Noah's Easter Calendar

Every December I get an advent calendar. I love advent calendar chocolate. Noah gets one each year too to count down the days till Christmas. This past Christmas was the first year he was really excited about it. He would love to open a window and count down the days till Christmas. He is really big on counting down to things. He says how many more sunrises until whatever it is he is looking forward to. He normally will say is it one more sunrise? Usually it is a lot more, but he knows that each day it gets closer to what it is.

He decided he wanted an Easter Calendar, like an advent calendar. Since I have never seen an Easter calendar, we decided to make one. I took a 12 by 12 piece of cardstock and took a ruler and made the right number of boxes. The idea was to either color or put a sticker in the box each day to count down. I even numbered the boxes backwards. Noah wanted me to change the way I made the twos because I made them with the loop in them. Instead of confusing him, I erased the twos and redid them for him.

When we were done, I went to look for stickers so he could mark off the first day, I left his Easter calendar on the fridge with magnets. I couldn’t find any stickers that were small enough. I probably could have looked harder. I know there are probably some somewhere but not where I was looking. I came down stairs and the first thing I noticed was Noah’s Easter Calendar was not where I left it. I asked him where it was because he wasn’t carrying it around. He showed it to me and there was little cars, trucks, and blimps and airplanes in some of the boxes. I let him finish the boxes. I am not sure how we will count down the days now. I thought maybe with a x, but I don’t want to ruin his chart and that might hurt Noah’s feelings. He is an amazing artist and I want to encourage his creativity as much as I can.

We never ended up using it. I didn't wanna mess up his creation. We had so much fun doing it though. I don't know where he comes up with these things.

Ho, ho, ho – Fine Christmas Co-co-coa !

Hotel Chocolat is an excellent place to look for chocolate Christmas gifts with a wide selection of different choices across a large price range, from stocking fillers to luxury chocolate hampers. Hotel Chocolat is a British company who grow their own fine cocoa at their Caribbean cocoa estate on the island of St Lucia, and work with farmers throughout the world through their ‘Engaged Ethics’ to enhance the livelihoods of cocoa farmers whose products they use.

Hotel Chocolat makes chocolate from the finest and most wholesome ingredients, and is truly fanatical about using chocolate in all manner of unusual ways. The website has stacks of information that will fascinate the chocoholic; with gourmet cuisine recipes and a wealth of detail for the chocolate connoisseur on how different kinds of chocolate are made.

This seasons advent calendar collection includes the ‘Children’s Advent’ with three cut-out tree decorations, a ‘Teens and Over Advent’, the ‘Ultimate Advent’ in milk or dark, and the ‘Truffles to Share Advent’ with two truffles behind each door. Behind each window of the Ultimate Milk Chocolate Advent Calendar is different velvety 40% milk or 50% milk chocolate seasonal character, covered in nibbly cocoa nibs. The problem with having all this delicious chocolate hidden away is resisting the temptation to skip a few days ahead!

The 2010 Christmas gift range includes stocking fillers with some luxury chocolate selections, crackers and advent calendars. Stocking fillers include ‘Solid Festive Wreaths’- in fruit, nut, and caramel, mini ‘Christmas Dinners’ in chocolate cast shapes, and chocolate ‘Enrobed Fruit’. For children, ‘Milk Chocolate Jolly Santa’ is a merry, munchable Santa cast in mellow 40% milk chocolate, or choose a ‘White Chocolate Best Dressed Snowman’, snappily dressed in a winter berry chocolate scarf.

For a serious chocolate lover, the ‘Christmas Pamper Hamper’ is an excellent gift, with a Christmas Wreath and Yule log to slice and share, amongst eleven other luxury items including Purist range chocolates, including cooking ingredients and festive drinking chocolate.

Hotel Chocolat has an excellent selection of gifts at a variety of different prices so you should find something for anyone you’d like to spoil this Christmas. The advent calendars are especially indulgent and perfect for the exciting run up to Christmas, but remember – only one per day!

This is a guest post provided by Hotel Chocolat.