(All of the links have been removed because they are no longer viable)
Today’s post will be about something completely different. I will admit that although I don’t engage in the religious aspects of this upcoming season, I do love all the festive trappings. One of my favorite things of this time of year are advent calendars.
Of course, in the Western Christian liturgical realm, advent is the season leading up to the nativity of Jesus on Christmas day. In the secular realm, where I reside, advent is the period between Dec. 1 and 24–the days leading up to Christmas as a day of celebration, gift giving, and time with friends and family.
There is something so playful and fun about secular advent calendars. Whenever I think of advent calendars from my childhood, I think of how utterly delightful it was to open the little window on each day. There is something so intensely delicious about the anticipation a child (and a child at heart) experiences in the days leading up to Christmas, and using an advent calendar to mark those days is very fun. Now that dAhub and I have Girlfriend, who is 9 years old, we get to relive these rituals from our own childhoods.
I found a cute advent calendar online that is free and you can download and make yourself–it’s very easy (it’s pictured in the photo above). It’s from Mibo, a creative company based in the UK.
There are also online advent calendars you can have fun with each day. A couple of my favorites are the one for kids by Activity Village and the one from Electric December, an organization that encourages young people in film making. There’s also one by the Soul Food Cafe, an amazing site which describes itself as a “portal for artists and writers alike . . . a safe haven where creativity flourishes.” It has a tradition of adveTURE calendars. I’m not sure if they will have one specially made for this year, but their 2007 calendar is still up. It is lovely and very inspiring. I am looking forward to going through it this year.
I’m planning on doing a little bit of an Advent Season in Gluten-Free Food this December. I’m going to try to post a recipe (or food tip) every day leading up to Christmas. A little gift from me to you of goodies you can make in this festive time of year.
