Using a Lightbox as an Advent Calendar - Yes or No?

Today I'm going to review an alternative to the usual advent calendars as a way to countdown to Christmas - a lightbox!

Forget the advent calendars and try adding a lightbox underneath your tree for a fun countdown. You can get your own...

Posted by Christmas Tree Ideas on Wednesday, November 13, 2019

Now when my daughter was younger I brought a fabric advent calendar that had little pouches I would fill each year - she used the same advent calendar every year and loved it. My friend had a wooden advent calendar that was shaped like a Christmas tree and her kids would take turns opening it - she also used to get them a chocolate advent calendar each so that no one went without something during the countdown!

It was only last year after my daughter moved out that I saw the post that you can see above - a lightbox to countdown the days seemed like a great idea. I'm interested to know what other people think though - a small gift or chocolate every day for the kids or just a countdown display under the Christmas tree?

Let me know if you're a Yes or a No!

If you vote advent calendars then check out a few here:

Farm Advent Calendar

DIY or Reusable Advent Calendars

The Great Christmas Countdown is on

Lego Advent Calendars

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DIY or New Reusable Advent Calendars For a Treasured Family Keepsake

A Wooden, Cardboard, Cloth, or DIY Advent Calendar

We've had a cloth advent calendar for Christmas for the past 20 years. Since the kids were little, the same advent calendar sees our family room annually. 

The nice thing about a cloth calendar with pockets is you can put treats inside for each of the 24 days.

Our family Advent Calendar is featured below.

Bring out your own Advent Calendar each year and make it a standard part of family traditions.

However, if you're not into a store-bought reusable Advent Calendar, you can make your own. Get the kids involved.

Five DIY Ideas on How to Make Your Own Advent Calendar:

Our Family Advent Calendar

by Funkthishouse.com

1. Use 24 kiddie Christmas socks. Glue each sock to a painted cardboard or wooden backboard. Put treats in each sock for each day.
2. Use 24 small boxes (ring size) glued to cardboard or backboard. Keep the lids on the boxes, and inside each box, put treats. Decorate the boxes individually.
3. Attach 24 small gift bags to a backboard or cardboard. Put treats in the gift bags.
4. Use mini tree stockings. Put them all together on a piece of string with numbers on the front for each day. Put treats in each one.
5. Use 24 empty toilet paper rolls. I know, that's weird, right, but it works. Glue the rolls together in the shape of a Christmas Tree - 1 on the top for the star, then 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, then 2 and 2 for the base of the tree. Glue them together, then decorate each one. Place goodies inside each roll. 

Making your own Advent Calendar is a beautiful reminder during the kid's growing years. You'll pull out that calendar and your past Christmas memories when they're older and no longer decorating with you.

Time holds our treasures, and our treasures stop time. Think about your kids' decorations over the years and what they mean to you. There isn't anything quite as precious.

Whether you use a pre-made Christmas Calendar or a DIY one makes no difference. Create memories during the little years to carry you through the big years.

When the time is right, take all the decorations your kids have made, wrap them up and pass them on. They can include them in their Christmas traditions along with your family stories.

CREATIVE ADVENT CALENDARS

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Farm Advent Calendar Reviewed

Count Down To Christmas With Playmobil

Christmas Chocolates from Pixabay.com

Do you plan to help a child count down to Christmas this year with an Advent Calendar? Are you looking for one that would be great for the younger members of your family? There are so many options available with so many different themes. I have found one that I feel is pretty practical because your child or children can play with it after the Christmas holiday is over. 

Many traditional Advent Calendars offer small little chocolate gifts as the days before Christmas are counted down. Those are nice and you can use them each year if you just replenish the little hiding places with new and fresh candies. 

I would like to recommend an Advent Calendar that children can enjoy and learn about the animals on the farm, too. Children love little toys and they love animals so why not combine the two while teaching them to count as they wait for the Jolly Old Elf to arrive?

Playmobil Christmas On The Farm Advent Calendar and Play set

What I love about this cute little play set is that it is also an advent calendar and the figures can all be played with after Christmas. They can be added to any Playmobil sets that your child may already have. Wonderful little animals that can be found on a farm like sheep, goats, cows and chickens. As each of the 24 days before Christmas approach the child opens one little window to reveal some of the pieces. By the time Christmas Eve arrives they will have 72 pieces to play with.

Families have been using advent calendars since the 1800's. It is a tradition enjoyed by many and each year brings wonderful selections for the family to count down the days with. I think this calendar set is a nice alternative to the food ones and is perfect for the younger family members to enjoy.

How about you? Does your family use an advent calendar?

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The Great Christmas Countdown Is ON!

If you are a parent, grand parent or even an only Child, this time of year brings with it countdowns in all manner of speaking.

Everywhere we go, we are bombarded by the signs of the season,  Buy this, save now, Best Deals right here and the shopping mantras seem to be everywhere.

When I was young, (just a few short years ago), we marked the countdown to Christmas with an Advent Calendar, or an Advent Wreath.

Photo credit: Pixabay.com

Advent Calendars marked down the days in December, from 1 to 24, with a token candy or treat in each of the little packages associated with the day.  For us kids, this was a countdown to all the good things that would be in the house over the holiday season.

You can make your own Advent Calendars, or there are ones that are pre-made just for your little ones.  If they love Lego, there are several different sets that can be purchased and by the time Christmas Eve comes, they have put together a special Lego Treat.

Lego Advent Calendar

The Advent Wreath was more religious in nature. Each Sunday after mass, when the family was together for Sunday Lunch, we would read a passage from the Bible and light one candle the first weekend.    Two candles, were lit for the next weekend and then three and four.  Finally, Christmas arrives and the candle in the middle is lit with all 4 candles around lit as well.  The significance was the brightness of the light on Christmas morning: The coming of the Saviour, the Infant Child Jesus.

Once everyone was awake and had their cup of coffee, tea, hot chocolate or drink of choice, the opening of the presents would begin....

The expectations of the last month or six weeks was not a done deal.  It's amazing to me that so much thought and excitement is unwrapped in less than 1/100 of the time it took to get ready for the event.
In any case, the pictures taken at the undoing last a long time and memories are made in the time we get to spend together.

Photo credit:liebesbotschaft-international.blogspot.de

 Hope you have the time to sit back, enjoy the sights and the sounds of the season, and that you take lots of pictures to enjoy the memories for many years to come. Happy Holidays Everyone.

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