Here are a number of options, some of which are free and some require purchase or donations. Growing up our family had one of the Avon Christmas Count-Down Calendars from 1987 with the mouse that moved from one day to the next. While not a true Advent calendar as it simply counts 1 – 24, the practice of building expectation by marking the days leading up to Christ’s coming is etched in my memory (as is the spirit of competition with my siblings to be the one to wake up and move the mouse first, complete with gloating, “I moved the mousey” song that sits squarely outside the spirit of Advent).Īdvent calendars and similar traditions can be helpful tools for faith formation at home.