ADVENT-tures at Christmas

When my kids were very little we always got them Advent Calendars from Cost-Plus with a little chocolate behind each door. Last year I started a new tradition of creating an Advent Calendar's with a different surprise for each day. I made a large, framed chalkboard and and hung paper tubes and bags with twine and used chalk to number the days. All the bags and tubes held different candies, toys and other surprises. They LOVED it! This year my mom and I found a precious cardboard Santa calendar with 24 little drawers at IKEA. It's almost a personal creative challenge to come up with 24 surprises (times 2) that aren't junk or, on the other end of the spectrum, over the top expensive. The bonus is that some things come in 6's or 8's and can be used for multiple days.

Here's my list for this year:

1) Angry Birds (Star Wars) Telepods for the iPad -they come in a set of 8 so can be given as 4 days of 2.

2) Lindor dark chocolate and peppermint truffles.

3) Trident Candy Cane gum

4) LED finger mini flashlights

5) Mini solar toys (car & turtle)

6) Inflatable Star Wars light sabers

7) Telepods

8) Mechanical pencils

9) $5 Target gift coins -these come in sets of 5 so can be given as 2 days of 2.

10) Gumballs

11) 2 more LED mini flashlights

12) Chocolate Santa pops on a stick

13) Lindor truffles

14) Telepods

15) 2 more LED mini flashlights

16) 2 more Target gift coins

17) Nutella dipping cookies

18) 2 more LED mini flashlights

19) Lindor truffles

20) Mrs. Fields peppermint cream sticks

21) Lindor truffles

22) Gumballs

23) Harkins movie gift cards (our family tradition for Christmas Eve, Eve is movie and dinner)

24) A not to find their Christmas Eve gift- we always open one gift on X-Mas Eve

Any of the treats that are too big for the little drawers are replaced with a note and a witty (or at least I think so) riddle telling the kids where to find the treat-and some chocolate gold coins.