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| Paper Quilling |
As a kid, counting down the days of Christmas usually
involved an Advent calendar filled with milk chocolate. It was the only time I had chocolate with
breakfast (as a kid). My daughter
received her first Advent calendar when she was about 3 years old from a loving
aunt. The first thing I did was to read
the ingredients of the chocolate. Not a
typical response for someone receiving a gift, but it was something that
started coming naturally due to her food allergies.
The following year, I knew that Advent calendars from the
store were no longer an option for our family due to the introduction of new
food allergies in our household. The
food allergies came pre-loaded in our newest baby, who was 11 months old by the
time the next Christmas season rolled around.
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| All doors, no windows |
I still wanted to count down the days until Christmas, but I
was stumped. I wasn’t sure what I could
do and I was still angry that I couldn’t just go buy something
pre-packaged. Can’t something be simple!
The following year, I had an idea to make my own Advent
countdown calendar when I saw a cute little house with 25 doors. Behind each door was absolutely nothing! I could fill the space behind the door with
whatever I wanted. The first year I
tried finding little, non-food, trinkets that would fit in the tiny doors and
found that an exercise in frustration.
The following year, I chose to write down activities and special treats
for everyone and place the little pieces of paper behind each door.
The activities that I choose are simple as wrapping gifts
and as complicated as making ornaments. The
food usually consists of a rotation of hot chocolate, popcorn, and candy canes. The calendar does require a bit of planning,
but as mothers of children with food allergies, we have that skill mastered.
A simple piece of paper can change into something wonderful.
Merry Christmas-Nicole
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