Advent - The Count Down

I loved reading what you had to say last Sunday about Advent and traditions old and new in your families - thanks! This week I've been collecting facts and pictures about the most obvious and entertaining Advent decoration - the Advent Calendar in its many forms. This lovely one was made for our boys by Ben's mum, years ago. Advent means ‘Coming’, and in Christian history it’s been used as a time to prepare for the coming of Jesus as a baby, celebrated in the feast of Christmas. In Medieval times it was a season of fasting, and was even known as ‘Little Lent’, because it was something like the big season of fasting before Easter. Not much of that idea remains in how we celebrate now, though...If you’re a family that includes Jesus in your Festive celebrations, Advent still provides a month to give children the overview of the Nativity story. Whether that's a part of Advent for you or not, Advent can always be a lot more than a chocolate calendar which gets fought over by the children! It’s a way to have something special to get excited about before Christmas, so that the real festivities, when they come, aren’t a let-down, with already-dusty decorations and pine needles dropping from a tired tree. I found this amazing quote, which sums up that sentiment, when I was preparing for my MOPS talk last year: "What many people don't stop to consider is that there is a difference between preparation and celebration. If our houses are decorated and trees put up the week after Thanksgiving, if we sing "Joy to the World" on the first Sunday of Advent, if the Christmas cookies have all been eaten and the holiday parties held before mid-December, it is hardly surprising that we are sick of celebrating by December twenty-sixth." Keeping Christmas - All Twelve Days by Carol P. Myers, 1987 (http://www.reformedworship.org)
For years we resisted having a chocolate Advent Calendar, but then Son 2, whose birthday is in December, was given the Divine Fair Trade Chocolate Advent Calendar as a very special present by his uncle. These really are the best if you want a chocolate one, because the chocolate is ethical - no child slaves or exploited workers, plus delicious milk chocs. In the States you can buy them here, and in the UK here. I wonder about the Antipodes..?

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But the best, and thriftiest Advent Calendars, have to be hand made, and needn't be chocolatey! I started Googling 'Handmade Advent Calendars' yesterday and came up with an excellent blog with really super ideas, collected by Helena Philips in the UK. Her blog is called 'Hand Made Advent Calendars'! Because I only started yesterday, I haven't had a reply to my request to show some photos from her blog, but I do suggest that you pop over and have a look. I've tried to be very careful not to copy photos if they are copyright, but here are a few hand made ideas for you:

This simple one is on a family fun website. I like the idea of a long scroll!

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There's a whole Flickr group dedicated to Home Made Advent Calendars - check it out for ideas.

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For great use of bits and pieces you already have at home, a cookie tray Advent Calendar would look really impressive.

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This one (below) uses party favour tins and scrapbooking bits and pieces you might already have.
And here is a great tutorial for this pretty pocketed one.
Now, if you make or already have an Advent Calendar which requires 'stuff', you can probably identify with Sarah's statement last week: "I would love some suggestions as to what others put in the wee bags. Always difficult but even more now with the challenge. I do like a challenge though! " When our boys were little, stickers, small decorative bits of stationery, tiny toys and tree decorations used to go in, as well as a few sweets. Now that they are older and get pocket money, they either don't want those things, or they can buy them whenever they want them. It's pretty much chocolates or nothing, so let's get back to the Fair Trade shopping, quickly!

Chocolate gold coins are fun, if you don't want to wait for the ones in the bottom of the Christmas stocking!
But chocolate santas and snowmen are more fun, I think!
Or there's always the mini-fair-trade-chocolate-Christmas-pudding-option!
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Please do leave a comment, either on the general idea of a Count Down to Christmas, or on the practical ideas for what to make and/or how to fill it. My ideas are only half the interest of this series - what you have to say is what's going to make it work!