Advent Season

I remember as a kid every Thanksgiving my Aunt Judy would give my sister and I an Advent calendar.  You know, those boxes with a pretty Christmas scene printed on them with little windows numbered 1-25.  Each day, beginning December 1st until Christmas, we would open a window and get to eat a piece of chocolate.  I would be a liar if I told you I resisted opening some of the windows early...a girl's gotta have her chocolate. ;)  Those Advent calendars made the season so much more exciting.  When I became a mother I decided I would definitely make the Advent season special for Jude.

We made a homemade Advent calendar with some daily events to make the season memorable and meaningful.  The calendar has numbered stars with pieces of paper inside indicating what Jude will get to do that day.  A few examples are...read a Christmas book, drink hot chocolate, buy a gift for someone in need, go see Christmas lights, make Christmas cookies, go see Santa, etc.  We got a late start because we underestimated how long it would actually take to make the calendar, but nevertheless we began on Day 4 and Jude loved getting started.  He kept saying, "Tar, Tar" (or in other words..."star, star") and trying to pull others down.  We are thinking it's going to be a fun season.