Make Your Own Advent Calendar
Brighten up dark December days with a vibrant, colourful display
Inspired by the paper fortune tellers you may have made in school, this colourful, delicate-looking Advent calendar creation might seem challenging at first, but is easy once you've got to grips with the technique. Once made, you can pop in a few sweets to be enjoyed each day, or why not hang up a new one every morning so you can enjoy the full display on Christmas Day?
Step 1
Fold a 20x20cm square of lightweight paper (ideally 60 to 100gsm) into quarters. Unfold once into a rectangle. Take the bottom right-hand corner and fold it over to make a triangle. Turn over and repeat on the other side.
Step 2
Open up the middle of the origami so it looks like it’s a chippy bag. Now bring the top and bottom edges together and flatten into a square.
Step 3
With the open side pointing to the right, take the bottom flap and fold it into the centre to form a kite shape. Repeat with the top flap. Turn over the origami and repeat on the other side.
Step 4
Open the centre of the origami. You will see there are four flaps sticking up, two large and two smaller ones. First, fold one of the large outer flaps down into the centre but taking carenot to overlap on any other flaps.
Repeat on the other side with the other large flap, mirroring the move you have just made. Now you will just have two small flaps still sticking up - fold both of these down in the same direction, again taking care not to overlap with any other layers. Now flatten theorigami.
Step 5
With the triangle pointing towards you, slide your finger into the envelope stylepocket on the right hand side and gently pull it over to the left, folding the top down. Turn it over and repeat.
Step 6
You will now have a diamond shape with four flaps. Take two flaps in each hand. Cup the origami shape and then gently blow into the hole at the top of the diamond to inflate it.
Why not hang up a new one every morning so you can enjoy the full display on Christmas Day? Just pierce or punch a hole in each one to attach bright lengths of string. Or cut cocktail sticks into 25mm lengths, tie the string around them and insert into the hole in the origami.
Photography: Clare Winfield/Waitrose Weekend
Styling: Wei Tang