Advent

So, yes it's been a while. How quickly the months roll by.

Suddenly we are on the home straight to Christmas.

I had an idea last year to make the children an advent calendar, mostly inspired by my loathing for those store bought chocolate ones. I really despised the fact that in the lead up to Christmas my children were looking forward to having a chocolate each day more than anything else.

Now, my husband and I are not particularly religious, but to me Christmas should be about family and taking the time to reconnect and really just being together. I wanted to create an advent that would really imbue the entire family with the Christmas spirit.

In typical Nichole style I waited far too late to start making these bags which I planned to hand embroider and applique every single one, but I did still manage to pull it all together with a combination of decorated and plain bags.

The contents range from small gifts or chocolates (the fun factor) to activities such as making decorations, making bon bons with individualised fillings, donating old toys to charity, special outtings, hand made wrapping paper with stamps, making reindeer cookies etc.

So it's going to be another busy month, but I think it will be fun. I am already feeling the Christmas cheer, and for the first time we are going away, just the four of us to enjoy a peaceful Christmas, in stark contrast to all the others where we race from house to house. And for the first time we will create our own traditions.