December 1st…Time to Break Out the Advent Calendars

Ah, December 1st. The Christmas season officially begins. At least at our house. I am not a Black Friday gal and don’t really like my decorations enough to look at them for 6 solid weeks, so December 1st is early enough for me.

Molly always looks forward to the 1st. And I am sure Sam will, too. Why? It’s not the festive decorations or the Christmas music that I will finally allow them to play. Nope. They are all about the goodies. And in this case, the goodies contained behind the little doors of the advent calendars.

Yes, calendarS. Plural. Because we have two different varieties around here. My kids always follow the policy that if one is good, two is better. Especially when treats are involved.

First, there is the traditional calendar that has a festive little holiday scene with 24 little cardboard doors to open. My sweet friend Susanne gave these to Molly and Sam.Tucked behind each door is a little piece of chocolate candy. Oh the joy of getting that one little piece of chocolate each day. At seven AM. When you’re a kid you run downstairs at the crack of dawn each morning because the 1 inch square piece of chocolate is pretty much the most important thing of the day, apparently.

The second calendar takes the form of a little 3D village, that has doors, windows, chimneys and bell towers that open up to reveal a gift (or in most cases a note, because the gift wont fit in the tiny space provided) each day.

When Molly was little (and the village was new) I took pictures of Molly’s excitement as she opened each day’s gift and then dutifully posted those pictures here on the blog. 

This year? Well, don’t be surprised if this all you get. Because golly gee, life seems so much busier with two kids. Or maybe I just feel that much older.I know, I know. You can’t see the cute little advent village or the kids faces. I’m slipping. Bad mommy.

But here is a picture of Molly reading the note contained behind door number one. Sam, experiencing his first Christmas with us, has no clue what’s going on. But he is happy nonetheless. That’s just how he is.      Love.that.kid.

Anyhoo, the note inside told the kids that they could find their gift in the van when we were on the way to attend the Families With Children From China Christmas Party. Inside the van they found a brand new Polar Express DVD all cued up in the DVD player.

Obviously you can’t tell that Molly is holding the Polar Express case because my photography skills are limited and I can’t figure out how to make it so that the flash doesn’t bounce off of the reflective cover. But trust me, it’s the Polar Express.And they had plenty of time to watch it, too. The party was in our old hometown, two hours away.

Let the Christmas Season commence!