On the Day Before December

Just in time for December, the Advent calendar is ready for the countdown to Christmas. 

This calendar is a beloved tradition in our family.  My mother made it from felt, decorating the tree and holly with miniature red glass ornaments at least 30 years ago.  Here's an old photo I found of our daughter with it on Christmas Eve in 1982.

Each pocket holds candy -- traditionally miniature candy canes or Reese's cups. Our daughter, and later our son, were delighted to learn that they were allowed to remove candy each morning and eat it, even before breakfast! The year my son was almost three, I remember explaining how the tradition worked, concluding, "And when all the candy is gone, Christmas will be here!"  He looked at me excitedly and said, "Let's eat it all NOW!"  Another year, we left the children with a babysitter one evening, and when we returned, I noticed that a few extra candies were missing.  When questioned the next morning, our son replied sheepishly, "Well, in the night...I got hungry."

Here's a closer look.

I continued the tradition by making an Advent calendar exactly like this one for our grandchildren.  I wonder if theirs is ready to go for tomorrow?

Thanks for visiting!