Counting Down To A Happy Holiday

There is a traditional eastern European Christmas gift called an advent calendar. It is typically a box with "doors" covering each day counting down to Christmas Day. Behind each door is a small treat, usually a chocolate or a type of toy you might find in a Cracker Jacks box. Most of the ones sold in specialty stores in the United States have a different candy behind each door.

You could certainly use this idea for Christmas and replace the children's candies and toys with other gifts such as jewelry, poetry, concert/movie tickets, chocolates, perfumes or other items that would bring him or her joy.

This idea is not limited to the winter holidays. It is one that could be used any time of the year. You could count down a week or a month before any special occasion -- like an anniversary or birthday. Either you can buy an advent calendar and replace the insides with something more from the heart or you could make one completely from scratch.

You don't even have to use the typical advent calendar. You could buy small boxes from a stationary or card store and write the date on the outside of each box when it is to be opened. Or you could do the same with plastic Easter (or "Leggs") eggs and put them in a basket to be cracked open one day at a time.

I like the idea of putting in clues to be discovered each day which will hint to the gift that will be given on the anniversary or birthday. Be certain to make the first clues difficult because if she figures it out right away, it will spoil the fun for the both of you.

As you can see, you can have a lot of fun with this idea. There are dozens of ways it can be altered to creatively count down to something special.