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Every year I buy an advent calendar to help me count down the days until Christmas. More than that, though, it brings me a delight each day for 25 days. It started when a friend gave me a calendar from Ikea 2 years ago. Each day it gave me a chocolate or a cookie. Even a coupon for Swedish meatballs.

Last year I bought myself a tea calendar. A different flavor each day. I had a little trouble keeping up with that one, as I don’t drink tea every day. Sometimes it’s a coffee day, especially after a restless night. It all worked out by the 25th, though, because I always skipped the mint tea days. Not a favorite.

This year I bought an advent calendar with Belgian chocolates. I had to put it up in a closet to discourage myself from starting on it early. I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to find it again by December 1st, but it was actually in the first place I looked, instead of the usual last. I’ve enjoyed 3 chocolates so far. 22 to go.

Even though we never had an advent calendar in the houses I grew up in, the anticipation I feel now as I hunt for the date and tear the door open to reveal the day’s treat takes me back to the years when my mother made sure the family followed our Christmas traditions every year. I still keep some of them, like having a big meal with my siblings on Christmas Day instead of Christmas Eve. But others, like the calendar, are new.

This is my favorite time of the year, and I believe it’s because my mother put so much love into making it special for us. Even though she’s been gone for almost 20 years, I still feel that love, especially at Christmas.