Monday, December 5, 2011

let the countdown begin

Every year December begins and about two days in I remember, "Dang it! I wanted to make an advent calendar for the boys!" Finally this year I remembered well in advance after seeing a super cute hanging sock advent calendar on Pintrest from www.marthastewart.com.


The smart person would have clicked through to read the actual directions. The creative, I can wing it, no time for directions person, also known as me, didn't. That smart person would have found out that the socks are actually baby socks, not adult socks. Oops. :)


It turned out okay though. We've got this whole Dr. Seuss thing going on above our fireplace, the boys love it, and hey, we've finally got an advent calendar in our house!

But, man, baby socks! That makes so much more sense!

To add a surprise element to the countdown, I'm using a mix of candy, small toys, and fun Christmas activities (yesterday we made Christmas ornaments). They never know what's going to be waiting for them inside that sock.

Jackson took a few days to really get the hang of it. On December 2 I guess he didn't like the fun size Snickers and asked if he could put it back and pick the number eight sock. He also swears that there is a Lightning McQueen car in sock number 14. I have a feeling that day 14 might be a disappointing countdown day.

Who am I kidding? I'll totally cave and go get a little McQueen car.
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9 comments:

Anonymous said...

I had to lol on this post. I was thinking "What?! She's not going to get Jackson a Lightning McQueen car?" Then I saw the tiny little add on.....too funny.
Have a Merry Christmas this year!
Slobodanka from Calgary

dawn said...

You are such a good mom, going to sneak in that car anyway. he will be happy and you should get a picture of that day and tell the story.

I saw this idea in MS magazine and loved it also. We have nowhere in our house to hang it though. The adult socks are just as cute and look great.

Megan B said...

I LOVE this idea, Allison. And there is more room in the adult socks, plus you could always wear them later if you decide not to keep the socks for next year.

Luv2talk said...

LOL. I didn't see the tiny type right away, either, and wondered why the heck you wouldn't go find him a car between now & the 14th. LOL.

Great idea with the baby socks. You are a deep well of inspiration and creativity, girl. Thanks for sharing it with us.

Laurel Geisbush said...

I love it, looks so colorful & festive!

Shari Thurman said...

I love it! We are opening a wrapped Christmas book each day until Christmas. I like that it makes every single day special leading up to Christmas. I also made a list of the Top 12 Christmas activities I want to do with my boys. (mostly crafts, treats or decorations I've seen on Pinterest). I think I'm enjoying this season more this year because of all the little things and memories we are making.

Allison Davis said...

I've got Lightning McQueen ready for Dec. 14th! lol! He'll be so happy!

Dawn, we didn't really have a lot of room for it either since we hang our regular Christmas stockings on the mantle. I ended up hanging the countdown socks between the mantle and the fire place, behind the Christmas stockings. It looks like we have 29 kids! lol!

Megan, that is so true! It's actually worked out really well because we've had a few things that would have never fit in a baby sock! :)

Luv2talk, I'm such a sucker for Jackson! There's no way I'd let the 14th pass by without a car! :)

Shari, I've heard of the book thing and it sounds like a wonderful idea. What fun it would be to open one each day! :)

Kristy Mutchler said...

Awesome! I would get the Lightning McQueen car too!

snapdragon said...

Ok, that's just adorable. And the adult socks are cooler than baby socks- just look at all those designs!