Welcome December!

Well, December has arrived and with it the countdown to the big day! What a lovely day weather wise it is today here on the manx rock, to start off the festive period.  I always say the festive period begins on the first  day of December as the first always marks the start of the season of advent, the lead up to Christmas.  Lots of people just bunch in Advent with Christmas itself but in fact it has its own special carols, customs and traditions so in a way it is a festive time in its own right. Its the time that children look forward to as it means that they can at last open the very first window on their advent calendar which more often these days features chocolate somewhere so it sort of means to a child that it gives them an excuse to eat chocolate without being told off for eating between meals,lol!  In my house it has always been and still continues to be an advent calender of the old style, where you open a window and there is a picture. Old habits die hard and I have great memories as a child of wondering each day what the next picture would be. These days , yes you can go to Dealtz or Poundland and pick up chocolate advent calenders ten a penny but what about trying something different one year with a different kind of advent calendar.
Here are a few suggestions that you could try:-….

1.   Obtain 25  brown or white paper bags and decorate each one with a different number[maybe get your children or indeed yourself to drawn the numbers on with glitter glue or paint] and a different Christmas picture, or sticker. If you are already a crafty type, maybe if you have a craft die cutting machine you could use a Christmas theme die and cut it out of glitter or mirror card in different colours. Make a hole in the top of each bag and thread some festive ribbon or twine through the holes in each bag to make bag bunting so to speak. The put a little chocolate coin or a little gift [pound shops usually have suitable items small enough for a little treat] in each bag and every day your child can receive something in the lead up to Christmas then in the bag for the 25th you could put something special in

2. Take the bunting idea as a starting point. You know those clear baubles you can get that have an open front or pull apart in two halves so you can put things inside. Well, why not put a little piece of paper inside with an act of kindness type sentence on.e.g  Could contains sentences like a] Today Give someone special hug b] Today Donate something to charity  c] Today Write a thank you note and send it to someone for all they have done for you  d]  Today tell someone just how much you care for them  e] Make/Buy someone a drink  f] Share memories of happy times with someone  g] Help someone with something they need to do h]   Watch a film with a friend I]visit someone who doesn't get many visitors j] give someone a present
Im sure you can think of loads more. This works as a sort of random act of kindness type advent calender. When you have put your words inside the bauble, put the bauble back together and your children or yourself can decorated the outside before threading it onto festive ribbon or twine and hangin it perhaps from your mantle piece

3. Have 24 festive themed or coloured small boxes with a bigger one for the 25th. If your child or the recipient of your advent calender is collecting, say, parts of a lego set, a collection of small toys, or even starting up a craft tool or crafty product collection, you could put a part of a collection in each box and then as each box is opened as the days go on, their collection builds up to the 25th where on opening they then find that they have the whole collection

Once you start thinking outside the usual type of advent calendar box, you will probably come up with lots of ideas, The secret is, think about who you are making it for and what would be act as a collection of little treats for them. It could be little bath pearls, soaps and small toiletries or cosmetics, it could be a toy car set, it could be even some teabags of different teas, the list is endless!
The photos I have included in the post today are from the aread around my daughters old primary school looking across down across the countryside. Hope you like them xx