Advent Calendar Up

Thanks, Maya, for the idea! J and Sweet P helped with the stapling, hole punching, and stickers. A little snowman finds his way into the appropriate numbered pouch overnight.

I'm not organized enough to have a stack of little winter-themed doodles for each pouch - but on reflection realized that the open pouches and toddlers meant that one present is enough to help count down days. Nothing would stay in these pouches very long - we hung them at toddler height in the dining room for easy access. Which gives the kitty cats perfect access too... J is working on numbers and very proud of his abilities in this arena, so this is a great exercise for him. And after we finished the stickers, they still wanted more, so I printed out another sheet for them to stick on themselves, and for us grownups I printed out "Merry Christmas" and some snowflakes which I stuck on the backs of the pouches - as we turn them around day by day the secret message becomes clearer and clearer. And since it is on a string we can easily take it with us to Grammy and Gramp's house for the final countdown.

Of course, now I have found another number game Advent on Etsy. I'll have to remember that for next year!