J'adore

... advent calendars! (the one above is from My Black Book, a blog that is full of the loveliest images, go check it out) And with the arrival of December tomorrow, it's time to get ours out! Dylan told me this morning, with absolute joy in his eyes, "Mum! It is the last day of November! Tomorrow it will be Christmas time for real!" He's right. And we are all very excited!

This year we have two traditional cardboard calendars (one for each kid) with the little doors that open to reveal pictures and messages. We also have our re-usable fabric advent calendar that hangs on the wall in our hallway, with the pockets in it that Santa's elves fill up each night (with chocolates and other assorted little goodies) while we're sleeping. It's so fun to look each morning and see what they've left behind! Sometimes they even leave tiny little notes for us to read (Dylan adores this...) I have an advent calendar at work, too. I never get tired of counting down the days until Christmas. Can you believe there are just 25 days to go? Wow!

If I ever get enough time one of these years, I would love to try a few of these as well. Because really, you can't have too many advent calendars, right?! I love these little birdies made of colourful felt. They're tiny pockets in which to hide tiny Christmas treats. And wouldn't they be perfect to hang on a branch in a pot somewhere in the house? So simple, but festive and wonderful, too!

I also like the garland of pockets. It has a simple, Northern European flair to it that I really like. I can picture it strung along a windowsill somewhere. Maybe with some red candles in white, wooden holders nearby?

And how much would my boys love this? So, so much! Trains + treats + counting down to Christmas = holiday joy!
Hmmm. Perhaps this is a project I need to get started on in January?