An adventure in Advent…

Advent is one my favorite parts of the holiday season. It’s the countdown to Santa’s arrival. You’ve probably seen the little advent calendars; you tear open a little box every day to find a chocolate inside. One a day until Christmas.

In Sweden, it is as much a part of December as snow and lights. We even have a dedicated TV show aired over 24 little episodes accompanied with a paper calendar to open. It’s been aired since 1961, and every year they create a new one! Swedes love tradition. And like many of our traditions, the why isn’t as important as the how. Advent calendars have really grown stateside; now you can buy kits of all the popular toys, but where’s the fun in that?

My parents took it a step further and packaged 24 little gifts for my brothers and I, and I do the same thing for my daughter. I pick up little trinkets over a month or two, then I put my headphones on with a little jingle jazz and get to work.

You may have noticed I’ve only mentioned 24 days, when Christmas is on the 25th. Many of the advent calendars here in the US, you’ll find have 25 days. I guess it makes sense; Santa has to leave Sweden on the 24th to fly across the Atlantic. 🙂 We also didn’t always have Santa! In the old days, there was a goat who brought presents. You may have seen the straw goats at IKEA and other Scandinavian themed holiday set ups.

Bahhaaaaaa……

Let’s get started!

Create your own advent calendar.

You’ll need:

I hung all of the little bags in different heights on our banister. Topped it off with some greenery and received a scream of joy when the little girl saw her calendar.

Sip on some warm mulled wine and have fun on your adventure in Advent this year!

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