Advent Calendar Contest

My Aunty Anne, Aunt Jane, and Grandma Blidberg collaborated in 1982 to make me an advent calendar. Each Christmas growing up I looked forward every year to pulling it out of the Christmas box, having my Mom re-fill the pockets with the ornaments, and then every day adding an ornament to my tree. Sometimes my Dad would slip a fifty cent piece into a pocket and I would get an extra surprise that day. I still have many of those fifty cent pieces and I probably will pass them down to Stomper some day.

This past Christmas season I thought a lot about family traditions and the advent. I thought and brainstormed ideas with Jason on how to make Christmas special and get the focus off the commercialism and back to where it belonged. I think we did a pretty good job this year. We attended services on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, put only useful things in our stockings, and had a strict budget to spend on each other. The only thing that was missing was the advent calendar. We decided not to use it this year because Stomper was still too little to understand.

I think next year we will use just the pockets of the advent and have the tree permanently decorated. In the pockets we will use adornaments (if I can find them, they had names of God on them and verses to look up); little treats like sweets, money, or small trinkets; and probably in the last day I will put baby Jesus for our nativity set. I also like what Svenna does when she puts in little notes for her son about things they will do together that day like: make biscuits or go for a special walk.

This is where I need your help. I want to revive my advent calendar and add my name to the back as a co-collaborator, but I don't know what to do. I want to permanently decorate it, but I'm not sure how. I have a few ornaments from when I was a kid and some that my siblings added, that I could sew on, but I'm having issues envisioning it.

For the contest I would like your help to envision what this tree could look like permanently decorated. I have washed the advent and everything stayed in place, but the tree now has a green "halo" from where the colors ran. It is stuffed with stuffing and is sewn on to a towel. I am not a good sewer, actually I haven't sewn anything for probably 20 some odd years, but I am willing to stretch myself a little to update the tree. I would like the updates to cost very little, be something I can easily make, and maybe incorporate some knitting.

In the comment section of this post send me your ideas. Everyone who sends me an idea will be entered into a drawing and I will choose one lucky winner out of a hat. You can enter multiple times by also mentioning this post on Twitter (make sure to link me using @DeliaKnits), becoming my fan on Facebook (if you already are a fan on Facebook send me a comment on my wall to add you to the contest), and by mentioning this post in your blog (send me a link to your blog post via Facebook or Twitter) that's a total of four times you can enter!

(top left: diaper, wipes & cream, top right: make-up,

 bottom left: project bag, and bottom right: Nook holder)

The prize is a handmade entirely up-cycled jean clutch, and sewed by my Mom with my ironing and cutting and seam ripping skills assisting. It is made from a pair of my son's courdory jeans, an old sheet, and a button from my grandmother's stash. It is ten inches wide and six  inches deep, my Nook fits in it well with a little wiggle room. It would make a great little project bag for all you knitters out there; for you Mom's of little ones: a diaper, some wipes, and butt cream fits snugly; and it is also roomy enough for a make-up bag for a week-end escape. If you are anything like me, I am always on the look out for the right sized bag to put inside my big day bag (the one that travels to work, church, and visits at the in-laws) and this bag fits that goal. For more photos check out the album on my Facebook Page.

The contest is open now and will close Feburary 24th at midnight. The winner will be announced February 27th and the prize will sent out that week.

Good Luck!