If you have children, you are required to create a so-called Advent calendar for each child. This is a Christmas-themed wall hanging with twenty-four little pouches for treats, one for each day between December 1st and 24th.
Think about that for a moment. Twenty-four little treats — for each child. If you have two kids, you’d better get two of the same, too, since all parents live in fear of the phrase “I wanted that one!” Thus to fill the whole thing you’ll need forty-eight, so these items shouldn’t be too expensive.
My first stab at creating Advent calendars began as a pile of chocolate lollipops, another of red-foiled Santas, and a third one of glitter pens. I methodically filled each calendar. They looked perfect.
Then on second thought, I realized it was a lot of candy, and we still had candy left over from Halloween. So I took out the sweets, leaving only the glitter pens. There was still time to buy other things for the remaining pockets, but what?
I went to Aldi, provider of products that you didn’t need before you walked in but now simply cannot do without. I elbowed my way past other moms to the huge bins of seasonal merchandise and loaded up on colored pens and craft kits of colored glue, rubber holiday stamps, and stickers.
