacer blocks and 30 and 60 degree triangles for alignment during assembly; I made these from 2 by 4 lumber. You will have to be fairly accurate in cutting the pieces, otherwise your boxes will not fit properly. Go slow and glue only one or two joints at a time.

After completing the frame I attached some trim strips to the front and back. On the backside these strip prevent the boxes from falling out of the frame. On the front the trim strips are shorter to allow you the remove a box from the bottom of each slot, and to load the frame at the top of each slot. The trim strips are 20 mm wide and 3 mm thick walnut.

The stand is made from 3/4” walnut pieces glued to the frame as shown in the drawing. The base is a 4.5” by 8” piece of cherry I had left over from another project. I used screws to attach the frame/stand to the base.

Fill the 24 boxes with little surprises and load them into the frame. If your goodie does not fit into the box, put in a little note of where you are hiding it in your house, e.g. "Take a look at the fireplace mantel". Put the empty box back into the frame, loading it into the top of a slot. Have fun!