How many Advent Calendars do you have?

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Go on. I mean honestly, how many?

I realised that I might have a slight calendar problem when I decided that I had to make this one. On November 24th. I've reined myself in now and have come to accept that there is no way on earth I'm going to manage to make the felt tree AND all 24 ornaments in 6 days. But how many calendars do we already have, poised in readiness?

1. Cardboard calendar with traditional pictures. Chosen by DS1. Christmas wouldn't be the same without it.

2.Playmobil Dinosaur calendar for DS1. He doesn't know about it yet and this is the first year we've done one with little toys in.

1. I actually already had a playmo calendar, the Woodland Christmas one, bought off ebay last year in a fit of madness after getting sucked into the MN Playmobil Enthusiasm Thread. I set it aside for this year and then got the Dinosaur one as part of an offer at Toys R Us. I think it'll have to wait until next year. DS1 can't have two playmo calendars. Can he? Can he??
2. My mum gave us a wooden train calendar with lots of little numbered drawers for chocolates, but since DS1 is train-mad and 3, it's stayed unused as yet because he'll just get it down all the time, and as stated, This Is Not A Toy. It's already sustained minor damage.
3. My MIL will give DS1 (and for all I know, 11 mo DS2) a chocolate calendar, as she does every year.

That's too many, isn't it? I think in practical terms, that's going to be one cardboard, one playmo and one chocolate calendar and the others will be saved (or made) for future years. And of course, DS2 will be old enough sort of for a cardboard one of his own next year. How many are operating in your household?

This year:

• DD has the Playmobil Christmas Post Office

• DS has the Playmobil Police action set (not Christmassy at all but features a burglar, on which he is fixated at the moment!)

• Wooden set that features a Christmas tree next to a fireplace and window, you open a box every day and hang up a little wooden ornament

• Every year I buy myself a Rachel Ellen stained glass calendar.

• Should I even mention that DD and DS have been bought a chocolate calendar by my mum??

Two DCs, and each have a Lego mini figures advent Calendar and a cheapo Cadbury's chocolate one. I draw the line at two, though, which is still pretty excessive!

2 dcs
one each

So what do you do when you open all the windows/bits and bobs? It feels as if the whole tradition gets a bit stale if, every morning, DS1 is going to open the playmo one, open the window on his cardboard one, have a chocolate from the cadbury one... Perhaps we can have different times of day for the different calendars.

Your wooden tree one sounds lovely, Sands.

I didn't even mention that I normally buy myself a very traditional paper one! It has to be made in Germany and preferably have lots of glitter on it.

None. Not doing it this year.

Cat, when I were a lass, my brother and I had a cardboard one between us and would fight like cats and dogs to open the windows. Choccy ones hadn't been invented then, thank god.

I really like the sort where you don't get a chocolate or something ephemeral, but an ornament to add to a display until Christmas.

You can go all American and have 'intention' calendars, where you put a slip of paper into a bucket or drawer or pocket per day, and they have stuff on them like 'go out and chop down the Christmas Tree', 'Visit the Poor with a basket of freshly-baked muffins', 'spend two hours playing nicely with my little brother', 'write down what you are thankful for this winter', 'perform a random act of kindness' and so on. But not sure my two are up to that sort of behavioural enforcement.

3dc's have a choc one each at home and at their grans. Also have a wooden one with drawers which contain little trinkets to hang on a wooden tree. Plus I am hoping that hotel chocolate's couples advent calendar is in the sale when I go to town on Thursday as I really love it but it's far too expensive at £25!!

Shit!

Advent calender!!!

Bloody hell november has gone quick and I've been caught on the hop.

Will put it on to do list for the morning.

Although.... 11 year olds typically have advent calenders? I can't remember when I stopped having one as a kid.

5
A Lego one and a choc one for DS.
A choc one for me

2 choc ones for the dogs.

There are a lot at home

1. One with pictures for DS from my mum

1. One with pictures for DD from my mum

1. Chocolate one for DS from me

1. Chocolate one for DD from me

1. Old lego one for DS

1. Old playmobil one for DD

1. Playmobil one that is mine (2nd hand, bought last year on ebay)

1. Another playmobil one that is mine. Also bought 2nd hand from ebay another year. Not sure quite why I have two. Possibly was Hs but as he left in April it is ergo mine.

1. New playmobil for DD

10. New lego for DS.

Do I win?

I thought I was bad - I have 2 DCs and each of them have a lego calendar and a chocolate calendar. My SIL has just been round and I think she was horrified with me!

I used to have loads when I was little. Although only one chocolate one - there were more picture only ones. From parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles.

In the house or me? I have one old style picture one- we also have a house advent nativity scene where you get bits out daily, a decorations one made by mum(it's a cloth calendar with gorgeous home
Made decorations in) and at least 3 chocolate calendars between dh and dd plus dsd has one. So that's 7

Phew just read suitablegirl- I feel positively minimalist now ( conveniently forgets Lego calendar in loft which dd prob too young for )

You win, SuitableGirl!

When on earth do you have time to open that lot? I mean, presumably it could make you late for school...

What are they playmobil/Lego calendars? dd only 6months so none in our house.

They get opened at different times of day :) I do like the build up to Christmas

Dh has a large felt tree that I made and fill myself, ds has the John Lewis wooden house and I'm due a baby in a few days so this time next year I'll be looking to invest in another one!

Ds has a a playmobil one, 3 choc ones ( 1 from both sets of gparents and 1 from greatgparents), a refillable one (which will have thing to do that day in), I have one (coz im a big kid ), and one for dhamster!

Now I've listed them its a awful lot!

Oh well...... ITS CHRISTMAS!!!!!

We have two: A Lego one and an Advent House which has little numbered drawers on it. Each drawer contains a chocolate/sweet and a slip of paper with a "to do" item on it e.g. write Christmas cards, decorate tree, see FC etc. I have two DCs so they take it in turns to open each one.

I'm a actually shocked that people who buy Lego/playmobil calendars feel the need to also buy chocolate advent calendars or even have multiple toy/ chocolate combinations. Honestly... Words fail me...it's just all too much

Oli - well, that was sort of why I started the thread. Though, for what it's worth, I have NEVER bought anyone a chocolate calendar. I think they're horrible and commercial and soulless, and also introduce the idea to very young children that they have an unalienable right to a sweet first thing in the morning. MIL used to get DH one until we had DS1, and then, his first christmas (he'd have been 10 months) she started getting them for the baby instead. (and no, he didn't actually open and eat them until last year, when he was nearly 3. Before then, he was opening a special calendar I'd crafted out of birch bark, with a piece of honey-sweetened tofu behind each door. )

So yes, DS1 will be opening a playmobil calendar and a cardboard one, and since his grandma will give him a chocolate one, regardless of what we ask her to do, he gets that too. Maybe when DS2 is older, I can lower the bar again and at least make them share.

One.

Anyone who has more than one is a symptom of a wishy-washy, window-twankee, materialistic, nonsensical society.