LOVE THURSDAY

Every year when I was little, I'd get an advent calender for the month of December. They were nothing fancy, just colored cardboard. The doors would open up to a scene in a story or a picture of something Christmasy. The advent calender was my favorite thing. In November, I'd start obsessing over what advent calender I was going to get and driving my mother crazy with daily questions about when I was going to get my advent calender. Every day in December, first thing I'd do upon waking, was to hop out of bed and open a door on my calender. Sometimes I would even try to peak through a corner to get a glimpse at the next day's picture. I loved my advent calender. Last month I noticed Trader Joe's had advent calenders for $1 and so I did the "oh, let's get advent calenders!" dance. Chris let me get them just to shut me up. But these advent calenders are way better than the ones I'd get as kid. You know why? They have candy in them! Every day you get a little square of chocolate molded into something Christmas like. We've had the most fun deciphering our daily treats. Because it's molded, the shape of what ever it's supposed to be ends up a little distorted. One day Chris declared that he'd gotten a gas pump that was really meant to be a bugle. One day, I got something that looked suspiciously like the Tardis. I think it was supposed to be a present, but it really looked like the Tardis. The day before yesterday, I got a Christmas squid. My favorite was the day I got a mushroom because that was what it really was supposed to be. A mushroom. I had no idea mushrooms were a Christmas thing.

I thought about making next years' advent calendar, but what would be the fun in that? I'd already know what I was getting each day. The calendars we bought for this year takes an old tradition and puts a new spin on it. It's brought us so much joy and laughter and reminds me of the days I used to anxiously count down the days until Christmas. Santa is this close.

Happy Love Thursday!