Advent Calendars – a fun way to count days until Christmas

I have first heard about the Advent Calendar concept last year –we don’t have this tradition back home, we only fast before Christmas. 

But I thought it’s a fun way to prepare for Christmas. Especially because the first calendar that I’ve seen was a beautiful chocolate box from Neuhaus, so it was an easy win for the idea.

Just a short history for those of you who are not familiar with the tradition. The Advent Calendar originated in the 19th Century from the protestant area of Germany. Protestant Christian families made a chalk line for every day in December until Christmas Eve. Before long, commercial entrepreneurs started replacing the ephemeral chalk lines with printed calendars. The first known Advent Calendar is for the advent of 1851. 

Nowadays it is usually a thin rectangular card with 24 or 25 doors. The doors are numbered 1-24/25.

So this year I’ve started searching for creative ways I could celebrate this period and here are my finds. Naturally, I begin with a Neuhaus Advent Calendar, as they opened my eyes to this tradition – it’s a beautiful box that sells for around 26 euros. You can also find similar ones at Oberweis, but the packaging is not as lovely and inspiring.

For children, but not only (considering that last year I bought Lego for Christmas for me), Lego has created special boxes. I saw them at Auchan, but I’m sure they are available in all the shopping centers as well as online.

The DYI amateurs can create their own. I specially loved this idea – a calendar that includes activities, not presents, because after all Christmas is about being with the loved ones right?

How do you celebrate Advent?

Sources: Pinterest