An Advent to Remember

Finally, finally, finally December is here (or, at least in less than an hour and a half)! And with December comes so many wonderful things-- cookies, Santa, snow... and Advent calendars! 

I love Advent calendars. Way before John deployed-- and by way before, I mean last Christmas-- I started thinking about what I could do to make December less awful for him. The only logical answer was an  Advent calendar. What could be better? There's something to look forward to every single day!

It took me almost a month to put the box together-- which was why John didn't get a Thanksgiving package from me. (I promised him it would be worth it... so here's hoping it is!).

The Advent box consisted of four main things: a poem that I glued around the inside of the box, 24 wrapped and numbered packages,  a Don't Blame Jo for These Awful Christmas Songs CD (compiled by Rachel and more on that later), and a cut-out Christmas tree.

Rachel helped me with the rhyme (because she's funnier and much more creative than I). The photo is a bit hard to read-- I didn't realize it until I had posted the boxes. So if you're squinting, here it is: 

I'm sending you a Christmas tree
To tack up on your wall.
It's just cut out of paper,
I didn't find it at the mall.

The rest are tiny presents
Labeled one to twenty-four
Just  one wrapped-up surprise a day
So December's not a bore.

 This box is filled with presents,
Yes, there are presents in a pile.
But the best one comes in just six weeks:
I get to see you smile! 

So like a happy, little mouse
Who finds a box of cheeses,
Merry Christmas to you, John
And, Happy Birthday, Jesus! 

Because John doesn't have a lot of room in his barracks, I didn't know if he'd be able to put up a Christmas tree if I sent him one. Instead, I bought green wrapping paper and cut out a paper tree for him. What's more space-economical than a paper Christmas tree? Nothing, that's what!

The tree is about four feet tall. I sketched out an outline on the back of the wrapping paper free hand. Then, I just folded it and put it at the very bottom of the box in an attempt to keep it from wrinkling too much. 

So, here's an Advent surprise for you! For the month of December, I'll be blogging about the craft or item in John's Advent calendar. If it's a craft, I'll supply the directions and templates! Check back daily to find out what's next on Jo, My Gosh!'s...