Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Celebrating Advent

One of my favorite parts of the Christmas season is counting down to the big day. When I was young, we would get the cheap chocolate advent calendars... like this one:


I would look forward to eating that tiny square of chocolate all day and then look longingly at the rest. When I was a freshman in college, away from the rules of my parents, I bought SIX chocolate advent calendars all for myself. I was such a goodie-two-shoes, it felt like such an act of rebellion to eat SIX squares of chocolate instead of just one!

Nowadays, there are so many beautiful ways to countdown to Christmas. Here are some of my favorites:





Someday when we have kids, I'm totally getting that elf!! In the meantime, I'll stick with my cheapo chocolate advent calendar - it brings back such nostalgia for me!

How do you celebrate Advent?

11 comments:

  1. I love advent! and totally looked forward to pulling out the calendar every year when I was growing up. That being said, I'm a total slacker since I don't have an advent calendar. every year I think about how I should make one (my mom had made a cute one but I couldn't salvage it-- felt doesn't last forever).

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  2. It's crazy that Advent calendars are making a HUGE comeback!!

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  3. Those are all too fun! I love the elfs with their long limbs!! We do the chocolate calendars. Trader Joes has the best ones...inexpensive but yummy chocolate!

    I saw so many cute ones on etsy this year...maybe over Winter Break from work I'll think about making one for next year!

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  4. Yay for advent calendars!!
    I think it is just hilarious that you had six in college!! I bet they were delicious ((all six of them!)) :)

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  5. I like the people one!

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  6. Those advent calenders are all so different but I like every one of them! I always bought the cheap chocolate ones for my kids when they were growing up. I wonder if they bought more than one after they left home!?

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  7. I totally had cheapy cardboard Advent calendars growing up, but ours didn't have chocolate! Just little doors to pop out. I'm feeling a little gipped, haha! They still bring back fun memories for me. I haven't gotten one for my kids yet. Maybe next year! This year though we are trying to do our little Advent flip book each night. It's an ABC Advent calendar and each letter has a word that has to do with Jesus' birth. It's been so fun! I've taught the kids the finger spelling for each letter and sign for each word. Em loves it, Rowan...he kind of could care less, but it's still fun! I totally want to do a real Advent calendar in conjunction with it next year. We'll see!

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  8. Trader Joe's Advent Chocolate Calenders. MMMMMMM

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  9. This is the first year we have done advent. I really have no clue what I'm doing, so we are just kind of winging it :) I ordered the cutest little fabric bags with the numbers 1 - 25 stamped on them. They are hanging on our mantel, with a little treat in each, and a note with a fun activity for that day. It's just something simple...making Christmas cookies, visiting Santa, driving around looking at lights, making a gingerbread house...that kind of thing. Our boys also have a little children's Bible that has the Christmas story broken up into three parts, so we are reading one part on each Sunday evening. I'm loving it!

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  10. i've never made or had an advent calendar but i think they are soo stinking neat!!!

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  11. Awesome post! The cheap ones are the best. My brother and I each got one every year growing up. Now I buy them for my kids. I could get all fancy but there's some sentimental value in getting them what I used to get you know, haha!

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