Reusable Advent Calendars

If you aren't happy with the thought of having to buy a cardboard advent calendar each year, you may want to take a look at reusable advent calendars. These durable and attractive calendars, which can be made with fabric or wood, are designed to be used year after year and allow you to fill them with your choice of holiday treats. Using the same calendar over and over again makes the tradition of counting down the days until Christmas extra special. When they are adults, your children will probably consider the calendar as a family heirloom. You may want to make hanging the calendar a family event along with setting up the Christmas tree. It will involve more work, but it does create wonderful memories for you and your children to remember.

• Turn on some Christmas music and make a batch of hot chocolate.
• Hang the calendar together.
• Ask the other children to close their eyes as you have each child place a special item in a compartment of the calendar. You can fill the remaining compartments yourself at a later time or you can continue having your kids take turns filling them.
• Read the Christmas story together and talk about how important the holiday is.