For those of you that are maybe new to the tradition of using an Advent Calendar, I thought it may be helpful to give you a little bit of info on the topic. In the most basic terms possible, an Advent Calendar is a "fancy" way to count down the days leading up to Christmas. There are many ways to go about it, some people have elaborate displays that count down the days, those ones typically open up and reveal a gift of some sort inside. (I actually have an easy DIY craft version of one of those if you would like to go that route instead, you can find that post here). Other people keep it simple and just buy a cheesy Advent from the grocery store (or Amazon) that often has a piece of cheap candy as your daily prize. This way is nice to do if you have a bunch of kids that don't want to share...they can each have their own this way. Or, sometimes people do a Christmas Chain Countdown, which is what we are doing today. Christmas paper chains are fun and versatile because you can either make them with just paper and write the days left until Christmas (we made them with colored construction paper when I was in Elementary School)...or you can include fun advent calendar activities to keep everyone busy and in the spirit of Christmas. If you would like to read more in depth about the history of the Advent, here is what Wikipedia has to say on the subject.