It’s funny how things change over time. I can remember when I was a young girl and excited about the thought of Christmas coming, and all of it’s splendour. I especially remember one year when my Godmother sent me this inexpensive paper advent calendar which I found so exciting to mark off the days one by one. Then, fast forward about 15 years when I was living with my boyfriend at the time and was studying at the school of ‘Martha Stewart Living’. I remember an episode where Martha made an Advent wreath which probably cost about a $1000 to make, hand crafted, and assembled a beautiful collection of scrolled papers, wrapped gifts, and candy. It was amazing! So, I thought…that’s something I could do too, not for as much as Martha but still made this amazing advent wreath with things like Tim Bucks (this was pre-gift cards), tasty treats, movie rental etc. He loved it, of course! So now, fast forward another 15 years or so and now we have 3 children. I was getting tired of giving the traditional ‘Chocolate Advent Calendar’ and thought I could do something different, so again…I did. I re-created the wreath, but this time with a more youthful theme. The children absolutely loved it. Since then, every year we try and do something a little different while always trying to create a lot of joyful anticipation. Sometimes we start it on Dec 1, other times we’ve had the 12 days of Advent leading up to Christmas Day but always having fun, being creative, and trying to plan from the heart. This year is no different and I have decided that along with the ‘chocolate calendar’ we will have advent Fridays where each week there will be a lovely surprise for the kids. So, if you’re going to celebrate advent, and you didn’t start it on Dec 1, don’t worry….you have time to come up with something different and exciting.