Christmas Countdown Advent Calendars

Tis the time of the year for counting down the days til Christmas with Advent Calendars.  This tradition began in my family when I was just a child, and my Grandma bought all of us Grandchildren a cardboard advent Christmas Advent Count Down Calendar... each day we would open a door with the days date on it and retrieve a chocolate coin hidden inside... these calendars are still available today either in stores (The Dollar Store/Dollar Tree Store always carry them) or online for just .99 cents!  Because I enjoyed those calendars (and still do) so much, I kept the tradition going with my own daughters and made sure they had an Advent Count Down Calendar every year too.

For those of you who know me... know I have an addictive personality and when I like something... I really like something!  So... my obsession with Christmas Advent Count Down Calendars has continued to grow each year since the year I received that first one.  I currently have 10 Count Down Calendars I enjoy each year... although this year I did loan two of them out to the two sons of our dear friends, the DeLuca's.  This is the DeLuca boys first experience with Christmas Count Down Calendars, I hope they are enjoying them as much as I do.  The two calendars I lent them were from Starbucks 2007 and 2006... these are cardboard shaped trees with a little drawer for each day of December... each day the boys will open a drawer and retrieve the candy treat hidden inside, then they will turn the drawer around before reinserting it back in place and reveal a piece of a puzzle... the drawers are in random order all over the tree, so they not only get a treat, but are working on a picture puzzle at the same time.  Just silly fun... but isn't most fun just silly!??

I have Count Down Calendars in various sizes, and with various ways to Count Down til Christmas Eve.  Some... like the Starbucks Calendar... a treat is placed inside each box or drawer... I particularly like to get a selection of chocolates to put inside the drawers so you just never know what to expect on any day... such as... I get the gold wrapped coins, Hersey kisses, minature bars, Lindor truffles, etc... but putting just a single Hersey kiss in each drawer is enough too... and even though I mix my treats up... I only put in one treat per box per day.  I have all 3 versions of the Starbucks Count Down Calendars (2005-2007)... unfortunately Starbucks no longer make these.... darn it.... because they came with really good chocolates in them too!!!  Some years my girls would have to share a Count Down Calendar that had chocolates in them, some years they had their own... but either way they were excited each day before Christmas to see what their treat would be, or what their sister's treat would be.

In the 1980's my Mother-in-law made my girls a wall hanging Count Down Calendar from a fabric panel (she loves to sew!) that she found in JoAnn Fabrics... it's called "A Beary Merry Christmas".  It is a drawing of a house with rooms and the yard outside... it has a little stuffed bear with velcro on it's back... and each place the bear must visit on his search to find Christmas also has a piece of velcro... each day the bear goes to a new location looking for christmas (such as... looking in the mailbox, looking on the pond, looking under front porch steps, looking in the bathtub, etc.).  This calendar was, and still is the very favorite of all my girls... and all 3 of them have tried to claim dibs on it to be passed on to them!  Because my girls are now grown, and 2 of my 3 daughters have a child of their own... just this evening I tried to find this fabric panel online so that I could make 2 more, and then each daughter would have their own to enjoy with their children.  However.... much to my astonishment.... not only is this fabric panel no longer available... but on ebay they are selling for over $100 per unfinished panel!!!! WHAT!!!!!????? Are people crazy??????  I'll keep searching... like a dog wanting to unbury a bone... and I WILL find these panels, and I WILL make them for my children's children.... but it may take me awhile!   :  )

I also have the Count Down Calendars in which you add an ornament to the tree each day.  The ornaments are kept inside a drawer(s) or behind a door(s), and each day you decorate the tree.  I have 5 of this kind... and this kind is my personal favorite.  Of these 5, two are snowmen holding a fake twiggy tree and have little resin ornaments that get hung on their trees, two are wooden and have ornaments numbered 1-24 on them and you either turn the ornament around to show the painted decorated side, or you add an ornament to a nail peg each day... and last but not least... in fact one of my new all time favorites (I just got it this week after finding it on ebay) is this 3D wooden tree that sits on a wooden box and rotates.  All around the wooden base are little doors with little magnetic ornaments inside and the ornaments just stick right on the tree.  The two wooden ones and the 3D Count Down Calendars were recently added to my collection just this year.  All 3 were such a surprise when they arrived, and I truly felt like a little kid on Christmas morning because they were nothing like I expected... they were sooooo much better than I could have imagined!  I really feel like I hit the "Mother Lode"!!!!

Occasionally I like to peruse around ebay with a curious frame of mind, just to see what is available out there.  On items that I like to collect... such as... old mixing bowls from the 1940's/1950's, Count Down Calendars, ornaments, vintage hand bags, etc... I can spend hours and hours just cyber window shopping.  Then once in awhile I will literally hit the "Mother Lode" on any particular item and I feel like I have found secret treasures!  That is exactly what happened one day last week when I was bored and went on ebay looking at Christmas Advent Calendar Count Downs.  Each one I saw was cooler than the one before, and each one was "Buy It Now"... and... they were so reasonably priced... as in CHEAP... that I just couldn't help myself... and the next thing I knew I had hit the "Buy It Now" button 5 times!!!!!  OOPS!!!! Then... because I am '50 something' and have 'mushy brain' at times... I totally forgot about ordering these Count Down Calendars until they started arriving this week!!  I did most of my Christmas shopping online on Cyber Monday... therefore... I have lots of deliveries this week with all my purchased Christmas gifts, so when I am going through whatever boxes have been delivered, I'm not looking for the Advent Count Down Calendars, I'm just looking for my purchases... and then I open a box containing one of my new Advent Count Down Calendars and am THRILLED beyond words with it!  During the month of December, I pop out of bed each morning to do my morning routine of updating all my Count Down Calendars, then I light my Yankee Candle Mistletoe candles, then turn on my Christmas music.. and thus begins another day of Christmas Cheer!

Who knows... one day I may be that crazy lady you see interviewed on one of those magazine shows because I have rooms full of my collections of Christmas Advent Calendars... but probably not!  All I know is how much I truly enjoy my Count Down Calendars each year!  As in all things I love, I like to share with others, so I am hoping this blog might just inspire you to begin the Christmas Count Down Calendar tradition too.  It doesn't matter your age, these calendars are enjoyed by all, and start each day of the Christmas season with a smile and/or a treat!  Some of these Count Down Calendars 'can' run into hundreds of dollars (if you are crazy!!!), but you can get a decent wooden one that costs around $20-$30, and while this may seem a bit pricey for a holiday decoration... these kind of calendars can be used over and over for many years, and will definitely pay for themselves... but the $1 ones bring just as much joy!  And if you think it's too late to get started this year... it isn't... you can still catch up... but if you want to begin this tradition next year, it's always great to be on the look out for these Count Down Calendars after Christmas when they are even bigger bargains!

Tomorrow is Day 8 already and Christmas Day will be here soon!! I hope everyone is being good for Santa... My Elves Home ornaments are hanging on my tree... therefore... I know those sneaky elves are watching me, and I'm trying my hardest to give them good reports to send to Santa each and every night!!