Advent Calendar

I wanted to share the Advent Calendars that my children have this year. :)

My mother made them - aren't they cute? These are a bit of a tradition in  my family. She made these for my brother and I every year when we were growing up. We would wake up on December 1st and we would find the calendars hanging above our heads in our rooms. It was so exciting!

Now my kids get so excited when they arrive at our house, and even I do too. :) The pieces are made from foiled paper that my mother bought in Germany. She uses templates to outline the pieces and cuts & glues them by hand. They are then filled with a small piece of candy and hung on a strand of string decorated with 1.5" pieces of drinking straws and foil squares.

December 6th is Nikolaus in German traditions, and that day is marked with a small stocking. It's filled with extra goodies!

Nikolaus also stops by the children's rooms and drops off a little boot filled with treats. Here is the boot that appeared in Abby's room, by her mini tree on her dresser. :)

Do you celebrate the season with an Advent calendar? Do you have any fun twists or traditions with yours? A work colleague told me yesterday that her family has a traveling advent. Each year one member is chosen to make a calendar for another family member. The goodies have to fit a certain size & price range and they usually end up being very silly little gifts. Others I know have given books as the Advent gift each day, David's Tea has a tea sampler advent (I just found out about that - wow, I would love one of those!) and last year my kids were sent a Playmobil Advent calendar by their great-grandmother in Germany, each day being a little piece/character of a winter scene. I know Lego offers an Advent calendar also. So much fun!