Advent Calendar.

I just love preparing for Christmas.  There is really nothing I love more than cozying up in our apartment, turning on Christmas music, and wrapping pretty packages, making wreaths, or doing some holiday baking.  One of the things I especially wanted to make this year was an Advent Calendar.  My family had always had one when I was young and I remember the excitement it afforded me as a child--there's nothing like a countdown to build anticipation.  I deliberated a lot over what kind of calendar I wanted to make--many of the ideas that I stumbled across were just far too complicated and elaborate for me this year (I'm just not organized enough to buy and wrap 25 different mini presents...!).  Ultimately I ended up inventing my own out of some beautiful birch bark coasters my brothers had made for me last time we were in Maine.  

This calendar was really so easy to make.  Since they were already cut, I just sanded them a little and then used a simple ink pen (I'm sure there's a better way to do that) to write the date and the corresponding Bible verse.  (Alex helped me paint the boughs, and drilled the holes for the string...thanks Al!).  I hung each day from string on a branch I found outside, and then wrapped some eucalyptus to make the whole calendar a little more festive.  Every night during the lighting of the Advent wreath we read the verse for that particular day!  The best thing about this?  We can reuse it next year! 

Happy Christmas Preparations!