Advent Calendar

Each year we find ways to refresh and test out new traditions just to keep things interesting. But when one is successful, we don't need to do much to change it. Something we've enjoyed doing for the last several years is a Christmas countdown advent calendar:

We still like to tweak the contents every year to make sure this tradition stays relevant. Last year, we had a few different items we rotated through the boxes, but the biggest hit turned out to be the Christmas books. So, we made sure to repeat that this year, too. We wrapped a bunch of Christmas books with calligraphed number tags on them and put corresponding tags inside a few select boxes. We like being surprised by the contents of the boxes, but when we discover one that says we get to open a book, we stop everything and have a little impromptu reading sesh. Our kid gets so excited to open a present and then we all get to cuddle on the couch as a family and read the book together. It's been a good tradition this year.

What sorts of traditions does your family look forward to during the holidays? Do you change up your traditions? How have you found ways to instill meaningful family time into your days?