Advent bags forever!

I made a rather last-minute decision on Monday to make my own advent calendar this year. I remembered the lame-o chocolate calendars of my own youth (do they still make those things? Worst chocolate in the world if memory serves) and knew that I could come up with something better. The key was to make something would last year after year, look nice as a decoration and, of course, didn't cost an arm and a leg.

One quick trip out to Fabricana on my lunch break on Monday, a jaunt over to Michael's on Tuesday afternoon, late-night trip to Staples on Tuesday, and by Wednesday morning, I had these all ready for Abner to enjoy. She's been having a BLAST finding the right number each morning. Actually, I think she likes that part even more than she likes seeing what's in the bag!

I used my favorite tea towel fabric once again and had all the bags sewn up in less than two hours! Because I want them to last forever, I took the time to zig zag the edges as well to prevent fraying. I even heated the ends of the red ribbon to keep those from fraying away over the years. Those little bags are tough...really, really tough I tell you!

We've opted to present them in a bowl this year so that we can move them up out of Abner's reach as needed, but I also inserted a tiny piece of green ribbon to allow them to be strung up if you wanted to.

Advent is a great opportunity to teach Abner that the holidays are not just about getting treats. So, we've given her a mix of items and activities this year. There are a few chocolates ('cause it's not advent without chocolate!), some stickers (like she needed more), a Kinder egg, and a variety of Christmasy activities including:

• make paper snowflakes
• decorate the front door
• choose three toys to donate to the Salvation Army
• put money in the Christmas kettle at the mall
• wish all your friends merry Christmas
• record a Christmas video
• visit the Christmas heritage village
• take food to the food bank

...you get the idea.

I had an extra large tea towel bag kicking around so it will be very handy to store the advent bags once their day has passed.

I'd be happy to make a set for anyone who wants one for next Christmas. Just drop me a note at heymilkybeer {at} gmail {dot} com.