The advent calendar tradition has sparked a debate – should you open the doors in the morning or at night? As a professional custom advent calendar printing manufacturer, I decided to dig into this holiday quandary about the best time to enjoy your chocolate, gifts, or activities hidden behind those little doors.
A History of Advent Calendars
Before we open the door on this question, let’s go back in time. When and why did Advent calendars become part of many families’ holiday celebrations?
As the story goes, German Protestants started counting down to Christmas as early as the 19th century with chalk lines on doors or lighting candles. The first printed Advent calendar dates back to 1902 in Germany. By the 1920s, German printer Gerhard Lang produced cardstock calendars with Bible verses behind the doors.
After a brief Nazi hijacking of the tradition (let’s just say they tried to spread propaganda instead of holiday cheer), post-WWII Europe regained the true spirit of the Advent calendar. By the 1950s, Cadbury chocolates were being tucked behind the doors.
As you can see, while opening the doors has always been part of Advent calendars, the exact timing didn’t have strong roots.
Why Do People Follow Different Advent Calendar Schedules?
With this blank slate around when to open your calendar, families have settled into different traditions:
- First thing in the morning – This option helps set a festive tone to start off your day. Parents who want to maximize holiday anticipation often prefer the morning.
- After dinner or before bed – For those who see it as more of a dessert or nightcap to their day, this timing allows the calendar to build suspense toward an evening treat. Plus, it prevents kids from a sugar rush first thing in the morning!
- Whenever you want! – Less traditional families may just open doors as the mood strikes them. And yes, it’s possible to indulge from that chocolate-filled calendar more than once a day if you can’t resist!
Additionally, many reusable fabric or wooden Advent calendars focus more on activities like adding pieces to a Nativity scene, doing kind acts, or reading stories versus daily food treats. Those lent themselves more to being an anytime activity.
Should You Fill the Calendar the Night Before?
If your Advent calendar is filled with candy, small toys, or notes on activities, someone needs to set everything up to create the magical reveal each day. Thus comes the next debate – should parents sneakily fill Advent calendars when the kids are asleep? Or is part of the ritual for kids to refill their own calendars?
This decision often splits along the lines of when people do their Advent calendar openings:
- If your home opens the doors first thing in the morning, then parents love pulling elf duty to restock overnight. Imagine if one morning a door was empty – talk about potential tears ruining the holidays!
- For homes that open their doors in the evening, parents can remind kids to refill each night as they get ready for bed. This turns it into a beloved family tradition.
- For reusable calendars that require simply moving a Velcro Baby Jesus to the next day or turning over an ornament, even young kids can handle resetting themselves.
What’s Better for Kids – Morning or Night Advent Calendar Fun?
As with anything parenting-related, you’ll get lots of opinions when asking what timing is best! Here are a few things to think over as you make this decision in your household:
- Holding off for an evening treat takes willpower! Kids have little self-control. Knowing a chocolate Santa is stuck behind Door #5 all day long is asking a lot of their developing brains. If after school treats are already part of your family schedule, then adding something else sweet might not matter. But for others, having the calendar be a wake-up treat prevents it from distracting them all day.
- Anticipation builds excitement. Sure, waiting all day is hard when you’re 5 years old. But resisting temptation does heighten the thrill when they finally get to open the door. Think of it like getting to open one special gift on Christmas Eve versus diving into all presents first thing Christmas morning.
- Consistency matters. No matter what you choose for your family, keeping it consistent from year to year is crucial. The Advent calendar is synonymous with the countdown to the holidays in kid worlds. If you suddenly switch when they get to open the door from morning to night, get ready for some pushback!
- Make it magical. As I’m learning during my first year as a dad, creating wonder for kids is such an important part of building their imagination and love for the holidays. Even if having them refill their own calendars overnight takes away some magic, find other ways to keep the sparkle going all season – like with an Elf on the Shelf bringing surprises.
Should Adults Follow Advent Calendar Traditions?
In recent years, Advent calendars have expanded beyond cheap cardboard for kids into more elevated gifts, treats, and experiences. For example, special Advent calendars for adults might include:
- Luxury chocolates from brands like Godiva or sugarplum-filled calendars from Williams Sonoma.
- Mini bottles of wine, whiskey, gin, or beer to countdown to New Year’s celebrations.
- Beauty and skincare samples from companies like The Body Shop or L’Occitaine.
- Little home items like candles or Christmas tree ornaments.
- Funko toys for fanatics of a TV show, movie, or video game.
This rise of upscale options aimed at adults encourages people without children to join in on the holiday buildup.
However, even parents shouldn’t feel like they have to continue doing Advent calendars once their kids grow up. With all the festive foods and events during this season, the Advent calendar shouldn’t feel like an obligation.
Do what works best for your family! If the grandparents or nieces and nephews still like to use your stocking fabric Advent calendar you’ve had for years, keep it going. But if you all would prefer to sit around drinking the wine out of that boozy Advent calendar sampler instead, go for it!
Keep the Holiday Spirit All Season
Part of the appeal of Advent calendars lies in their versatility. You can go big and have an intricate setup with a wreath, candles, and Christmas tree. Or simply tape up a dollar store paper calendar and have a piece of your favorite candy as your daily “gift.”
It hearkens back to those handmade Advent calendars tracing their origins in Germany. Ultimately, the Advent calendar represents counting down the days filled with anticipation for something meaningful. For devoted Christians, it’s the arrival of Jesus. For kids of all ages, it’s presents from Santa landing under the tree.
However you choose to celebrate the holidays, allow your Advent calendar become part of cherished rituals that set a festive tone this time of year. Having that special time as a family first thing in the morning or right before bedtime builds excitement and traditions they’ll remember for years.
Just maybe keep the high-end booze-filled ones away from small kids!
How has your family handled the timing of Advent calendars over the years? I’d love to hear which way works better for you or any creative solutions you have to keeping the holiday momentum going all season long!