Crafty variations of advent calendars have been all over Pinterest and the blogosphere since November. I had no idea advent calendars were so popular. And I had no intention of adding one to my list of potential holiday traditions. I was not interested in gathering up a bunch of little trinkets or candy pieces to cleverly hide in some sort of handmade container for two children to instantly break or discard. 

But then I saw this idea over at MADE and I instantly wanted to do it! How fantastic is a collection of 24 Christmas books that your children get to unwrap each day as they count down to Christmas! I didn’t come across the idea until just before Thanksgiving and I didn’t think I would be able to pull it off this season. We only had three Christmas books and there was no way I was going to invest somewhere between $300 and $400 on a whim for 21 new children’s books.

Luckily, I remembered that I am surrounded by thrift stores and used book shops! Genius! I was able to round up 19 used Christmas books, which leaves us short one book because we actually had 4 Christmas books, although one is a board book for babies. I have the Polar Express on reserve at the library. Hopefully, we get it before the 24^th.

I tried to be selective when buying books. However, the pickings were slim—really slim. I probably only scored 5 or 6 books that I actually want to keep for years to come. The rest will be slowly replaced as I find good deals. I’d like to pick up classics and award winners in place of Elmo’s First Christmas, which of course, is just an example of the kind of books I came across. I would never buy an Elmo book to incorporate into a holiday tradition!



And what a new holiday tradition it is! The books are wrapped and waiting underneath the tree. Each night the boys take turns opening one book to read before bed. It is so fun, especially because most of the books are new to them. I love this idea so much more than trinkets or candy. I love that they will remember their favorite books and wait with excitement to unwrap the packages each Christmas season. I love sharing stories and creating memories around an evening ritual. It's a brilliant idea!



And one more tradition is born!