We didn’t really do the advent calendar thing when we were kids. I mean, they were around, but they were usually filled with rather generic chocolate. We figured if we wanted chocolate, we’d just buy chocolate. Nowadays, they’ve gotten a fair bit more commercial creative as you can see here with our Tsum Tsum advent calendar and Lego advent calendar. Okay, this is pretty fun.
If you missed out on these advent calendars this year, the two videos embedded above will let you know exactly what you missed out on. You know how you’re supposed to open one door each day leading up to Christmas? We didn’t exactly keep up with that. It ended being the case that I’d open several doors after missing a few days in a row. Same thing, right?
Even though time is always at a premium, especially around this time of year, we’ve been making an effort to get into the holiday spirit. Addie is much more aware of Christmas and presents and Santa and all that now, so she was excited to help me put up the Christmas tree, for example, and she certainly enjoys going to see the light displays around town too.
As far as these two advent calendars go, the Tsum Tsum set was overwhelmingly adorable. The little toys come in a few different sizes. Some figures, like Ariel and Cinderella, were only about the size of a jelly bean. Some came with little accessories, like the reindeer antlers for Winnie the Pooh. The only one that had to be assembled was the rocking horse, which came as four separate pieces.
Personally, and this will likely come as little surprise to anyone, I think I had more fun with the LEGO advent calendar. It’s a part of the LEGO City series and every piece was winter-themed. There were minifigs (like the snowboarder), vehicles (like the airplane), and festive furniture (like the fireplace). Curiously, several of them came with extra pieces. Go figure.
Now, there are only two questions left to answer. First, what advent calendars should we get next year? And second, what am I supposed to do with these 48 tiny toys now that they’ve all been advented?
I just read this for the first time. What do you do with the tiny toys? Really? You put them in a plastic shoe box, and this year when Christmas excitement is building you bring them out. You bring them out and give them to an antsy preschooler who can hardly wait for Santa. Then, you stand back and watch or secretly record the creative play. Three- to five-year-olds love tiny things. She’ll have a ball, especially if you put them away again for the next holiday season. (By the way, this mostly house-bound person just discovered this blog very belatedly.
That sounds like an intriguing idea, actually. They’re all in a shoebox right now and I’m fairly certain the LEGOs didn’t survive the shaky walk to the garage.