Advent is the beginning of the Western Liturgical year and the spiritual season leading up to Christmas day. There are plenty of traditions surrounding this holy time, but today I’m interested in only one: the Advent calendar.

You’re probably familiar with the chocolate-filled calendars used to count the days of Advent. What better way to teach kids about religion, than to connect it with candy? There is no better way, and thus, from December 2nd until Christmas day, children mark the passing days of Advent by tearing off a piece of paper with the date, and retrieving the sweet treats dwelling in the cavernous calendar.

While perusing the interwebs the other day, I was reminded of these classic calendars by something I saw on Instructables.com. It’s a beer-filled Advent calendar, and it’s glorious. You can assemble it yourself with inexpensive materials, and fill it with your choice of beers to count down the days.

So here’s what you need:

Hobby knife
White glue
Duct tape
Packing tubes
Poster print
24 beers (and possibly more for the construction period)

Advent officially began this past Sunday, so we realize we’re a bit late. You’ll have to play a little catch up at first, but it’s all good, so long as you’re still in preparation mode. There may be a few days where you decide you could use more than one beer. I’m confident you’ll find a way to finish any extras. For step-by-step instructions, just visit the Instructables page.

The advantages of this creation are really too many to count, but one of the most glaring benefits, is its secular twist on a religious tradition. Advent may be a Christian thing, but beer is just a people thing – who doesn’t believe in beer?