Winter village advent calendar

2015-11-23

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Want to give your kids something other than candy for an advent calendar? Why not a papercraft project. This one is for a winter village, and it contains 24 easy to make buildings. From a tiny shed to the village church, some are big, some are small, but all are cute and snowy.

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One reader, Mike, was so kind to send me photos of the village illuminated with LED lights. Looks great, doesn’t it?

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In the next days, I will make a few buildings available free of charge, but if you want the whole set, it’s available as a very affordable download from my Etsy store.

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The models are kept as simple as possible (this is the reason, for instance, why the dormers are just printed, and not actually recreated as 3D structures). This makes the set suitable for children from about 6 years on. Some models are small, but I have kept difficult details to a minimum. My five year old son actually did quite well in making these will very little supervision.

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The most challenging are the arch (see above), the round tower, the well and the windmill. All the others are quite straightforward.

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All models are closed at the bottom. Technically, you don’t need a bottom face, but they give the houses more stability. So if you want to simplify things a bit more, just leave the bottom face and accompanying flaps when cutting out the models.

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All models have numbered flaps that show which part goes where. If you encounter any difficulty, feel free to ask me via the contact form or comments below.

Print the pages on an inkjet or laser printer (inkjet works slightly better), preferably on heavier paper or cardstock. I recommend 150-180 gsm or about 65 lb cover.

Cut out along the solid lines, crease and fold along the dotted lines. Creasing can be done with a pointy object such as the back of a knife or scissors and a ruler for guidance.

Close the bottom of the houses last, after everything else is in place, so that you can apply pressure from the inside where necessary.

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