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DS (3.5) hasnt really got the hang of it yet. could not understand why, having sorted out that the a 9 was a 9 not a 6, whu we couldnt see what was behind the number 9 as well as thye number 1..........
oddly enough, my best calendar growing up was a mcdonald's happy meal box It was an advent calendar house, with proper pics in (not burgers n stuff) - really nice, and my mum still stores decorations in them
I got this one for ds. I bought it in the local shop that is open every year in our tourist information centre, selling Christmas cards/wrapping etc for many different charities (Cards for Good Causes shop).
DD had a chocolate in the shape of a bird in hers. I had a picture of a rabbit with some carrots in mine. Seriously; a rabbit! Am Imissing something? Is there something festive about rabbits?
LOL! One year I had an advent calendar in which about half the pictures seemed to be of birds... and not just robins, turkeys and partridges in pear trees. Just any old birds!
DS has taken on board my little talk about Santa keeping tabs on all the good & bad things we do, and has generously offered to let dd open it every day (usually it gets pretty ugly)
a tree to stick on the fabric picture and a wee note saying colour in some christmas cards today... (funnily enough we bought some colouring in christmas cards yest at church ) ds very excited by the wee note!
My dd had a little magnetic robin to put on the christmassy scene. It's one of those with little drawers around a santa and xmas tree scene, each box has a magnetic piece to decorate the picture.
at Playmobil taking longer than advertised to construct, slubber!
<I spent yesterday drawing a picture of Norman the Foreman for the "Stick the teacup on Norman" game for ds's party. It's a work of art, I can tell you!>
A note to look in the tissue box (that was supposed to be lovingly decorated in xmas paper but I forgot ) andin the tissue box were some paper chains.
Ds looked slightly excited about the thought of making paperchains and slightly disturbed that there was no chocolate. Good job my aunt brought him in a Dr Who calendar tonight. No idea what was behind door number 1 - he'd eaten it too fast!!
I'd better go and make the tissue box look Christmassy!!!
The three kings (as strange dolls that look like the Pontipines). I'm not that keen on this advent calendar, but twas the only one I could find that wasn't chocolate and Barbie.
For our advent we have a lovely fat ceramic snowman with a robin on his hat. He's holding a Metal chart and next to him is a little pot with tiny figurative magnets inside.
Every day someone gets to shut their eyes and choose a magnet to countdown to christmas. There is a parcel. a dolly, a book. a bell etc etc.
It was my turn today and I got a teddy bear!!
It's my very favourite decoration, the details are so lovely. It means all the good mid winter things like sunny cold days, sherry, watching TV in the afternoon, eating chocs and drinking Baileys aren't far away
(DP and I argue about who's turn it is, and DGC get a go if they are exceptionally good )
Lego calendar - a barbecue (Lego man is now happily barbecuing his chicken!)
My calendar - a winter scene Ds's calendar - picture of some presents
Ds and I are having a competition, where we have to predict what pictures will be in our advent calendar every day. You get 2 points if you get the right item on the right day, and 1 point if you get an item you have predicted, but on the wrong day. Yesterday we had one point each. Today I had no points (had not put "winter scene" on my list), but ds managed to guess "presents" for today, so he is now well in the lead!
DD is cross with her playmobil one, she has another tree today and is a bit fed up of trees.
DS had a bridge with a shield and flag on it ( has stuck his knight from yesterday on it as a look out)and has been carting the calendar round the house with him everywhere he goes.
Snowmuchtobits, I got the arty bookcase one from the Art Fund online shop if you're interested. It's here
I've just got another 'thanks for your support' advent calendar through the post from Cats Protection. Bet no-one can guess what was behind windows 1 and 2!
I bought dh ( well, no lo's here) a Lindt one, he ate the chocolate and moaned it was waxy, waxy, Lindt -no taste that man, happy shopper one for him next year.
Total of 3 fairly ordinary chocolates (sorry didn't notice the pictures, I was too busy restricting DD to opening one window), a milka bell (Milka advent calendar - DD's brought from France by my parents - has huge chocolates in it, and some of the windows are even bigger ) and a tree - with no leaves (Playmobil!)
Nothing! we have two reusable fabric one's with pockets that you put sweets in. I can't have them hanging up with sweets in it, the dc are not going to leave them alone until all eaten,so ours are both hanging with nothing in the pockets but they do look lovely.
Lego calendar - a small table, frying pan and mug (Lsgo man is now having a cup of tea)
Ds's calendar - a reindeer (1 point to him) My calendar - a Victorian style picture of a girl in a red coat holding a snowball, with the following written underneath:-
"A Merry Christmas. 'Tis Christmas with the snow and holly, so everyone is bright and jolly." (no points to me)
Thank you Anna! ... ds & dd & I all think it so in the 'real spirit of' etc. I got one for dd's class too and it seems popular - sweet earnest 7-8 year old girls.
Yesterday was batricidal soap for under-resourced hospitals. Today was some feed for African livestock. Apparently there is a baby chick one day.
Oh that's a brilliant idea - is it sufficiently non-religious to pass muster in my DD's French school? They do sell Christmas biscuits and have a Christmas tree and talk about FC, so it's not as if Christmas were a total no-go area... I love the "real spirit of" thing
I think it's a great idea and have bookmarked it for next year. DS1 would like it very much, having developed a social conscience fairly recently...
We have gone down the chocolate route this year, but what is fantastic about it is that, for the first time ever, DS2 (who has autism) has got the idea of advent calendars. Needs prompting, but will open the door himself. And this morning he asked DS1 for 'sweet' when he saw him opening his own. Yaaaay !
That's sounds just the ticket - will definitely put your advent calendar on my 2009 Christmas to do list.
We are currently having conversations in the Parents' Association about just how we can mark Christmas at school in an appropriately non-religious but also non-commercial way. It isn't easy and so far all we have really thought of is a toy collection for a children's hospital or orphanage.
We had ... a box of matches. Which seems faintly unecological: surely there is a more sustainable form of fire-starting tool - clockwork, or solarly energised, or something. There wasn't any helpful context about who/where it was going to help either. Fabulous principle as it is, it could do with a wee bit more mise-en-scene.
Now we have another calendar, submitted by FIL who is an emeritus person, from the Bodleian & featuring archetypes of children's vintage book design. So far we have had, among others: a snowball fight scene, confidently dated to 1862; and a mediaeval person warming its long bendy pale feet at a fireside.
Lego calaendar - a freezer with parasol above it (for yesterday's ice cream, I assume) My calendar - some festive cats (no points) Ds's calendar - a Santa (one point)
Friday chocolate (hahahaha - DS doesn't like it so he shoves it in my mouth at 5.50!) Playmobil - a little deer and a blobby think that I think is badger food
At last DS has got an advent calendar. I could only find 'Musical High School' on Monday Yukky. Now have tasteful picture of lots of children dressed in nativity costume waiting for Santa.Opened all today. So far Sweet crook, snowman, a teddy bear, pudding,santa's sack. Did you know the Medici company have gone to the wall? (they make religious advents.
Ds's calendar - a doll (no points) My calendar - an angel about to rescue a boy who is climbing over a railing on a bridge over a river (1 point for angel)
It did take ages to put together. DD has said the red thing is a plant! they are rearranging the scene about 3 times a day and this morning I narrowly missed hoovering up a little green bird!
Reddish blobby stuff is mushrooms for some animal or other to eat (the deer were eating ours but now they are eating hay out of the rack).
DS got a mistletoe picker (tree decoration) from his Asterix calendar on Saturday. It looks like a sickle to me, but asterix-freak DS assures me it is a mistletoe picker . DD was delighted to get a chocolate boot from her Milka calendar this morning.
Lego calendar - tree with white cat (same as The Pelly's) I assume that the fireman is going to have to rescue the cat, and that tomorrow there will be a ladder for such purposes!
Ds's calendar - mistletoe (1 point) My calendar - another santa (for which ds wouldn't let me have a point).
Starbear - the points are for prediciting the correct items in your advent calendar. Ds and I are having a competition, where we guessed what would be in our windows for each day. If you get the correct item on the correct day you get two points. If you get an item you predicted but on the wrong day, you get one point. I was very at ds today, because I had guessed mistletoe for my calendar today. (He had guessed mistletoe for tomorrow!)
Pellyandme - the thing in the 8th of the Lego Castle advent callendar is an archery target to go with the bow and arrow set. White and red bits are the target and th other bits are a stand.
of those with proper picture ones.
It was an advent calendar house, with proper pics in (not burgers n stuff) - really nice, and my mum still stores decorations in them 
) ds very excited by the wee note! 
at ds today, because I had guessed mistletoe for my calendar today. (He had guessed mistletoe for tomorrow!) 
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