Advent calendars have existed for so many years now, with their one and only purpose being to indicate a count-down. Although they could have other relevance, everyone mostly uses them for Christmas holidays, with a lot of different approaches to how it’s used.
Some prefer to mark each day with little gifts or candies, while others do the same but at a space of every other day. In the end, what is most important is that you know how to make an advent calendar. How you mark the counting is totally up to you.
What is an Advent calendar?
Advent calendars are used to mark off the days leading to the Christmas holiday. Depending on the design of the calendar, each candy or sweet represents a day in December, all lining up one after the other till the day Santa Claus decides to visit the town.
Also, one of the major controversies that surround using the advent calendar is whether you should count upwards till 24th or downward from 24th till first. The answer to this has long being a controversy and would be answered shortly.
The count down or up is all about numbers. Should you count down from 24 on the first day of December, picking out your candies one after the other? Or it is more proper to count up from 1st, and go up till the 24th? Truth is, which every way works and what matters the most is that you follow the given schedule.
How to make an advent calendar?
According to Gerhard Lang, the creator of the first documented Advent calendar, he got the idea from his mom, who made a calendar with little candles stuck to them to signify the count up to Christmas.
This happened throughout his childhood and inspired him to publish the first manufactured versions in the printing office where he worked. However, advent calendars have transcended to become a design with no specific pattern.
It is now open to your imagination or whatever DIY you decide to follow on the internet. Despite this, the basic format for making an advent calendar remains the same:
- Decide if it is going to be a count-down calendar or a count up one.
- Settle for the design you prefer.
- Choose the food item that would be used to indicate countdown each day.
- Stay dedicated to the count up or down, depending on your preference.
You can either choose to do all these or simply purchase a custom-made advent calendar from the market. You can also throw in a bit more creativity by adding pockets to each day.
What is the right way to use an advent calendar?
The best way to use one is to work your way up to the days of Christmas. This means that starting from the first day and counting up till 24 is pretty cool and much easier to deal with. However, you could as well decide to count down from 24.
Advent calendars are much fun to make and use. They build anticipation, especially with kids, and spice up Christmas in a way like no other.