Let’s talk about Advent calendars!
Yes, I know it isn’t even Thanksgiving yet. We still have to get through the turkey, the thankfulness, and the history lesson of the (dubious) first feast. This year, thanks to the pandemic, we are urged not to travel and not to gather in groups larger than ten, if that. The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade is mostly virtual this year, staged in Herald Square by the flagship Macy’s. It will be televised on NBC from 9 am to 12 pm on Thursday, November 26, 2020. 50 million people usually watch the parade on tv.
But I digress.
Advent calendars! I grew up with lovely glittery Christmas scenes with windows to fold open each day from December 1st to December 24th, when the last window revealed the baby Jesus in his manger. My father was stationed in Berlin, Germany when I was a toddler, old enough to remember all the sights and sounds of Christmas, giant Christmas trees and beautiful detailed glass ornaments, the bustle of Christmas markets and the fancy cookies and pastries of the season – stollen, lebkuchen, spritz and Linzer cookies. I still make Pfeffernüsse cookies every year.
Advent calendars became popular in Germany in the 1950s when my family lived there, and so our family adopted this tradition early and had one every year. Each year’s calendar was different – nativity scenes, woodland animals, Christmas markets with toys, trees, and ornament, or a huge Christmas tree in a house with packages and toys. We quarreled happily over whose turn it was to open the window of the day. The German publishing house, Richard Sellman Verlag Company, produces most of the advent calendars sold around the world, exporting 50% of their calendars to the United States.
As the celebration of the Christmas season in the US has become more secular, of course, many brands have adopted the idea of counting down to Christmas, and in the United States the focus is more and more on Santa Claus and the presents to come as well as the birth of Christ.
Here are some of the favorites for children and their grownups.
For toddlers, the Melissa and Doug Countdown to Christmas Wooden Advent Calendar is colorful and sized for little hands. The 24 ornaments attach with magnets, so it’s easier to keep the pieces together.
For the most traditional paper advent calendar with a focus on the birth of Christ, both Richard Sellman Verlag and Vermont Christmas Company carry beautiful scenes with Bible verses in the windows to tell the story of the coming of Christ. I love the stained-glass window effect of the Evening Nativity Advent Calendar with Nativity Story, and Company Nativity at the Creche on a Starry Night Large Advent Calendar is a sweet depiction of the manger in the stable with wise men, shepherds, and animals.
Love chocolate? There are many versions of calendars with a treat for each day up to Christmas, like Santa’s Helpers Chocolate Advent Calendar or spring for the more luxurious Moser Roth Nutcracker Advent Calendar 24 Days of Christmas Chocolates & Truffles Luxurious European Belgian Chocolate.
In 2008 Lego first came out with an Advent calendar which consists of 24 mini builds, which children can put into a Christmas scene. The 2020 editions are LEGO Friends Advent Calendar 41420, LEGO City 60268, Harry Potter 75981, and Star Wars 75279. The little builds can be repackaged and stored in a wooden Advent calendar with drawers.
Playmobil makes several different Advent calendars, and my favorite is the most traditional, PLAYMOBIL Advent Calendar – Santa’s Workshop. Like LEGO, these are great quality toys that last.
Advent calendars are a good way to pace the long stretch from December the first to Christmas Day. These days we are pressured to think of Christmas long before December, and I think our children thrive by practicing anticipation in tiny steps, with rituals they can count on from year to year. So be ready December first to start counting down.
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