Advent Calendar Re-Do

Every year we hang our "Advent Calendar" in the family room. Really, it's just a countdown to Christmas calendar, because there isn't anything "Advent" about it. But I digress...

In year's past, I've just stuffed every pocket of the calendar with a piece of candy. Every morning, Payton runs to the calendar to do "the unthinkable"... eat candy first thing in the morning!!! But, with Parker's insane crack-like addiction strong affinity for sugar, I felt that it probably wasn't a good idea to have 24 days worth of candy hanging within arm's reach of this little maniac sweetheart. (I can only imagine the stack of books, pillows, blankets, stuffed animals, boxes, chairs, etc. that he would stack to get his little paws into those pockets).

So, this year, I told Payton that I would be stuffing each pocket with a piece of paper that would lead him to a clue, or that day's treat. He said, "Oh, like a scavenger hunt?!?" I said, "Sure!" I was thrilled that he wasn't disappointed that I was changing the "rules of the calendar" after all these years.

So, I created 24 little notes, cut them up and placed them inside each pocked on the calendar.

Most of them tell him to look somewhere around the house for a treat.

But now that he's getting a little older, I thought we could add a few that weren't centered around candy.

For example:

I'm hoping this will be something along the lines of "I want to make brownies for my friend Avery" and not, "Let's make cake pops for my entire class and bring them in for lunch!" But, we'll see.

Here are a few other "adventures" instead of treats:

• It's Mother-Son date day! Where would you like to go? We have $5 to spend on whatever you'd like!
• Daddy-Payton movie day!!! Rise of the Guardians! (a movie he's been dying to see)
• Let's give a treat to Mrs. Freeman today! (his teacher)
• Instead of candy...let's go to the zoo today!

Of course, we have to start the whole "sha-bang" off with some candy! So, tomorrow, they both get a Santa-shaped Hershey bar with a note that says, "Happy 1st Day of December! Enjoy these yummy treats 1st thing in the morning. It's Christmas time!!!"

And since it's the 1st day of December tomorrow... guess who I just spotted getting into some mischief tonight...

 Looks like Percy the Elf is back! 

And he found some dry erase markers. That naughty little elf... :)