wonderful, magical thing especially
for children. The beginning of advent
each year is such a lovely opportunity
to indulge in a little anticipation.......
of the very nicest kind.
On the first day of advent our children
wake to their own advent calenders,
made from ribbon and walnut shells
"What's in the walnut today...!" we wonder...
and my little boys snip off a walnut each from
their strands.
Rather fiddly to construct...... but they
look so lovely hanging up full of little
surprises.
The surprises are of course tiny, which is part of
the appeal.....and its nice to encourage my children
to take delight in small, inexpensive things.
Over the years we have included:
tiny silver bells, little felt gnomes, Mary and Joseph
made from bee's wax,crystals, tiny stones, beads,
balloons,feathers,tiny wooden pegs,thread and tiny
beads-to make a necklace, felted birds, a felted mouse,
marbles, glass butterflies.........
And of course various food treats......
It really is such a lovely, positive way to start the day,
one of those truly magical childhood things, which is
very much anticipated around here.
Its such a nice introduction to advent, and marks the beginning
of all the little traditions that unfold over the next few days.
I love to have little homely rituals, its times like these that
I feel so grateful for the integrity of the whole Waldorf approach to
family life.
