A homemade Advent calendar means "giving a Proust madeleine"

• This Wednesday, many are those, young and old, who will open the first box of their Advent calendar.

• Among these lucky ones, some will discover a calendar made and filled with love and just for them.

• Because the trend of "homemade" has been invited into our Advent calendars.

Christmas movies every afternoon on TV.

Decorated shop windows.

And toy catalogs in mailboxes.

No doubt, it's almost Christmas!

And to kick off the festivities on December 1, many children (and quite a few adults) are going to open the first box of their Advent calendar this Wednesday.

While supermarkets offer something for everyone - with chocolates or toys for the youngest, with cosmetics or beer for adults - the do-it-yourself (DIY) trend has crept in. in our Advent calendars.

Made with the concern to offer personalized attention, while reflecting on the way you consume.

"Offer a little Proust madeleine"

In the shops of the capital, you can easily find something to compose your own calendar. At Sostrene Grene, several models to garnish are available. And in the shop, Nola and Emmanuelle have prepared a dedicated space with a selection of small gifts to fill them up. "We have bouncing balls, carts, yoyos, streamers or marbles, as well as Christmas decorations", indicate the two young women.

Nicole is working on preparing the calendars for her four granddaughters “every year from the beginning of October. Assisted by my husband, I look for new ideas according to their age. This year, they will have pretty decorated houses: for Romane, 7 years old, it will be the Nutcracker theme; for Rose, 3 and a half, a unicorn. And for the twins Louise and Mia, 28 months old, Plume the little rabbit's Christmas ”. And their granddaughters, Nicole and her husband spoil them with pleasure. “Every day, they will discover a chocolate and a surprise: books, decorations for the tree and Christmas socks. On December 1, we drop them off the calendars, hoping to offer them a little Proust madeleine and lovely childhood memories. And for us, what a joy to see their amazed looks and their smiles! "

"My mom has been filling it up every year since I was 4"

At 37, Lena always receives hers with the same pleasure.

“It's made of fabric, it's my mom who made it and who has been filling it every year since I was 4 years old.

It's much more aesthetic and emotional than a trade calendar.

And without industrial junk food: it is only garnished with good chocolates that she buys from a craftsman ”.

And she's not the only one.

“Earlier, a customer came to buy a large assortment to garnish the calendars he prepares for his loved ones, says Sarah, who welcomes gourmet customers at the Atelier du chocolat, in the 4th arrondissement.

Customers buy small chocolates, but also individual Christmas bites in the shape of a reindeer head or snowflake ”.

Amateur master chocolatiers can even prepare their own chocolates.

“We offer a whole variety of nuggets to melt and molds of different shapes,” says Elodie Abécassis, co-founder of the I Make marketplace, on which you can find everything you want to create and fill your calendar.

For a gourmet version, we also find on the site "cookie cutters of all shapes to make pretty Christmas shortbread cookies".

On the container side, the marketplace leaves the choice: “The trend this year is wooden models, in the shape of a train, a castle, a wreath or a Christmas chalet, describes Elodie Abécassis, which can be personalized according to her creativity.

And if we run out of ideas, we offer many tutorials ”.

"Give meaning to your consumption"

At Christmas time, we all tend to heat up the menu and over-consume. But that was before Greta Thunberg and the pandemic. So today, if we want to treat ourselves more than ever, making Christmas a more eco-responsible and generous celebration is a major concern for many. Like Lou. “Last year, I made an inverted Advent calendar: instead of opening a box, we put an object every day in a box, which we then offer to the homeless”. The young woman, who already manufactures "shampoo, toothpaste, laundry detergent, cleaning products and Christmas decoration", will move this year to the "DIY Advent calendar." I will give it to my spouse as a Christmas present. I garnished it with chocolates, packets of coffee and little touches ”.

"The goal is to give meaning to its consumption, both by making a durable and ecological support and by offering really useful little gifts", underlines Elodie Abécassis, whose teams select the suppliers via "a quality charter on the origin of the products. materials, with labels for fabrics and cosmetics (organic, Oeko-Tex, cosmebio).

We defend doing it yourself and its benefits: reducing waste, making people want to consume differently.

The fact of making oneself creates an attachment to the object carried out and makes it possible to avoid overconsumption ”.

"Treasure hunt" and rolls of toilet paper

And it is not Laurette who will say the opposite. “When I was a teenager, my mother made me a fabric Advent calendar with twenty-four little boots, which she prepared for me every year until the day I left home. I loved him so much that I did the same for my children. One year, it was a "treasure hunt" calendar; another, I had bought a second-hand Lego plane, which I had dismantled and distributed in the boots. I also put coupons for fancy dress meals or family movies. I don't know how many years I will be doing it, but each time my family is waiting for it and I have a lot of fun! "

Alphonsine, who looks after children, “every year offers older children to make a 100% recyclable Advent calendar with toilet paper rolls.

They paint them and I staple them to form either a tree or a snowflake.

I fill them with chocolates and coupons, to watch a cartoon or go see the Christmas lights.

And the children are very proud of their creation!

In addition to the toilet paper rolls, Cécile used "old ribbons and scraps of fabric to make a" special reclaimed "Advent calendar for [her] daughter.

I loved making him.

She loved it so much that she took a picture of it and sent it to all of her friends!

"

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Christmas: With Advent calendars, every day is a small dose of "magic"

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Christmas: "People want joy, cheerfulness" ... A month before, they are already preparing the festivities

• DIY

• Toy

• Chocolate

• Christmas presents

• Consumption

• Calendar

• Society

• Xmas

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