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Simply..laugh....

5/12/2016

18 Comments

 
Picture

Another kind of reverse Advent calendar. You take out the drawer to find (this year) the jokes. When you put the drawer back you reverse it to create a picture of a Christmas tree.

The jokes are the kind that make the children laugh and the adults groan - you know -

Knock knock
Who's there?
Snow
Snow who?
Snow use! I've forgotten my name again!

(At least two shops in my nearest town are collecting for the other kind of reverse calendar.)
18 Comments
elaine link
5/12/2016 02:36:29 pm

Do you know I don't think I have ever had an advent calendar in my life - I don't remember them as a child - what have I been missing - quite a lot by the looks of it. Perhaps it is too late to remedy it this year or maybe I could get one at a bargain price now that advent has started already :)

Reply
Freda
5/12/2016 02:45:21 pm

I do remember paper ones with little numbered doors which revealed a tiny picture, then they began chocolate filled ones (never got those!). This one I bought many years ago from Marks and Spencer and it is so nicely made I re-use it each year and think of different things to put in it. Rush out and find one tomorrow Elaine!

Reply
Mary
5/12/2016 06:20:34 pm

I used to buy the paper ones with pictures only--no chocolate. You can just imagine the battle that would have produced as four children tried to go after one piece of chocolate each day. But once the children moved out, I haven't bought an advent calendar. Though I do love your advent box tree, Freda. So clever.

Reply
Freda
6/12/2016 10:33:03 am

It has been part of Christmas for many years Mary (sometimes with chocolate!)

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Penny
6/12/2016 12:28:04 am

In Denmark the traditional advent calendar was a rectangle of cloth with rings sewn along it. The cloth would have Christmas designs and each ring would have a small gift wrapped package attached. My mother would collect little gifts throughout the year for the calendar, things that you would use in daily life such as pencils, erasers, little note pads. Never chocolates as with the typical German style. She hung them on the outside of our bedroom doors, and each morning we would sleepily open the gift for the day. I loved this tradition.

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Freda
6/12/2016 10:35:05 am

How lovely! A father I know who travels quite a lot looks out for little things from each journey to do a similar thing - lovely for him and for his children. What delightful memories Penny.

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Swissrose link
6/12/2016 12:33:45 am

As I am half German, Advent has always featured in some form - marked candles, calendars with/without chocolate, wreaths... With my own children growing up in Switzerland, we had all that plus calendars with pockets/drawers! The (3) girls took it in turns to take something out, 8 treats each seems fair ;) On alternate years it was a no-treat calendar to simply enjoy. One year I made coupons for 24 activities, another it was all about hair accessories... Our youngest had a Playmobil Advent calendar with a whole nativity - my grandchildren love to play with it under the tree, now, and they have their own calendar at home.
With the girls grown up, we still always have a form of Advent wreath with 4 candles for each Sunday, when it's traditional for families to get together for coffee and cake (or brunch) and less emphasis on Christmas itself.
After all that, I had never seen a reverse Advent calendar! Though it does bring to mind Jostein Gaarder's "Christmas story", which we read each year for many years, which is a clever journey back through time and history...

Reply
Freda
6/12/2016 10:37:42 am

What a wealth of fun ideas Swissrose! Including one for this year's Christmas book...I am loving all these stories of different traditions. Thank you for sharing.

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Julia
6/12/2016 04:54:25 am

I still have my childhood paper advent calendar, with the sparles, tiny doors and wee pictures behind, to delight a child..and if you can believe it, i still have my mother-in-law's calendar...she just died in april at aged 100, so i imagine her's has to be almost that old...for each of them..opening the doors has to be done very carefully at this point!

Reply
Julia
6/12/2016 04:56:35 am

Bur Freda...honestly...as much fun as the jokes probably are, i'd just go for the chocolates each year....:-)
Currently, in north america, dark chocolate salted caramels are all the rage...mmmmm....

Reply
Freda
6/12/2016 10:39:51 am

This six year old actually prefers jokes to chocolates would you believe?

Freda
6/12/2016 10:38:59 am

What (fragile) treasures Julia to share with future generations.

Reply
cathy
6/12/2016 05:10:18 am

I never had an actual advent calendar growing up. Mom would paste tiny alternating red & green numbers on a candle taper (I know...fire hazard!!) My brother & I would chose a color at the beginning of advent & each night as the candle burned down to the next colored number, we were the ones who got to chose the Christmas songs we'd sing that night. Sounds so corny compared to the Advent calendars today, but what a great memory for me.

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Freda
6/12/2016 10:41:17 am

Far from corny - that sounds far more exciting! And singing together! Cathy you were very lucky.

Reply
Lotta
6/12/2016 06:31:00 am

I've loved reading all the comments about different advent traditions. I remember both the picture and chocolate calendars but haven't had one for a long time - how remiss of me!

I love the little drawer tree Freda - maybe you could continue the theme of reverse advent calendars next year by filling the drawers with punchlines to which you have to come up with a joke each day? :-)

Reply
Freda
6/12/2016 10:42:17 am

I wonder if I could have that AND chocolate! Or would that be too greedy? x

Reply
cath
6/12/2016 08:14:15 am

My husband introduced me to Advent calendars. I prefer the all paper ones.

Now I wonder how did you collect all those jokes? Interviewed children? 6 year old Scott maybe? I like the this first one, wouldn't mind more, it makes me smile...

Reply
Freda
6/12/2016 10:43:20 am

More about the jokes soon....

Reply



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