Childhood advent calendar
As adults, it’s often surprising the items we treasure from our childhood. In my experience, and in the experience of many people I know, it’s not usually an item that would traditionally be considered an heirloom, but in their own way, these items have value because just looking at them generates a lifetime of associations.
For me, one of those things is this advent calendar from my childhood. I can’t remember a time growing up when we didn’t have it. My mother made it for me and my two younger sisters when we were very small.
We were always excited when it was hung up, always in the same spot on the wall in the entry, because it meant that we could begin our countdown to Christmas. We would draw straws to see what order we would go in, and each day, one of us would draw the ornament out of its pocket and pin it on the tree. On Christmas morning, when we woke up, we would always look to see if Santa had taken the star out of the December 25 pocket and placed it on top of the tree. Santa never forgot.
My sisters and I all had favorite ornaments, but we all loved the heart ornament. After figuring out which days we would be able to put ornaments on the tree, we would often surreptitiously rearrange them, so we could pull out our favorites on our day, and we always noticed if the heart had been moved.
My youngest sister had come into possession of this calendar, largely due to the fact that my entire family used to travel to where she lived for the holidays, and she would have it hanging it her house. I always used to joke that one day I was going take it back with me in my luggage.
When my sister moved a couple years ago, she sent this and some other family Christmas items to my parents, and my mother gave me the calendar.
Now, it hangs on my wall. And, the other day, I was just as excited as I was when I was little when I got to hang up the heart.