Our Advent Calendar

This is our Advent calendar this year, my own take on the rustic calendar
featured in last month's Mollie Makes. I've also seen similar calendars online,
some using little envelopes like ours, some with small gift-wrapped parcels,
some using muslin bags with stamped or stencilled numbers. I like ours very much.
It is a chocolate-filled calendar for the girls that's also a Christmas decoration.
I think it's suitably festive in a simple, un-sparkly way, a lovely starting point
to most of our Christmas preparations.

It was very easy and didn't take very long to make. I used the envelopes left
over from making last year's calendar, a red pen and number stencils, a hole punch,
bakers twine, a branch and bit of foliage. Once all envelopes were numbered and
 we've made star-shaped holes on each of them, they were filled with little treats.
Then it was on to tying and hanging them all up on this tree branch I picked up
on one of my walks in Carr Wood.

I added a sprig of holly and that finished it off - our Advent calendar for 2016 is finished!

The girls know the envelopes have chocolates but they don't know whether
they're in the shape of Father Christmas, coins or other ornaments, and their
excitement is the same everyday. I enjoy watching them; it all adds to my own
anticipation and enjoyment of the festive season.

How about you, how are your festive preparations going? I'll start writing cards today
 and wrap up parcels for friends who live abroad. We have two separate nativity plays
from the girls this week and we're really looking forward to them. Lulu is one of the
Wise Men in hers and Markie is Mary in year two's play. First time ever in my
husband's family and mine that someone's got one of the bigger roles and this year
we have two! We're certainly very proud and we are going to enjoy.

Have a lovely, cosy week. See you soon!