Recommended Advent Calendars for 2008
Quality Kid-Friendly Christmas Calendars that are Decorative and Fun
Nov 15, 2008
Eco-conscious parents may find it wasteful to throw out a paper Advent calendar each year. Stylish families will appreciate Advent calendars that can double as a tasteful addition to the home's Christmas decorations. Children enjoy Advent calendars with which they can play in imaginative ways. One of the following recommendations is sure to meet the needs of families seeking an heirloom Advent calendar that is unusual, beautiful, well-crafted, and kid-friendly.
Kathe Kruse 7 in. Advent Doll
This whimsical Waldorf doll is handcrafted with Kathe Kruse’s trademark care from quality materials such as natural cotton. She comes with a small clothesline, tiny wooden clips, and 22 pieces of adorable hand-sewn items of holiday clothing. Each day of Advent, children remove one item of clothing from the clothesline and put it on the doll. Priced at around $100, this unique Advent calendar can be played with for years.
Advent Calendar Elves
Most fabric Advent calendars are flat pieces of cloth that are either shaped like a standard rectangular calendar or cut into the outline of a tree or other holiday shape. These quirky fabric elves are three-dimensional child-sized dolls with pockets and tiny metal loops sewn onto their clothes. Parents can tuck treats into the pockets or hang them from the loops.
People who want to decorate their houses with Christmas elves can select either an Advent boy elf or an Advent girl elf, both made with cotton fabric exteriors and soft polyester stuffing. Priced from $68 to $100 depending on the seller (and the year of the Danish pattern from which they were sewn), versions of these Advent Elves are available in a tan and red color scheme for a subdued look or offered in a different Kathe Kruse version dressed in bright red and green.
Stacked Boxes Advent Calendar
Six wooden boxes, each with sides covered with gold-knobbed drawers, are stacked merrily one on top of another to make this simple advent calendar. Priced at around $58, this stack of boxes would make a great holiday decoration for an end table or fireplace mantel, and since the boxes are painted red and green with gold stars, they will match most holiday color schemes. The stack is just over 12 inches high, and the width of the largest, base box is just under ten inches. Compartments are large enough for pieces of candy or small ornaments.
Pottery Barn Kids Advent House
Priced at around $129, this sturdy red wooden house has 25 numbered green doors and windows to open. Its clean style and simple brick red and muted green colors will match a variety of Christmas decoration schemes. Each compartment is about 1-inch deep, allowing for small trinkets or messages be placed within, and the house can be personalized with the addition of a family name painted on the roof.
Countdown to Christmas House
Priced at around $98, this striking Advent calendar by Seasons of Cannon Falls perches a wooden tree-shaped rack on top of a wooden house advent calendar base. As children retrieve each ornament from its drawer, they can hang it easily on the tree rack on top, making the calendar more festive each day. The 25 ornaments are constructed from felt fabric in common holiday shapes.
Waldorf Advent Spiral
A tradition in Germany and in Waldorf schools, the Advent Spiral can be a creative way to engage a child visually and kinesthetically with Christmas content. Twenty-four holes march across the top of the spiral-shaped flat wooden holder. Families can add a candle to a new hole each day or move one candle on a journey from hole to hole. Wooden decorations in various shapes can be stuck in the holes, and other wooden figures can be placed around the ring as decoration or used to act out Christmas-themed scenarios. The wooden spiral holder is priced at around $60. Suggested accessories range from $2 for a brass candle holder to $5 for small wooden ring decorations to $9 for candle sets to $56 for an Ostheimer Mary Nativity figure.
Children enjoy the continuity of the tradition of using the same treasured items from Christmas holiday to Christmas holiday. Purchasing a quality kid-friendly Advent calendar can be an investment that pays off in warm memories for years to come.
Before purchasing one of these Christmas calendars, parents should consider how to pick an Advent calendar for children. Afterwards, check out some ideas for how to fill an Advent calendar.
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