December 1st is an important day in Germany. Children get to open their first of 24 presents counting down the days until Christmas. Growing up, ours were usually filled with chocolates and candy, with the occasional pencil, eraser, or small toy. As we grew older and our parents stopped making them for us, us sisters began making them for each other, and have even made them for our parents for a change. My first year of law school in Germany, Tony made an Adventskalender for me with lots of typical American things wrapped in Barbie paper (why I have no idea). Great idea, except I had to go to customs to pick it up where they wanted to know exactly what was in each of the 24 presents. I had no idea, and didn't want to know (yet). Thankfully I had brought a friend who opened a few to show it was all harmless stuff. Anyway, the point is, Adventskalender are one of my favorite things during the holiday season, I have so many fond memories of opening presents as well as making them for family and friends. So I decided this year Noah was old enough to get his first calendar. Since he's too young for chocolates, I decided to fill it with cute little presents I would have otherwise got him for Christmas.
I wasn't too creative this year wrapping them - it's just 24 wrapped presents (found the super cute paper bags at IKEA) on a mantle, but there are some cute ideas out there. Maybe next year I'll decide on one to stick with. Ours used to be small fabric bags on a string and I love that they were the same almost every year. It adds to the whole tradition thing. Then again, something different every year sounds fun too and I wouldn't have to settle down for anything.
I knew books were going to be an important part of Noah's Adventskalender this year. They're his favorite thing and so I'm always on the lookout for good books. We already have a few Dr. Seuss books that make for great bed time stories. We found these at Costco. The animal books are part of a series that I found at Goodwill. I paid less than a dollar each for books that are in great shape. I love a good deal and Noah loves any book with animals. Win win! Now that he has opened more than half already, he got used to the fact that not every present is a book, but I have a feeling he is still a bit sad every time it's something else. The fist time he opened a non-book present, he was not amused. Well, still happy, but just slightly disappointed. What a little (book) worm.
I found these cute little finger puppets at the Everett Children's museum. I like about toys like this that Noah has fun with them now and learns the different animals, but he'll hopefully still play with them in a few years when he puts on a finger puppet show on a cardboard box stage. I can't wait to see what he comes up with.
This frog prince is also a finger puppet (IKEA).
So far, we have only opened one of the presents with a mouse. Noah likes to point out its nose, ears, hands, eyes, and belly. The idea here was to introduce to of the same, to see if he makes the connection. We'll see. I like that they're small and close in size to the real deal.
Flash Cards. Another good deal. I found this set for $1 at Target a while back (in the back to school section). These are great because of the real pictures of animals. Noah loves books with animals and has fun when we go through the cards talking about the different animals. Using flash cards always sounds so serious but he is such a parrot these days and loves to lay in bed and repeat every word we say. These cards are perfect for that.
These are bells on a strap with velcro you can put around your wrists or ankles. Noah wasn't so sure about these at first but now thinks it's funny when he runs around jingling. They are a great addition to our dance parties. I got these at the Children's museum as well.
A magic towel. Do I need to say more? Anything that makes bath time even more fun must be a winner.
A new owl hat. He wears his penguin hat every day and I thought we could mix it up a bit. I found this one at Bartell's. It's amazing what you can all find at random places if you just keep your eyes open and start shopping early enough.
Bird was one of Noah's first words (in sign language) and he is still fascinated by them. This little delicate one might not last very long, but I think he's going to like it. We already have one just like it sitting in a plant that he points to but can't touch. I think he'll like being able to play with it.
Another owl. This one is a hand puppet. We just learned what the owl says and it's at the end of the "The Very Busy Spider" book which is one of our favorites.
Veggies in a basket. I got these from IKEA too and just love them. He hasn't opened these yet (they're the special present on the 24th) and I'm curious to see if he gets what everything is. I just think they're so adorable.
Did you get an Adventskalender this year? What's your favorite thing you got so far? Or did you make one for someone special? What kind of things did you put in it?
