Reverse Advent Calendar Calgary

Make Christmas About Giving Again.

Join Calgary’s Reverse Advent Calendar movement — a simple, joyful tradition where you add one essential item a day to a decorated box and deliver it to a local charity before Christmas.

What Is a Reverse Advent Calendar?

The Reverse Advent Calendar is a simple way for Calgarians to spread kindness during the holidays. Instead of opening something each day, you give something each day — a tin of soup, a pair of socks, toothpaste, pasta, baby items, and other essentials families need most.

Starting some time between November 25th and Dec 2nd – ideally you want a solid 24 or 25 days lead-up time before donation date. Deliver your completed box to a local charity accepting gifts and donations on or before December 22–23.

It’s meaningful. It’s festive. And it directly supports families experiencing hardship right here in Calgary.

Step-By-Step Guide on What to do

🎄 The Power of Giving
Become Your Own Story of Impact

Imagine this…

Each evening in December, you gather with your family, your coworkers, your teammates, or your friends to choose one small but meaningful item to place in your Reverse Advent Calendar box. One night it’s a tin of soup. Another night, a warm pair of socks or a box of pasta. Maybe a child in your home decorates a card with hand-drawn snowflakes and writes a message of encouragement to tuck inside.

As the days pass, your box grows heavier — not just with essentials, but with intention. You begin to talk about generosity, gratitude, and community in deeper ways. You notice the excitement building as people around you look forward to that daily moment when you choose something to give. What started as a simple act becomes a cherished ritual.

Then, drop-off day arrives.

You lift your decorated box, feel its weight, and realize it holds more than food or winter wear — it holds care. You walk through the doors of a Calgary charity, see the shelves, meet the volunteers, and feel the heartbeat of a community working tirelessly to support families who are struggling.

And that’s when it hits you…you have helped a family feel seen, supported, and valued this Christmas.
Your small daily actions have become someone else’s hope.

These traditions you create each year don’t just make a difference for the families who receive your box — they leave a lasting impression on the people who help you fill it. Kids learn compassion. Teams bond over shared purpose. Friends discover how good it feels to lift someone else up.

Because every Reverse Advent Calendar box you build becomes a story of impact — one that begins with you, and continues in the lives of the families who open it.

Why it Matters

A community where simple acts of daily generosity transform the holiday season for families in need.

For many Calgary families, Christmas is heavy.

Rising costs, empty shelves, and a season built on expectations can create stress when joy is out of reach.

Your box — simple as it may seem — does three powerful things:

Feeds families
Relieves financial pressure
Shows someone they’re not alone
Creates repeatable traditions in your own family, office, or team

Whether you contribute as a household, a corporate office, a retail staff team, a hockey team, or a group of friends — your daily act of giving becomes a lifeline.

It’s community, compassion, and Calgary spirit in its purest form.

🎄 About Reverse Advent Calendar Calgary

Reverse Advent Calendar Calgary is a community-led movement built on one simple idea: Make Christmas About Giving Again.

Each December, we rally Calgarians to fill a decorated box with one essential item a day — food, hygiene products, baby supplies, warmth items, and small comforts that make the season brighter for families facing hardship.

What started as a small act of kindness we hope will into a city-wide tradition rooted in generosity, connection, and hope. Whether you’re a family around the kitchen table, a group of friends, a classroom, an office, or a sports team, this is a way to give back that’s easy to start and deeply meaningful to complete.

Every box reminds someone in our city that they are seen, supported, and not alone.
And every participant becomes part of a Calgary community that chooses kindness — one day and one item at a time.

Together, we’re rekindling the true spirit of Christmas through simple, joyful acts of giving.

Make Christmas About Giving Again.

The Reverse Advent Calendar Program

We at Reverse Advent Calendar Calgary, want to make giving during the holidays simple, joyful, and accessible
by guiding Calgarians to fill a festive box with essential items and deliver it to families in need.

In a Nut(cracker) Shell - Here's How it works

Step 1: Get a Good-Sized Box

Any sturdy box works

Use a medium or large sized moving box, a Costco produce box, an oversized boot box, etc. Re-enforce the bottom if needed.

You can also pick up empty box from Calgary Food Bank

Step 2: Decorate the Box

Gather your group

Be festive. Add some holiday charm such as wrapping, bows, ribbons, stickers, etc.

More decorating ideas

Step 3: Place Items in Box Everyday

Make It a Daily Tradition

Invite your family, office team, classroom, or sports group to participate. Add notes of encouragement, fun stickers, or mini challenges. Daily donations of non-perishable food items, cash, warm clothing such as gloves and socks, toiletries, and more.

Needed Items

Step 4 — Drop Off Before Christmas

On or before December 23rd, take your filled box to a Calgary charity of your choice. Assign one volunteer or make an event of it.

Calgary Donation Partners

The beauty of the Reverse Advent Calendar is that everyone can take part.

Families can make it a nightly tradition.
Individuals can fill a box on their own or with a friend.
Offices can turn it into a team-building challenge.
Retail shops can invite customers to drop items in a community box.

Restaurants, gyms, and breweries can host collection spots.
Classrooms can teach kindness one day at a time.
Sports teams can rally players and parents to pack a box together.
Faith groups, community centres, unions, and clubs can fill multiple boxes with ease.

No matter your size, schedule, or budget, this is a holiday tradition that welcomes everyone.

Because kindness belongs to all of us.

(You could even fill more than one box.)

Where and When to Donate in Calgary

You can deliver your completed Reverse Advent Calendar box to any of the above Calgary organizations (and more).

Reverse Advent Calendar Delivery Tip: Always check each organization’s wish-list and drop-off hours before delivering.

These fantastic organizations are working really hard this year to make this time of year magical for 100’s of Calgary families.

As a guideline (but not firm date), get your box to them by
Dec 22nd/23rd at the latest.

For locations, specific items wanted, donations, and important dates, contact the organization directly.

✅ Notes & Tips for Donors

Check “wish-list” pages before donating — needs can shift (especially around holidays, winter, or in response to demand). Typical items include:

Food staples are always welcome — canned goods, pasta, peanut butter, baby food, and staple groceries are easy to collect in a Reverse Advent Calendar box and are in demand at food banks shelter programs.
New / gently used clean items only — many shelters/centres will not accept items that are stained, damaged, or unsafe.
Preferably unopened / in original packaging for hygiene, diapers, baby formula, toiletries, etc.
Winter items matter — socks, mittens, scarves, warm clothing, blankets are very needed, especially for shelters and homeless-serving groups

🎄 Need Help with Pickup / Delivery?

If you need help delivering the collected items in your Reverse Advent Calendar box or you want us to pick it up for you, contact us at least 1-2 days ahead of time. We can arrange to your preferred charity for you.

Fun Ways to Decorate Your Box

Decoration Tips

Make your Reverse Advent Calendar box something special. It doesn’t have to be fancy — just heartfelt.

Decorating Ideas:

Wrap the box in holiday paper with a cut-out lid
Add hand-drawn snowflakes or Christmas doodles
Use stickers, ribbon, twine, or pinecones
Write encouraging messages inside the lid
Let kids go wild with markers
Add a tag: “Packed With Love for a Calgary Family”

Pre-Decorated Box Option

We are exploring options to provide a limited number of pre-decorated Reverse Advent Calendar Boxes for pickup to your home or office.

Check back soon or contact us to be notified whether we can drop off a box for you.

Join The Reverse Advent Calendar Movement

#ReverseAdventYYC

Join the Movement on Social & in your Community

Share your Reverse Advent story to inspire others in Calgary:

Post your decorated box
Share your daily items
Challenge your office, team, or school
Celebrate your drop-off day
(Remember to use the Hashtag: #ReverseAdventYYC )

Contact Details

(825) 824-9464

admin@reverseadvent.ca

Reverse Advent Calendar Calgary
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