The prospect of having a Christmas advent calendar in our house fills me with delight. Like a small child, every day I am excited to find out what is hiding behind yet another window or inside the next envelope. Never mind that in most cases I made those advent calendars!

In my childhood, I only saw chocolate advent calendars, but now there is such a variety of ideas for setting up an advent calendar at home that any family can find a suitable one. If you curb sweets, you can go with toy calendars, and if you do not want to clutter the house with new trinkets, you can go with activity calendars.

Let me tell you more about each of them!

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1. The simplest way to get a calendar in the house is to purchase a commercially made one.

Admittedly, for adults like me who have not quite grown-up, it is also the most exciting option. Then you truly do not know what is inside, and can be as curious as your kids.

My favorite ones this year are the Lego Advent Calendar and the Schleich Advent Calendar. For little ones, a wooden magnetic tree from Melissa and Doug is a fun option.

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2. Then, of course, there is the possibility of buying candies or little toys in bulk and making a calendar at home.

That way, you get exactly what you want without any filler. Last year, when my son was one year old, I knew that he would be overwhelmed if he got all his gifts at once and would not enjoy them all. So, I decided to spread the fun over the whole month. We made a toy wooden barn, and I got a bunch of little animal figurines. Then I packed them in mug-sized boxes, added a few candies for his Dad, wrapped the boxes up, and our Advent calendar was done. It was big, but perfect for my son's little hands, and he could practice opening boxes in preparation for Christmas. Needless to say, he mastered that art quickly!

3. But, if you feel that your collection of tiny toys that get underfoot is out of control, go with the activity Advent calendar!

• First, you will need twenty five envelopes.
• Look at the month ahead and plan a few big outings.
• Make a note of this, put it into the envelope and then write the date on it.

Do you know when you have time for setting up a Christmas tree? When the big family gathering is happening? When Santa Claus is visiting the local library? For instance, if I knew that there is Santa Claus in the library on the 12^th, I would make a note, “Let's go and find Santa” and write “12” on the envelope.

Plan longer family activities like baking cookies or watching Christmas movies around weekends. Then think of some small festive fun that you can do any day and fill the rest of the envelopes with them. That can include “drinking hot chocolate”, “cutting a paper snowflake”, “reading a Christmas story”, “bring a card to the neighbor” and so on.

What kind of a Christmas Advent calendar are you planning this year?

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