Countdown to Christmas
Traditional Advent Calendars

I enjoy travelling far more than actually arriving at my destination. And so, for as long as I remember, I've enjoyed the countdown to Christmas much more than the actual event.

There's magic in expectation.

Never more so than in the bizarre ritual of opening a little window on your advent calendar every morning, wondering what might be hidden behind the little door.

Our advent calendar was the most wonderful pop-up castle and we never grew tired of putting it away carefully with the other Christmas decorations and resurrecting it equally carefully the following year.

I still believe advent calendars are magic, illustrating the countdown to Christmas more vividly than any other measure or ritual.

And - though I'm an unashamed chocoholic - I still love the traditional kind. Wooden advent calendars, fabric advent calendars or even cardboard pop-ups like our castle that are enjoyed for years and become part of our family's Christmas traditions.

Here are some that I would have loved to have as a child:

	The Advent Train Wooden and gloriously colourful, this is my top choice for a traditional advent calendar. Kids of all ages love Christmas and kids of all ages love steam trains ... so this one meets the needs perfectly.
Advent Calendar Tree Trees and Christmas simply go together. And very early advent calendars would probably have looked like this.

November 2009 Update

She's right, I do.

It's rather "untraditional", in the sense that it's online, but it features lots of great board games and activities that will keep the kids entertained for some time.

There are:

• Chutes and Ladders
• Trivia Games
• Colouring Pages
• Word searches
• Cut Out Ornaments