Advent Calendars

mimosa · Post by **mimosa** » Tue Dec 06, 2022 6:37 am

Do you do these?

For years and years now we've gotten the Jacquie Lawson advent calendars for our kids...first it was a gift for five years from my SIL, then we bought it and a few for friends, and now a friend is buying it for use again. this is PERFECT for kids and grandkids.

https://www.jacquielawson.com/advent?gc ... lsrc=aw.ds

We've done lego ones and maybe playmobil here and there for a kid or so.

I buy a selection of random candy/chocolate and change it up every day...my kids like it better than the store-bought ones. I also have a lot of kids, and some like candy more than chocolate and vice versa, so a nice mix is perfect.

Do you do advent calendars? You can get them for all sort of things, tea, cheese, beer, good chocolate, specialty shops (my local Dutch store has one)...etc.

ME

Post by **merry** » Tue Dec 06, 2022 8:44 am

Ooooh Mimosa what a great topic!

I am a great advent calendar fan

We have two permanent ones which we put up every year - I'll post a picture of those in a bit. We take these verrrrrrrrrrrrry seriously and have to do them each day or some jinx will strike, or something...

We've also had Lego ones, which are great. Two years ago I joined TopCashback which was offering a free Star Wars lego advent calendar for Sam, who adores SW. I've had Christmas Lego ones for Juliet in the past.

One year Sam bought J an advent calendar with a pair of Harry Potter socks behind each door!

The 'kids' both like Haribo calendars so that's what they have this year, and STPD has a Kinder one.

I'm always tempted by the more fancy ones - cheese or pork scratchings or something ! but haven't succumbed yet as they are expensive for what you get.

Oh and the kids also like a 'crossword' advent calendar with a little puzzle to do each day - I couldn't get another of those this year but found another puzzle-solving one - daily clue, one solution leads to the next.

That Jacquie Lawson one looks great! One of my HF friends sends me a JL Christmas card every year - she might be the only member who hasn't found her way to the new board after the Great Board Disaster in September (Hagsrus)

Furby · Post by **Furby** » Tue Dec 06, 2022 8:55 am

We used to get a chocolate one each as a present from my work but i dont have them now retired.

A silly news story earlier this week said we had been doing them wrong. I started at 1 on the 1st up to 24 on Xmas eve which is usually the best present so seems that is their design. The story said we should start at 24 and work down so kids know how many days left until Xmas.

Post by **merry** » Tue Dec 06, 2022 10:37 am

As you say, that wouldn't work would it. Because the 24th gift is always twice the size of the others. The kids will just have to learn how to do maths. A dying skill nowadays one fears.

mimosa · Post by **mimosa** » Tue Dec 06, 2022 2:15 pm

Furby wrote: ↑Tue Dec 06, 2022 8:55 am We used to get a chocolate one each as a present from my work but i dont have them now retired.

A silly news story earlier this week said we had been doing them wrong. I started at 1 on the 1st up to 24 on Xmas eve which is usually the best present so seems that is their design. The story said we should start at 24 and work down so kids know how many days left until Xmas.

There's an idea. My eldest son would occasionally get a Lego calendar, on his birthday, the 13, and he could essentially open up two a day. I even thought about filling a food bank box the advent way....there are lists online for that.

merry, HP socks sound like fun.

I was thinking of pippa when it came to the advent calendar...but anyone with kids under 12 would like it. Even my bigs pop by or play the games, make the snowflakes, wrap the presents, decorate the tree, the cookies, or the stained glass windows (there's a tribute to the queen). This year it's in Sussex, but a few years ago it was in the Cotswolds.

But yeah, $50 x 7 or 8 would be a bit much, so we've always just done chocolate or candy. Once I did Lindt chocolate, but even those are expensive...and the chocolate is tiiii-ny. Therefore a mix of icy squares, chocolate caramel balls, peanut butter cups, chocolate snowmen, candy canes, mint patties, Christmas lollipops, gummy something, and rotates for 24 days. Sometimes I let them pick, sometimes I buy a tiny container. My son work or have worked at the Bulk Barn, so I can buy as many or as little as we need.

I always wanted to make my own, but I never go there...some people make/sew amazing advent calendars that they have to hang up. \

Making a different cookie every day for advent would create a gorgeous platter by the end. But, usually need the cookies earlier.

ME

Patience · Post by **Patience** » Tue Dec 06, 2022 6:56 pm

I’m humbug as I appear to be of all things Christmas

. I’m not a fan of advent calendars and I’m definitely not a fan of a site that wants me to sign in / log in to receive a card that someone has sent me. My sister uses Jacquie Lawson a lot. I haven’t “opened” a Christmas or Birthday card in years.

TRavine · Post by **TRavine** » Tue Dec 06, 2022 7:10 pm

When I was a kid, I had three or four picture advent calendars which we would reuse every year. I remember one was the picture of a snowed in (somewhat victorian

) town with many houses, a church,...and every day you could open a window and look into another person's "home". There was an old professor, a woman with a cat, someone decorating a Christmas tree, and every night, my mum would sit down with me and we would look at it together for what felt like HOURS and she would come up with stories of who those people were, what their names were and what they were doing. (Generally my mum would tell us stories and read with us every day - she really sparked our imaginations!)

Some years later, my mum started putting up little porcelain houses with electric lights in them as a Christmas decoration. We would make snow out of cotton and have small figures we put in there. And she made a photocopy of the snowy city advent calendar and we put it up as a backdrop. We still have it to this day. I'll post a picture, once it's been put up for Christmas this year.

We also had some chocolate calendars and some Playmobil ones.

In the past couple of years I always got myself a "Good deeds Calendar". You buy it for 24 euros and each Euro goes to a charitable project. And every day when you open a window, you'll see which charity your donation went to. A soup kitchen, a tree planting project, digging a well in Africa,...things like that.

mimosa · Post by **mimosa** » Tue Dec 06, 2022 8:38 pm

TRavine wrote: ↑Tue Dec 06, 2022 7:10 pm When I was a kid, I had three or four picture advent calendars which we would reuse every year. I remember one was the picture of a snowed in (somewhat victorian ) town with many houses, a church,...and every day you could open a window and look into another person's "home". There was an old professor, a woman with a cat, someone decorating a Christmas tree, and every night, my mum would sit down with me and we would look at it together for what felt like HOURS and she would come up with stories of who those people were, what their names were and what they were doing. (Generally my mum would tell us stories and read with us every day - she really sparked our imaginations!)

Some years later, my mum started putting up little porcelain houses with electric lights in them as a Christmas decoration. We would make snow out of cotton and have small figures we put in there. And she made a photocopy of the snowy city advent calendar and we put it up as a backdrop. We still have it to this day. I'll post a picture, once it's been put up for Christmas this year.

We also had some chocolate calendars and some Playmobil ones.

In the past couple of years I always got myself a "Good deeds Calendar". You buy it for 24 euros and each Euro goes to a charitable project. And every day when you open a window, you'll see which charity your donation went to. A soup kitchen, a tree planting project, digging a well in Africa,...things like that.

Aha, Tom, that's where you get your gift of storytelling from.

I would love to see a picture of your village.

I also that idea of an advent calendar. I could easily work with that.

ME

Furby · Post by **Furby** » Wed Dec 07, 2022 3:03 am

I too think websites are a bad and dangerous idea . I don't like these birthday cards ones but as people send them to you not much can be done to stop them. If I get a happy card from Moonpig they know my name date of birth and address without my consent.

Advent calendars in my world were chocolate or pictures. Ones with gin and perfume and lego are just rich people getting more presents a bit early. Xmas itself is bad enough why we want to make a month of it I really don't know. Just tell kids to jolly well wait until Xmas and be glad its a pillowcase of presents and not just a stocking these days. No need for 24 advent presents as well.

Post by **merry** » Fri Dec 09, 2022 10:25 pm

Oh Furby you are such a little Grinch

(she is lovely really!)

Well I for one LIKE getting 24 extra presents a bit early

But I tell you what, I do love Tom's idea of the Good Deeds calendar. Save-the-planet-daughter STPD would absolutely love one of those!

Post by **merry** » Fri Dec 09, 2022 11:03 pm

And I think that Jacquie Lawson calendar looks loads of fun. I opened the preview.

Plus, I've had a JL card every year for 20 years from a dear friend on this board and I look forward to it and nothing bad has happened (but I do wear tinfoil on my head quite a lot

eccles · Post by **eccles** » Sat Dec 10, 2022 11:51 am

You can't beat a tinfoil hat. It keeps the aliens away.

Post by **merry** » Sat Dec 10, 2022 3:49 pm

Eccles!!

I told you to keep that pic to yourself!! you know I don't like pics of me shared when I haven't got my mascara on!

TRavine · Post by **TRavine** » Sat Dec 10, 2022 5:35 pm

merry wrote: ↑Sat Dec 10, 2022 3:49 pm Eccles!! I told you to keep that pic to yourself!! you know I don't like pics of me shared when I haven't got my mascara on!

oh Merry, you are a TREAT!!!

Post by **merry** » Sat Dec 10, 2022 9:21 pm

Philipaholt · Post by **Philipaholt** » Mon Dec 12, 2022 5:41 pm

I was thinking of pippa when it came to the advent calendar...but anyone with kids under 12 would like it.

You sweetie.

thank you.

mimosa · Post by **mimosa** » Thu Dec 15, 2022 8:53 pm

Philipaholt wrote: ↑Mon Dec 12, 2022 5:41 pm
I was thinking of pippa when it came to the advent calendar...but anyone with kids under 12 would like it.
You sweetie. thank you.

Well, I think YOU created the best advent calendar. A N&S chapter for every day starting on St. Nick Day.

What a great idea and such a wonderful story. And I am so loving it, and I eagerly check every mid-morning for it.

ME

mimosa · Post by **mimosa** » Mon Dec 19, 2022 6:07 pm

Another advent idea! For those with young kids (or not, as the case could be), which Philipa reminded me of.

We would collect Christmas picture books (good quality stories, mostly) from amazon, second-hand book sites, the library, etc., and wrap 24 of them up and open up one a day. We've got some really neat ones. One of my favourites is The Night before Christmas done in Lego...so smart and creative! Maybe I'll share some of my titles another day.

ME