The first advent.

I had been thinking about an advent calendar for my daughter for so long since she was born, 

but hadn't done anything so far. 

When she was a toddler, 

I just didn't think it would be such a good idea 

because she would not even grasp the idea of it. 

Plus, giving her a calendar of tiny chocolates or

 candy wasn't my favourite idea 

since she would eat a lot of sweet things around this time of the year 

(or any day of the year, to be honest). 

I want to make a calendar myself, 

but I just don't have a suitable idea what to put in it

 (again, she would get a lot of toys on Christmas, 

so giving more stuff in advance is not something I am eager on...). 

My point of having an advent calendar is to get excited about Christmas

 and to get to know the meaning and/or cultural backgrounds of it,

  not just some small candy or toy to grab in the morning.

So I decided to get a book of paper tree. 

Each day, she can open a window and 

take out a paper ornament to hang on the tree. 

There is a booklet about Christmas we can read every day as well. 

It's probably too religious for some people,

but I love it. 

In the end, 

my daughter can know she created a beautiful Christmas tree by putting a big star on the top of the tree!

 (oh, and we can reuse it for next year)

I also love the idea of wrapping 24 books (or 25 if you prefer) and read one together each day. 

I might do that in future, but not this year, 

because we have been reading Christmassy books a lot already

 and it won't be a surprise for her.
Well, I can keep talking about more ideas,
 but I'll leave it for now.