I would love to make one for LO this year.
Can someone explain it to me? I think it has a religious background, right?
For those that aren't religious how does a advent calendar work in your family?
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It is religious, though I don't know the meaning behind it. I want to say it's a Catholic thing, and I was not raised Catholic (though my Dad was). We always used it as just a countdown to Christmas. Chocolate behind each door everyday! I remember the ones we had as a kid were like a city (manger scene?) and you had to look for the numbered door everyday.
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We aren't religious and we haven't done an advent calendar with our son yet, but I have it all set to go, maybe this year.
I am big on reusable stuff and I didn't want a box with just chocolate in it, so I had my mother in law knit a set of 25 mismatched but coordinated stockings, hats and mittens that I will hang on an indoor clothesline. I plan to put in small stuff, like cars and play doh, things that he is into now. When he gets older, I will do ornaments and things that he can use to decorate his own little tree.
Wikipedia has a good article on advent calendars.
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Advent is the time of preparation in the liturgical year before the birth of Christ. It's essentially the four weeks before Christmas.
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I loooooove advent calendars! Always had them when I was little, and I am not from a religious family.
They are German! -
I'm making one this year. It'll be my first year to do it, so I'm totally noob. Essentially, it's just a calendar that holds little gifts starting Dec 1st. DH says it should only lead up to Christmas, so it isn't a complete 25 day calendar because you open your Christmas gifts on Christmas instead, but I think it's a regional thing. All the Advent calendars I've seen online all have 25 days.
Here's what I plan to do. I saved some of her NB stocks for it
http://www.marthastewart.com/857740/handmade-advent-calendars/@center/307034/christmas-workshop -
I didn't do one growing up, and neither did other Protestant families I knew. However, we're going to start doing it this year with LO. We'll do it in place of our regular family devotional. Each night will have a verse/little story about Christmas and what it means. I don't think we'll do candy or toys each day at this point. LO is 17 months old and won't really miss that part :).
I'm making ours based on one of these two.
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Catholics observe Advent, but Protestants do, too. Calendars are common (I think they're German in origin?), but the more prevalent symbol is an Advent wreath with four candles--three purple and one pink. You light one of the purple candles each Sunday during Advent and the pink one is the last Sunday before Christmas.
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We did one growing up and it was just little surprises each day; no religiosity in it for us! I plan to make one out of fabric; there are lots of tutorials on Pinterest.
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@honeybear: yes, we had the wreath with the candles growing up. I think the advent calendar is Lutheran in origin.
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@cmomma17: sold. Dh is German and I have been trying to include more German customs into our life.
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@Weagle: ooh oh Pick Your Plum has canvas bags a lot and I've been dying to find something to buy them for. I think I might next time they have them that way it's reusable.
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So what are you planning to put inside them, I need more ideas!!!!
I forgot that I had a little people nativity, so I will put pieces from there in the calendar as well. -
We never did them growing up, but I love them! My sister sewed calendars for my brother's kids and send gifts every year. She wraps up little toys and candy (or treats like nail polish and lip gloss for the teenagers).
I've seen some really cute alternative ones if you don't want to do the gifts/candy route. My favorites are wrapping up 25 Christmas books and unwrap a new one to read each night and doing holiday activities instead of a gift for each day.
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We always used it just as a count down to Christmas (I think from a more religious side we used an Advent wreath when we were kids but to be honest I don't really remember the details.)
One year my mom did slips of paper in a jar with different activities like go for a drive to look at Christmas lights, hot chocolate with marshmallows, holiday crafts and that type of thing.
With one family I worked with I wrapped 24 Christmas books up and they opened one and read it before bed each night. They weren't all new and they were reused the next year. In fact I think I even wrapped a few library books for a few of the books.
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@looch: That sounds right. We had the wreath, and it was lit every Sunday at church. I had a chocolate Advent calendar maybe once growing up and I tried one with Legos and magnetic letters in it last year, but it was a total bust. LO started to expect a present every day after the first day, so I abandoned it after a couple days. I probably should have foreseen that problem. I'm trying to figure out how to fill the bags I made last year with something less likely to encourage materialism, since that defeated my purpose in putting the thing up in the first place.
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@looch: I love the Little People idea!! Not sure yet but probably small gifts, books and activities like @stine_ciro: posted. Things like bake holiday cookies, see lights, go sledding, decorate tree, watch A Christmas Story ;)......
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@honeybear: that is what I can see happening with my son...as it is he asks for things all the time, so I don't want him to just see the calendar strung up and expect it's a month of presents, plus christmas and birthday gifts! It's too much.
@locavore_mama: I am going to try some activities and see how that goes over, I was thinking about making gingerbread scented playdough, but it involves the stove and I'd rather not start that!
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It was just a countdown to Christmas to us (but we grew up Catholic). We had a felt one growing up and when we were little, it was fun to put the "present" over the day of the week. We didn't get anything out of it (there was no candy in doors or hidden things in bags) it was just fun to say, "we have 16 more days till Christmas!!"
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@looch: @honeybear: even though our LOs are still young I would love to start a precedent for volunteering. So one of the weekend days can be volunteer at a soup kitchen. We're sponsoring a local family for the holidays this year so I can see one day being wrap their gifts. You're right, I definitely don't want her to expect a gift every day. I want her to learn as well that the holidays are also about giving.
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@locavore_mama: @looch: I like the "advent chain" idea here for a concrete countdown to Christmas that doesn't involve receiving stuff: http://www.osv.com/OSV4MeNav/ChurchSeasons/AdventResources/CustomsHistory/TraditionsAdventCalendar/tabid/8486/Default.aspx . I might give this a go.
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@honeybear: That is a great idea!
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We always had the chocolate calendar growing up. LO had one last year courtesy of my parents. I really want to do the 25 books and need to get on collecting them soon!
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@looch: @locavore_mama: @honeybear: the chain is a great idea! I don't like the idea of giving presents every day until Christmas and I liked how my mom did it - simple little calendar. I'm going to make this one and use it, hopefully, for many many years.
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Advent calendars are Lutheran in origin but are widely used even by non religious people. They usually have 24 things from December 1-24 (Christmas is not included). Since the first day of advent doesn't always land on the first day of advent they really are a more secular Christmas countdown calendar. We have several for the kids. I have a little story board with a bear looking through his house for Christmas. He moves through all the rooms looking for chritmas (which he finds on the 24). I also have one that builds a nativity scene with little magnets each day. I don't usually get the gift a day or chocolate a day ones just because we get enough on Christmas so I don't like to add to the presents. But I love our little story ones. My mom also has a felt Christmas tree with 24 ornaments that get pinned on. My kids love running over there and doing her advent calendars as well.
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@mediagirl: That calendar is beautiful. I toyed with the idea of ornaments after last year's spectacular failure, but I also like to have my tree fully decorated as soon as it's up and I don't sew, so I couldn't make one as nice as that!
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I posted a thread asking people about their Advent tradition last year. Here's a link: http://boards.hellobee.com/topic/tell-me-about-your-advent-calendar-tradition#post-404891
As for my DH, he grew up Lutheran and it's part of the typical Christmas tradition around these parts.
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I grew up in a non-religious family and we just had those little cardboard advent calendars with chocolate inside.
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My mom always bought me one that had a little piece of chocolate behind each day. She'll still buy them for me and my husband - ha!
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I don't mind doing a few gifts because I know I will be buying her a book and Christmas PJs at the very least. So those can simply be wrapped to open! LoL
But def like the idea of it being more activities to evoke the holiday spirit of family and giving. Grandparents watch her on Wednesdays so I might ask if they want to take the lead on those days. She can do those days with them when they come pick her up. -
It is a Christian event, Advent comes from the Latin word "coming" referring to the birth of Jesus.
I think you could just do a countdown to Christmas and use the same ideas of Advent such as the gifts - pinterest has some good ideas.
Although it is religious - I love this advent "calendar" - it's a puzzle. Each day of the 24 days preceding Christmas, you add a piece to the puzzle and on Christmas day the nativity is complete. http://www.etsy.com/listing/35595359/nativity-advent-calendar-wooden-puzzle?ref=sr_gallery_2&sref=sr_96a2738d7b76f0eb56e7842de9442c8311b1f85183fa82d36657ee1dd96df531_1383142257_14118591_advent&ga_search_query=advent+puzzle&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_ship_to=US&ga_search_type=all
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We didn't do them growing up, but DH did(his mom STILL sets Iran advent calendar for him and SIL...). I want to make some for DS and DD. I like the idea of incorporating activities as well as just candy.
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We always did 2 advent calendars - one with candy, and one was symbolic with a tree. With the symbolic one, we'd open a drawer each day, and it'd have something like a lamb, and a story as to Jesus being the lamb of God, or a star, with a story about its guiding light, etc.
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@Mrs. Pen: this is an amazing nativity/advent calendar! Wow, beautiful!!
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