4th December, 2022
Bookish Stuff: Advent calendar books
Do you have an advent calendar? Which kind? As a kid I used to love the chocolate ones and couldn't wait to pop that tiny piece of sugary bliss into my mouth every morning. I then transitioned via calendars with little gadgets or beauty products to the nerdier version: the book advent calendar. I mean, I do still enjoy chocolate and I love gadgets etc. but there is something so laid back and peaceful to the book calendars that I no longer want to miss them.
The kid has also jumped on the bandwaggon this year and insisted on such a calendar - well, as an addition to his regular one, I should add. There is no way in the world an 8yo would forego candy. ;-) So this is how we do it:
Every morning, the offspring comes over to our bedroom and we snuggle underneath the covers while reading his advent calendar about a spider who has caught a fly for his Christmas roast but is - how inconvenient! - beginning to befriend it. We take turns: One day he reads a chapter, the next I do, and sometimes dad gets to read one as well. After this little ritual we're getting ready for the day.
My calendar has to be fitted into the day however. So on the days I work from home, I drop the kid off at school, take the 
dog for a walk and then settle down with a cuppa and my daily chapter for a few minutes before turning on the computer. On the days I'm actually at uni teaching my seminars, I either take the book with me in the morning for those little breaks in-between or I read it in the evening when things have calmed down. My calendar tells the story of a woman who opens a book cafe/yarn shop/tea shop in a wintery village in southern Germany. One day she finds a half written letter abandoned on one of the tables and leaves a short answer. What then develops is a sort of scavenger hunt for hidden letters and clues with the mysterious author of the initial note. The calendar is beautifully illustrated with old-timey drawings and reminds me of my childhood when collecting these old fashioned pictures was all the rage (some had glitter on them!).
Either way, I find that only taking these few precious minutes each day to enjoy a short chapter and to thereby make the story last for 24 days has something very edifying to it. Life is hectic, and scary, and unpredictable enough at the moment, so having that tiny bit of control over five minutes every day is strangely rewarding.