Advent Calendar

Even though my childhood is long behind me, an Advent calendar is still an essential part of Advent for me every year. And I’m probably not the only one, right? I’ll show you here what I’ve been finding in mine, and maybe someone else would like to share their Advent calendar with us.
For the past four years, I’ve been using the LaCritza Advent calendar, which is always well-stocked with great yarns and patterns.
Here it is:

And since I’m running a little late, here are Days 1 and 2 right away:

 

That must be so much fun! I’m glad you’re sharing it.

For the past few years, my husband and I have been getting a chocolate Advent calendar from one of our sons, each of us with our own. (Some things get turned on their head “as you get older” 😄.) I get as excited as a child every single time. This year, we decided to return the favor and gave him a gourmet Advent calendar filled with little treats for the kitchen—oils, spices, spreads, etc.; he loves to cook (and eat). His joyful reaction was so heartwarming. 
You’re never too old for Advent calendars!

Every year, my daughter gives me an Advent calendar filled with different kinds of tea. One little tea bag every day



 

I’d love a tea calendar, too! Great idea!

Yesterday I got cotton yarn, and today I got chenille yarn along with patterns for making a little cuddly panda.

  

Veronika, are these always individual projects, or does something big come together in the end?

I remember you had this calendar last year, too. What did you make from the individual doors? Do you still have a picture of it to show us?

It varies—this panda is a single, finished piece; the Mystery Cal runs throughout the calendar and is usually finished at the very end; and in between, there are just yarns on their own, without specific patterns.
A photo from last year? Let me check—the Mystery Cal that year was a dachshund, and I’d been guessing it was a reindeer for ages. :-)

I only have this picture from December 24th; after that, I naturally made things with the yarns, which ended up here in the gallery, but specifically from the calendar during the weeks of Advent, I made little Christmas trees, a penguin with a cozy hat, a snowman, and this dachshund.

Looks like it’ll be fun.

The dachshund looks great. And little things like the little trees are a nice distraction, so you finish quickly. 

Yes, I really needed that distraction back then—this is already my fourth LaCritza calendar. I got back into crafts when my husband started needing care. Having always been on the so-called “fast track” before, it was quite an adjustment all of a sudden. Lots of small and large crochet and knitting projects really helped distract me and brought me back to a place of calm. And now I just still enjoy doing something with my hands, and I love Advent calendars anyway.

What a lovely idea to show us your Advent calendar again. Thank you so much, dear Veronika.
Unfortunately, I was too late to order one for myself. I wanted to try it out too, because I still had the pictures of your calendar from last year in my head.
It’s interesting to see what you make out of it. Please post more pictures.

Unfortunately, I don’t have a calendar this year. I didn’t even manage to finish making one myself. Terrible.
Something always came up—especially the stressful shifts in my caregiving job—so I just didn’t feel like it and was constantly tired and worn out.

I hope that changes next year.

I can understand that—it really is a stressful job.
I have plenty of time, but I don’t feel like making one myself; I like the surprises.
Yesterday there was red yarn along with little heart-shaped buttons, and today, for St. Nicholas Day, there were three skeins of cotton yarn—I’ll probably make a light scarf out of them. First of all, it’s my favorite color, and second, I need something like this often—because as soon as it stops raining, I go “topless,” even in winter. Cool head and warm feet and all that, but I almost always have to have a scarf with me.

 

Hi everyone. I’ve been reading along for a long time. Now I’m finally writing in. For the past 13 years, I’ve been making an Advent calendar for my godchild. A spaceship, a train, an aquarium… I’m slowly running out of ideas.
This year, I made an Advent wreath out of cans and rolls. On Sundays, there’s a shish kebab skewer inside. It’s white on top for now—whoever flips it over will get a flame.
Love, Sandra 

I think this one is really awesome, too! So creative!

@WollwunderPetra: How funny, my husband and I have the same tea calendar too, one each. For the past few years, we’ve done this every year: in the evening we have a cup of tea together and wind down the day. 

I also took part in a shared Advent calendar in our village community this year. 24 people each make 24 identical gifts and are assigned a day. For example, I had day 5. Then everyone meets up, and each person takes a little bag from every day. That way, everyone has their own Advent calendar. If too few people take part, you can also do two doors per person (and, for example, agree that one door is just a story or a recipe or something like that, so it doesn’t become too much).

Our 2.5-year-old son also got an Advent calendar for the first time. For it, I sewed 24 little pouches and attached them to a branch. Every day there’s a mini fruit bar, a bath bomb tablet, or something similarly small inside. He’s delighted.😁

That looks great, too—what a nice idea!

Today, Tanfred helped me unwrap it. Tanfred was the Mystery Cal two years ago.
And today there was 150 g of cotton yarn and a giveaway. Let’s see if I get lucky (though I hardly ever win anything).

Homemade Advent calendars are, of course, something very special. Two years ago, I made one out of paper (I think the pattern was from here, that star box calendar).

A tea calendar. That’s a great idea, too. There are so many varieties. I’ll keep that in mind. Thanks.

Veronika, very interesting. There were already some beautiful yarns in there. I thought it was full of patterns, so you can also crochet something with the yarn to suit your own wishes. That’s great, too. I like your Tanfred—it looks so funny.

Sandra, wow, you’ve been making calendars for 13 years. Respect. I can believe you’re running out of ideas by now. If they’re meant to be little things, you could also use those giant plastic chocolate egg shells; they can hold quite a few small items. I often hear that you can do all sorts of crafts with those cardboard toilet paper rolls, for example covering them like Christmas crackers with crepe paper at the ends...
How about a school-cone Christmas calendar? That would be something out of the ordinary.

Today there was something fluffy and something sparkly. And the Mystery Cal continues. So grab your needles!

Yes, craft lovers, there are a few patterns with matching yarn inside, but also plenty of yarn for your own projects—it’s a really good mix. You can choose your color preferences, but I always let myself be completely surprised, so sometimes I end up with colors I would never have thought of, and just like that, a new idea pops into my head.

Good morning—I just happened to stumble upon this post. My daughter gave me a tea Advent calendar (she’s been doing this for a few years now), and every morning I have my first cup. A friend also gave me this nostalgic calendar. It’s always fun.            

This 2023 Advent calendar was especially well-received. I used fabric scraps from my carnival costumes to make it.

What a great idea!
And tea calendars seem to be very popular—I’ll have to keep that in mind.

So, Part 2 of the Mystery Cal is also done. I still don’t have a clue what it’s supposed to be.

A few years ago, my sister gave me this calendar as a gift (we’re both big bear fans!), and it brings me joy all over again every year! I treated my kids (and myself) to a tea Advent calendar. My sister had to skip the tea calendar this year; instead, she received a very special little bear calendar, drawn by a knitting friend of mine—a true artist. My sister, who paints herself, was absolutely thrilled!

Awesome! I’ll go ahead and admit it—I’m a bear fan!

And can you believe it—I actually won the giveaway! I can hardly believe it! The prize was a gift card from LaCritza, which won’t go to waste.... 🤣

And today’s treat was white cotton yarn and some really great buttons.

Today, once again, there were patterns with matching yarn—I ended up making a cute little lucky pig. And there was even extra yarn for my own projects.

 

You’re really fast at crocheting. The color gradient in the yarn is very pretty. What hook size did you use?

I think the little pig is absolutely adorable.  

I made this with size 3.0 needles—it went by in a flash.

Today’s colors were ocean hues—so beautiful!

Today I got three skeins of Ricorumi yarn and a “voice” to go with them. Not a grumbling voice, more like a chirp—I’ll have to come up with something nice to do with that.

For the third Sunday of Advent, it sparkled festively—there were various yarns with a glittery effect, sooo beautiful.

Very beautiful yarns—I’m always a fan of glitter.

By the way, that’s a pretty little angel and flower arrangement.

Thank you, I bought the wreath completely ready-made; I liked it right away too. Of course I’ll keep the decorations for later.

And now on with the Advent calendar—I’m falling behind!
On Monday the Mystery CAL continued, and a beautiful red cotton yarn was included too.

  

And on Tuesday, there was another one of those “Flompies” inside—patterns and matching yarn, plus some extra green chenille yarn. This time, I made a frog.

 

Bag No. 17 was absolutely packed—enough yarn for a shawl, a pattern included, and an extra skein to boot. I got right to work knitting it.

 

Today’s Advent calendar contained cotton yarn again, along with googly eyes and a daily task. It also came with two heart-shaped candies that you’re supposed to give to people you care about. I’ve already given one away; the second one will be passed on tomorrow.

There are some really great things inside! The frog is so cute!

Yesterday there were 3 small balls of cotton yarn, today three skeins of chenille in pastel shades, and along with that, the finale of the Mystery Cal—which I finished right away, of course—it turned out to be a big glittery beetle!

  

This is also a great calendar. This year, I treated myself to the Hobbyii calendar. But I didn’t realize it was meant for pros. I have to really think things through to make sure I end up with something decent. It’s still fun, though.

Sounds exciting—why don’t you show us what was in your calendar, too?

Today I got a big skein of lilac-colored bouclé yarn.



 

I was crocheting again today—this time, it was a little walrus.

 

Your glitter beetle looks great. How big did it turn out to be? I really like it.

The beetle is about 21 cm tall, not counting the antennae.

Today’s treat was cotton in rose and pink—very pretty. It was also educational, though I already knew that crafting is good for your health.

Even on the 24th, there was another great skein of yarn and some accessories—yarn holders shaped like little boats.

And here’s the entire contents of the Advent calendar. On the right side of the picture, you can still see the shawl on the needle—but I’ll finish that soon.


 

There’s quite a lot in this calendar. Lots of variety in both the yarns and the patterns.

Thanks for letting us join you as you unwrap it, and have lots of fun working with the yarn.

Have a wonderful Boxing Day

Best wishes, Petra