It's Advent Calendar time again (2012)

Oh My Goodness!  I'm soooo excited!  It's that time of year again to bring out all my advent calendars in preparation of the Christmas Season.  They all begin on Dec. 1st... so if you like to participate in this wonderful Christmas activity... you only have 2 days left to dig them out of storage, or go purchase one to put out.

My dear friend visited me yesterday and spent the entire day decorating my house for Christmas.  Katie has a wonderful eye for decorating and adding tweaking touches that takes decorations from "Oh that looks nice!" to "WOW that looks AWESOME".  I have crafty talents, but I have never had that kind of decorating eye, so I am always beyond deep appreciation for her time and talents she shares with me.  My job in the decorating process was to drag all the boxes out of storage and unload the items we wanted to use this year.  As most of you readers... I'm sure you have more decorations stored away than you have room to use... this is certainly true in my case.  But... OF COURSE... the first box unloaded was all of my advent calendars.  If I only had the room to decorate sparsely... my Christmas Tree is a must and my advent calendars... I would miss all the other items, but would still feel Christmas complete if I only have a Christmas Tree to look at and my advent calendars to do everyday.

I am truly sitting here with a big smile on my face as I type this blog, in the anticipation of beginning my daily round each morning to do all my advent calendars. This year my count is up to 14... which include... 4 wooded ones, 4 starbucks puzzle ones,  2 snowmen w/artificial trees, 1 3D that revolves, 1 wire one, 1 that lights up, and 1 homemade felt/beaded and sequined one w/pockets (this one I made myself).  All have meaning and memories behind them, and each one gives me much joy each year as I count down to Christmas.

Starting on Dec. 1st I begin my day by putting the kettle on to boil for my morning tea, then I light my fragrant scented (Mistletoe) Yankee candles, and then I begin my trek around the house to do each and every one of my advent calendars.  Some of the calendars require adding an ornament to an artificial tree, or adding an ornament onto a peg from a drawer... some require me to flip the ornaments from the date to a printed design side... some I open a drawer to reveal a lit scene... some have drawers that contain a sweet treat inside and after retrieving said treat, I flip the drawer around to reveal a piece of a puzzle that will be completed on Dec. 24 (these are my starbucks ones)... one I move a stuffed candy cane from pocket to pocket each day... and one has me retrieve a magnet ornament from a drawer and place on the revolving tree.

Which one of these is my favorite?  Hmmmm.... that is a good question, because... as I am doing each calendar I exclaim... "OH GOSH!!, this is my favorite"... that is until I get to the next one and repeat that phrase over and over and over.  Some I like because they are just so unique and cool, some I like because the of the deep sentimental value they hold in my heart... and some are just kitchy and odd, how could I not love those?

I thought my 'collection' was complete and had no intention of adding any more.... due to, where do I put any more?... but... last year during a Christmas party I won another one (the lit one), then I found one on clearance after Christmas last year and it was sooooo huge and cool that I just couldn't pass it up... and then just recently while searching for a couple of starbucks advent calendars to give away as gifts to my dear friend's sons... I stumbled upon one I didn't know existed, but went with my starbucks collection, so again... how could I pass that up?  So my collection grew by 3 in this past year, all totally accidently!  I promise I wasn't even looking!  My eye just can't help finding cool advent calendars randomly, and when it does, I just can't ignore such an opportunity.  I'm sure one day my house will be over runneth with advent calendars... which I think it already is... but until I truly have not an inch of space to put them, I will continue to enjoy these delightful calendars every single Christmas Season.

I currently have 2 grandsons, and there may be more grandchildren who will arrive over the next several years... perhaps one of their sweet faces will implore me to share a particular favorite of theirs with them and I won't be able to resist, knowing my treasured advent calendar is moving on to be their treasure... and how could I say no to that?  I would still enjoy the pleasures of any calendar I might give away to them because it would still be treasured in new eyes!

Last year when my grandsons were not quite a year old, I bought them their first wooden advent calendar to start their collection... knowing it would be a couple of years before they would be able to enjoy it, but also knowing they would never know a Christmas without having an advent calendar.  Then this year I found two fabric panels of an advent calendar that my Mother-in-law had made for my oldest daughter back in 1982, it has long since been discontinued and very hard to find on ebay... but my persistence paid off and I scored two of them (one for each of my grandsons) back in Feb of this year.  I just last week mailed these finished quilted advent calendars to them (made very lovingly for them by me... Gigi) along with the original one I revamped and mailed to my oldest daughter who has not had a child yet (but officially the original one was made for her)... so now all 3 of my daughters have a cherished childhood memory hanging on their walls this year to continue to enjoy and make new memories with their children...  and seriously... how AWESOME is that??

Two days and I'm anxiously counting down for the advent season to begin!  My hope is that you will be inspired to begin, renew, or experience this wonderful tradition along with me.  I promise it will put a smile on your face and a giddy up in your step!