When I had my first daughter, way back in 2003, my sister lived in London, England. That is a long way away from Toronto, Canada. Even though my sister was not close physically, she wanted to be close in my daughter's heart. My sister would send things in the mail at all the major holidays..and sometimes just because. When my daughter was about 2 years old my sister sent the most magical gift ever...an advent calendar. Once or twice a week a little package would arrive in the mail. Inside the packages were poems my sister had written along with a beautiful hand-sewn envelope (with the countdown date).
After reading the lovely poem my daughter would open the envelope to find a sweet little handmade treasure inside.
She made snowmen, candy canes, Christmas pudding and many more. The one pictured below is the partridge in a pear tree.
Now, my sister was feverishly making these little treats and as Christmas quickly approached she realized she was running out of time. She changed things up a bit. (Enter the second great advent calendar idea) In the final days before Christmas the packages included a lovely poem, a small box...
...inside the box was a mini-London souvenir. My daughter received tiny taxi's, Buckingham Palace and even this little snowglobe filled with a double decker bus!
To this day my daughters wake up every morning in December and rush downstairs to open their beautiful advent envelopes. It has become a part of our family's holiday traditions.
Are you living far away from someone you love this holiday season? Why not find a way to connect during the month of December. Kids love receiving mail, so do adults, here are some other things you could send along in the post.
Creative Long Distance Advent Calendar Ideas
write a special note every day
send a funny photo every day
email a little video every day
send one letter or word each day, that combine to spell a special word or message
send cookies or candies
create a secret code and send secret messages each day
Whatever you decide to send, it truly is a wonderful way to stay connected with your family, even if you live an ocean away.
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Aleacia says
This is such a sweet idea, such an amazing gift from your sister and the fact that it's become a tradition for your girls is great. I hope your sister realizes how special that was for her to do that for your daughter 🙂
Shiloh says
What a sweet sweet gift from your sister to your girls. This is such a lovely idea.:) What a precious set of memories.
Melissa Taylor says
love these ideas - maybe your sister will adopt me!?
The Iowa Farmer's Wife says
what a fabulous idea and such keepsakes for your daughters!
KitchenCounterChronicles says
Thanks, it truly is a beautiful tradition. My eldest daughter read the poem this morning...inside the envelope a tiny snowman! Thanks for stopping by.
Mom to 2 Posh Lil Divas says
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this! What a special sister and what a fabulous relationship you must share - no matter the distance.
I hope my girls will be this close & I love the ideas shared.
Laura @Art For Little Hands says
What a cute sister you have. My kids don't even know their aunts and uncles names. Isn't that so sad. I need to make efforts like this with my nieces and nephews. It is hard when you live so far away. Thanks for linking up to Monday Madness.
Martine } Work at Home Mom Writer says
I can't wait for when my child is old enough to do something like this! you and your sis have something special. Thanks for sharing this beautiful tradition!
KitchenCounterChronicles says
Thanks Martine.
mejaka says
What an awesome Auntie!
I have two grown sons, and the year they were first away from home ON CHRISTMAS (because they both worked for a resort where Christmas was smack in the middle of high season), I settled on Advent calendars as a way to help them enjoy the season and feel our love for them. I liked that idea better than the image of them sitting in lonely dorm rooms opening a boxful of presents from home and feeling homesick for the rest of the experience...The first Advents were simple, old film canisters covered with pretty paper; each one had an old holiday pic of the boy's younger holidays, a piece of candy, and a funny assignment ("Use Bah Humbug three times today") or a surprise ("Use this tenner to take someone out for hot chocolate!") The following year was similar--only this time there were funny Christmas cartoons instead of blast-from-the-past pictures, and my daughter and I stitched them all up in kraft-paper stars. This year, one boy (who is engaged) is getting 25 days of funny photo props, and the other (who likes strange things) 25 days of weird candies and snacks(sour cream and onion crickets, anyone?). We just put them in paper lunch bags, folded the tops and attached squares of Christmassy paper with a stapler. I plan to give them each a permanent, reusable calendar when they get married...