I've always been the kind of girl who paid more or less attention to traditions. Some of the traditions from my youth have been preserved, but very few. And it doesn't really bother me if a tradition is changed.
However, it's different with my own family. I like to create my own traditions with my husband and children. Sometimes they're just adaptations or variations of the traditions from my childhood; other times, they're completely new.
For a while now, I’ve been looking for a little something special for December, to help me count down to Christmas. I tried to jump on the elf bandwagon, but I quickly got bored with it. Then I bought some Advent calendars filled with store-bought chocolates. But even then, I couldn’t find what I was looking for. There just wasn’t that little something special.
Then, a few years ago, I had an idea: to make Advent calendars—one for each child. Every morning when they woke up, starting on the 1ster On December 24, there's a little surprise waiting to be discovered.
It takes a little time to prepare the surprises, but it’s still very easy to do. In my case, I get everything ready in November—I put it all in a bag—and I make a schedule of which surprise will be given on which day, so I don’t end up taking the kids out to dinner on a night when they have school and after-school activities.
When it comes to surprises, I try to mix things up, but above all, I try to include what matters most to me: spending time with my kids. Sometimes they’re little store-bought surprises:
- a small toy (a Lego, a Barbie)
- some chocolate, some candy
- coloring books
- reading
- a new pair of pajamas
- a Christmas blanket or pillowcase
- bath bombs
Other times, they’re coupons for outings, activities, or treats. For example:
- We're having lunch for dinner.
- We stay in our pajamas all day
- We're going to have dinner at a restaurant
- We're allowed to play video games today
- Let's put up the Christmas tree
- We're going to the amusement park.
- We're cooking Christmas dinner
- We're allowed to eat nonsense at snack time
- Dad drives us to school
And sometimes, they're something special:
- Family camping in the living room
- Everything you need to grow Christmas canes
- homemade hot chocolate
a message to tell them how much I love them and how proud I am of them
I quickly felt happy with these boxes. I felt proud to make them so happy. And in November, I’m super excited to put the boxes together. My kids can’t wait for the 1ster December to start opening their boxes. It’s a tradition that’s part of my own little world. And that’s one I’m not ready to change or give up!