I have been waiting for Dec 1st for quite some time! I absolutely LOVE doing an Advent Christmas Countdown with my kids, and this year is going to be awesome! :)
I didn't want to use a standard Advent Calendar this year; I wanted something different. So after looking at a bunch of ideas online, I decided that while I thought each idea was super cute, it wasn't what I wanted. My Little's are mischievous and most wouldn't last a day, especially if they found candy in even one little box, flap or envelope. :)
I needed a way of storing the activity/book/treats for a single day without having to display everyday at once. I remembered getting a tiny mailbox in place of a stocking one Christmas (my mom was super creative, and she enjoyed last minute shopping so it could have been her creative genes or a general lack of stockings at the store! lol) Anyway, a mailbox popped into my head. I did a google image search and sure enough I found someone who used a mailbox for an "Advent Calendar". I couldn't find a small craft size one that I deemed large enough for the perfect image I had in my head, so I bought (paid way too much for) a real-mail letters-steel-outside mailbox to use. :)
I needed a way of storing the activity/book/treats for a single day without having to display everyday at once. I remembered getting a tiny mailbox in place of a stocking one Christmas (my mom was super creative, and she enjoyed last minute shopping so it could have been her creative genes or a general lack of stockings at the store! lol) Anyway, a mailbox popped into my head. I did a google image search and sure enough I found someone who used a mailbox for an "Advent Calendar". I couldn't find a small craft size one that I deemed large enough for the perfect image I had in my head, so I bought (paid way too much for) a real-mail letters-steel-outside mailbox to use. :)
We decorated the outside of the mailbox with Christmas stickers and magnets. The Little's helped me and it turned out super cute, I didn't even overly OCD anything, just straightened a piece here and there. :) Now, each night I'll put an activity, book and treat in the mailbox and put the flag up for them to find the next day. Exactly what I was looking for and SUPER FUN! :)
(I will replace this crummy picture with a good one as soon as the battery for my camera is charged!)
