Advent preparations

It feels as though only a minute has passed since we last wrote this: the most wonderful time of the year, Advent, is here again, and Christmas itself is less than a month away. Incredible, isn’t it?

Advent means anticipation. It is a magical time when even adults believe in miracles and magic again. Christmas is the icing on the cake, the culmination of the entire year. Christmas Eve is beautiful, of course, but what is even better is the journey leading up to it. To be able to stand beneath the tree that day and feel the sparkle not only on the outside but also within, to experience that incomparable joy we felt as children, we need these few weeks beforehand. We are not only preparing our homes for the holiday, but ourselves as well.

Many people keep the old family traditions from their childhood, but alongside them, new shared activities accumulate year after year—activities the children look forward to more and more eagerly, starting around September, as they grow older.

We conducted a small survey because we were curious about what had changed most for families compared with the time before they had children.

The Advent wreath

Before: Most people (the mothers) started browsing the wreaths at their favorite florists in November, trying to match their homes’ Christmas decorations to the current trends and their moods. Everything coordinated with everything else, whether someone preferred a minimalist style or believed in louder, more striking decorations.

After: Making the wreath is usually the first shared Christmas activity. Parents no longer go from one florist to another looking for the most eye-catching wreath; instead, they look for plain, undecorated ones—or the more skillful among them may even make one themselves. Once they have one, they cover the table with glue, beads, pinecones, and anything else they can find, and decorate it together with the children. Some children insist on a natural, simple style—they are in the minority, but this becomes more common as they grow older—while others pile on everything they see. If there is a purple reindeer in front of them, that goes on too. And do you know what the best part is? In the end, every wreath turns out beautifully, and it feels so much better to light the first candle when you know the whole thing was made by the sweetest little hands. With or without a purple reindeer.

Advent calendar

Before: For some people, the last Advent calendar they had was one their parents bought for them, before their children were born. At the beginning of their relationships, a few still surprised each other with homemade calendars, filled with favorite treats or shared activities, but most respondents had almost completely abandoned this otherwise very sweet and cheerful tradition after about a year or two.

After: Once there is a baby in the family, various Advent calendars appear in the home again. At first, opening them is mainly about the new parents eagerly watching to see what the baby thinks of whatever they find. (Naturally, the baby does not have much to say about it, but that does nothing to diminish the parents’ joy.)

Later, calendars filled with toy figurines and sweets appear, and at first everyone still strictly chooses and places the surprises in the little bags themselves. Then come the preassembled calendars based on favorite stories, from which they can eventually put together a whole set—and along with them comes a little guilt, because we feel that by doing this we are simply “taking the easy way out,” and that it was much more personal when we assembled everything ourselves. And yes, it was—but let’s not forget that this is not about us, but about the little things that make children happiest. Besides, we are allowed to take the easy way out sometimes too. The little ones’ tremendous excitement and happiness each morning, when they open a tiny window, does not depend on who sewed the bags or who put the gift inside.

Christmas baking

Before: A few weeks before Christmas, some people used to gather at friends’ homes, or take on the task themselves, and no matter how inexperienced they were in the kitchen, somehow manage to throw together a large batch of gingerbread. They usually planned to decorate it too, but at some point that part was abandoned: by then, mulled wine and champagne had appeared, and instead of decorating, they started eating the cookies. The whole thing turned into a small or large house party, which everyone could sleep off thoroughly the next day—and if they were lucky (especially the host), not too many pieces had been burned to a crisp.

After:: Believe it or not, the activity above has remained part of many families’ traditions, with a few additions: less mulled wine is usually consumed, the chaos is greater, and no one sleeps anything off the next day. But it is more than worth it. It feels wonderful to watch the children work away in the kitchen while Christmas music plays and the whole home fills with the scent of cinnamon. It is an incredibly enjoyable activity—almost kitschy, we know—but it is a truly memorable experience for children to take part in an old tradition with their friends.

We wish everyone a beautiful Advent and happy preparations!