In Germany we say: “Vorfreude ist die schönste
Freude.“ Which roughly translates to: ”The greatest joy lies in the
anticipation [rather than in the event itself].”
Perhaps that is why advent calendars are so popular in
German-speaking regions. The tradition reaches all the way back to the early
19th century, but even today I can hardly name a family in my immediate
surroundings that doesn’t have at least one advent calendar up on the
walls; bursting with goodies and ready to be plundered by impatient offspring
and well, adults just the same.
Growing up my siblings and I
always had an advent calendar sitting on the bedside table in the
Christmas season. Starting on the 1st of December, first thing each
morning another window would be opened with utmost care (which would work
better at times, less at others) and great anticipation (which always worked
just fine).
Perhaps, just maybe, two or three windows would be
opened secretly a few days in advance – but just to be sure that we had
something to look forward to!
Following a somewhat forgetful, overtired morning, the
joy would only rise to find that you were later actually permitted to open not
one, but two windows – all on the same day! Imagine the joy in our eyes! And in
our hearts not to mention!
Which might have been even greater if only we had had
one of those calendars filled with sugary sweets and pocket-sized toys…
Instead, we had the most
traditional form of advent calendars in our home: made from paper, with tiny
paper windows, concealing little paper illustrations of wooly mittens and furry
animals tumbling through the snow.
Truthfully, I often find these the most beautiful
calendars because they are made with so much care and there are always more
details to be found. Even on Christmas Eve – 24 days later – I would
still notice a little something new: the mouse peeking out from behind the
trunk of the pine tree (I swear it wasn’t there before) or the little girl all
the way in the back bravely licking on her ice cream cone…
At some point my sister got an upgrade to chocolate
advent calendars.
I don’t know what happened there. I really don’t.
This year – now old enough to
make my own adultly decisions – I have opted to finally make a calendar with
said (semi-pocket-sized) toys and other goodies! This is a perfect gift for
somebody close to you that can be individually designed. I went for a simple
look that goes well with my Christmas decorum.
Feel free to follow my
instructions and to add any elements that make the calendar more personal to
you.
HERE’S WHAT YOU’LL NEED:
MATERIALS:
- white acrylic paint
- 24 charming little gifts in boxes
- brown packing paper
- white sheets of paper
- a (wooden) clothes hanger
- string
- pine cones and other embellishments
TOOLS:
- paint brush
- scissors
- tape
- glue stick
- wire
Step 1: Start by lightly
brushing the tips of the pine cones with acrylic paint and set aside to let
dry.
Step 2: Wrap your 24 goodies
in brown packing paper. (Truthfully, an easy step, but surprisingly time
consuming with so many boxes:)
Step 3: From a few sheets of
paper, cut the numbers 1 to 24 using a pair of scissors. Make sure they fit onto your gifts, depending on the size of your boxes. You might want to use a
template or print out numbers from your computer (without filling, only with the frame).
Here’s what you’ll need in quantity:
2 x 0
13 x 1
8 x 2
3 x 3
3 x 4
2 x 5
2 x 6
2 x 7
2 x 8
2 x 9
Adhere the numbers to the
boxes with the help of a glue stick. If the order of the gifts is important to you, be
sure to find a way to mark the boxes or place them in the correct order before wrapping.
Step 4: Arrange the now-dried
pine cones and other embellishments on the clothes hanger with some wire. Try
to keep the wire hidden.
Step 5: Using the string, wrap
around one box at a time, securing safely. Thread over the clothes hanger and
tie the loose end to another box. Be sure to vary the string in length for a
more organic look.
Step 6: Mount the hanger to
the wall and may the countdown begin!
Happy counting!
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