I don't decorate for Christmas nearly as much as I used to, but earlier this year I thought about what decorations I really liked and enjoyed. The answer was Advent calendars. We always had them when I was growing up, and they were simple old-fashioned paper ones with little doors numbered 1 through 24. You were meant to open a door each day and a picture would be revealed, often of a cute animal, ornament, or some other Christmas-y scene.
I got Advent calendars for my boys one year, but they weren’t all that impressed with sweet, simple pictures. The next year I tried Playmobil and Lego Advent calendars. They liked the toys much better, but delayed gratification wasn’t really their thing. By the second day, they had opened every box on both calendars, but at least they had a great time playing with the figures and Legos afterward.
I looked around the internet for an Advent calendar that was similar to what I was imagining, but so many of them revolved around "stuff" - jam, tea, wine, beauty products, even fishing lures and rubber duckies. But eventually I ended up at Bronner's Christmas Wonderland. They had just what I was looking for, in fact, so many Advent calendars that I had a hard time making a choice. I ended up getting two of them, Neuschwanstein Castle and Woodland Friends.
They have been perfect. I’ve really enjoyed opening the little doors each
day. I even remembered a tiny hedgehog from one of my childhood
calendars, and sure enough, there it was waiting for me on the very
first day.
It’s not often that something under $20 brings me this much joy, but these Advent calendars certainly have. I hope that you've got some favorite seasonal or holiday decorations that bring you as much enjoyment as my Advent calendars do for me!
Ah, Frankenmuth, MI -- the home of all things Christmas! I'm glad you were able to find these and get a daily dose of nostalgia. I can remember my best friend having an Advent calendar when we were really little and she got a tiny piece of candy every day (I remember her offering to share it with me one day, but she had a cold and I declined). It's incredible how many different types of Advent calendars there are now!
ReplyDeleteThe calendars you bought are beautiful Bonny - I really like the Woodland Creatures one.
ReplyDeleteI have never had an advent calendar, nor do I remember seeing one anywhere. Must mean that I am a total heathen or that it is not a southern thing. Probably both! Your calendars look and sound charming, Bonny. Have a wonderful week.
ReplyDeleteI LOVE your advent calendars! Ah . . . BRONNER's (always in full caps, it seems). I am not a fan of all these "themed" advent calendars that are so popular now (I find that . . . people will buy anything . . . ), but I have such happy memories of my own paper advent calendars when I was a child. (My mom and I - and Erin, too, when she was young - used to take a field trip to BRONNER's - the Wonderland of Christmas - every year. It is completely over the top. Just WAY over the top. But. They have great, "old fashioned" advent calendars, and I used to buy one every year. Erin has them now, and she's even got Keith opening windows now.) Enjoy your advent delight! XO
ReplyDeleteBronners... sigh. I have the fondest memories of that place! And hurrah for the simple gift of an advent calendar! I remember the year the kids and I made up an "ongoing story" involving the items revealed in the daily windows... it was hilariously fun.
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful collection! I never did the Advent thing with my own kids but Daughter is doing it with the Grands. I did have that much coveted Avon countdown calendar where you move the mouse along the numbered pockets. They sell for a fortune now on eBay. I wish I had hung onto mine but a mouse in the attic ate it.
ReplyDeleteI think my aunt had that Avon countdown calendar and now my cousins are fighting over who gets it!
DeleteYour Advent calendars are lovely and remind me of the ones my mother got for us every year! I'll have to remember to check out Bronner's next year!
ReplyDeleteI'll definitely go back to Bronner's for Advent calendars next year. They had just what I was looking for, plus so much more. I'd love to make an in-person visit someday!
DeleteWe never had an Advent calendar when I was a kid... so it wasn't a tradition, and I never had one as an adult/parent. Probably 15 years ago or so, when one of the girls was working at Starbucks, they had the cutest tree-shaped Advent calendar with little numbered drawers, and now... well, everyone has an an Advent calendar! I bought a couple for the kids this year -- a LEGO Friends one for the girls, and Monster Trucks for the boys. Oh, and a chocolate one from IKEA for us -- which was out of the way & I forgot about it until I started reading your post, so I quickly caught up just now. Was surprised to find a voucher for a free meatball dinner in with one of the chocolates! (That's how marketing works. haha!)
ReplyDeleteOh I love Advent calendars. We had them a few times when I was growing up. And I used to get a variety of them, from simple paper to yes, the Lego ones, for my kids when they were growing up. My gift from my son and his spouse this year is a knitting Advent calendar. It's got 12 little packages (which makes me wonder, should I open from Christmas day onward?) and I am, in fact, opening them now. I love anticipation as much as anything about most special events, so it's just up my alley. Thanks for sharing your calendar, Bonny, and also Bronners, wow!
ReplyDeleteYour knitting Advent calendar sounds intriguing! I wouldn't be able to wait and would have to open them now. Anticipation is important, even to adults at Christmas. I've never been to Bronner's but I wouldn't mind making an in-person visit someday!
DeleteI have the advent calendar my mom made me when we were first married. I love it! The kids used to fight over who's turn it was to place an ornament on the tree - good fond memories.
ReplyDeleteAdvent calendars weren't a thing in our family so I never had one myself until a few years ago when I got myself a wine advent calendar. That was fun but I like the coffee pods one I have now much better. Bronner's sounds like a really cool place!
ReplyDeleteVery cute.
ReplyDeleteI can't believe how pricey some of those advent calendars can get. The yarny ones are often well over $100.00. YIKES!
Thank you for sharing your Advent Calendars and Bronner's. I had never heard of it. I made a sort of patchwork Advent calendar with numbered pockets for my kids. There were two small candy canes in the pockets - one for each of them. Now I find it hard to believe that they were willing to eat one each day. We also had a cardboard village scene and in each little pocket was a tiny little figure that made a creche. Now days, those tiny pieces would be considered a choking hazard. The kids enjoyed that one for quite a few years.
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