Yes! I grew up Catholic so we light candles and and I always got a chocolate advent calendar from Saint Nicolas (December 5th). It's a tradition I don't want to give up. I bought myself the IKEA advent calendar. It has chocolate and gift cards in them. Let's hope I'll find one of the big amounts! I also made myself an advent calendar over the last few months. Basically things I wanted for myself, mostly small, some large. I wrapped them and forgot about them until now! Also quite a few chocolatey treats as day fillers. And then I found out there is a Dutch website like Goodreads: Hebban. And it will give away one free ebook a day! So awesome advent calendar that is! I cannot wait to download all 24 books. And last but not least, I like to make window chalk paintings. The online store where I buy my patterns is doing an advent calendar of uploading a free new pattern each day. Love the first two images already.
Yes, the Lindt calendars are the best ones out! I have bought them the last few years. I tried different brands, but with Lindt you know it's right. Most of the chocolate I put into the calendar I made this year, is Lindt.
I get the kids the lego advent calendar every year (or our elf Blue Eyes brings it!) Our elf also brings an advent card with an activity to do every day! I made them this year out of Becca's super cute DYD goodies!
I used to when I was a kid... and I remember not liking the candy. I've done them for the boys on an off... more if I remember. We haven't this year, lol! My mom bought me one this year.... it's a beauty one... at least that is what she claimed! The first thing I got was this minuscule tube of cream for my neck?! Really, lol! Thanks Mom... now I really know what you think. Second day was skin tightening cream... um, thanks again Mom! I wonder what is in store for the next 22 days!
My mom bought the kids chocolate Advent calendars this year. They're just the cheap cardboard kind which work just fine for me! We do those and then read two Christmas stories before bed.
This made me laugh! Last year I decorated tags and there is a Bible reading on the back of each of them. We read those each day. Every night we read a Christmas book.
We have a felt Christmas tree outline that has super cute little felt bits with the numbers of days on it that I love. The kids are 12 and 14 and still love to take turns putting the new day up on the felt tree. My oldest is too smart for his own good and usually acts all generous when his brother wants to put the first day on the tree... but that's only because he know if he does day 2, he gets the even numbers and gets to do Christmas Eve. Lol. I was just trying to find a layout with a picture of our advent calendar on it and i don't have one! gasp! I'm adding that to my "to-scrap" list now!
I'm kind of all gooped up on the gop for advent calendars. There are four that we use every year: we have an heirloom one from my childhood, it's a wooden tree with hanging wooden squares that has a number on one side and an adorable painted something or another on the opposite, so every morning the girls simply turn it over to reveal the painted picture. We also have a pretty nativity centric one with doors that open that reveal a character or item from the nativity inside and a fabric nativity one we use every year too. I also use a beautiful crafty paper flip one that my sister in law made for us some years ago that is a countdown to Christmas style. And finally each year I get a fresh one (not to be reused) that suits the girls interests, like a tsum tsum one or a Star Wars lego one, that kind of thing.
So, I bought them for the kids and one for me and the hubby... My son Curtis chose Play-doh. My grandson Milo chose Paw Patrol (or actually his dad chose it for him). And, hubby and I got the lego city one. I also bought two for the babycakes- a hatchimals and one with squishies, but I sent them with them when they got to move in with their Auntie. Anyhow, they are all sitting there in the boxes. No one has touched a single one. It's day 6 and not one door has been opened. Maybe we'll make it into a Christmas Eve Fast Forward night, LOL... Huggles!! ~Sarah~
The only ones we had growing up were the paper ones where you'd open a door each day to see the photo behind it. I never knew there was any other type of calendar for a long time!
This is the third year that the kids have LEGO Advent Calendars. The 15 year old said he didn't want one, but I bought one for him anyway. (He gives the pieces to his younger brother after Christmas, so I figure it's a win-win all around. Next year I won't get him one though.) We also have a perpetual one, with pockets and a felt candy cane to move every day, but they always argued over whose turn it was to move it! I may bring it back after they've all moved out! LOL
Mine doesn't have a gift card. Just chocolate. Yes! My son asked me to trade chocolate yesterday. His is crappy chocolate. Mine is pretty good. Um...We did Day 1. And then Day 8. But, now that the homemade one is finally done, munchkin asked two days in a row! Growing up we had a stocking one that my mom had sewn. It had little pockets and they put treats in it. But since there were 3 kids and dad fought over it if it was a good candy day.....My mom started buying the cheap $1 ones to preserve her sanity. @Lynnette That's so awesome!!
We usually buy one or 2 but I've forgotten all about this year (been buying other stuff for DS's early, 'quick arrange it & get it done before school ends' B'day party) & neither kid has noticed!
@bestcee - I was looking for another photo and came across this one. My kids still love it and they are almost all grown up.
