When I was a kid, I had advent calendars to count the days until Christmas. Since we were living in Germany at the time, which is where advent calendars started (if you trust Wikipedia about that sort of thing), it seemed like every kid had one. The kid downstairs got advent calendars with chocolates in them, but my mom didn’t like the idea of chocolate every day so she made advent calendars for me using Christmas images cut out from magazines as the flaps and hid a cool sticker (which I was collecting at the time) underneath. I can’t believe I fell for the stickers-are-better-than-chocolate ploy, but then I was only about seven years old.
After I moved out, I skipped coming home one Christmas because I was saving vacation time for a trip to Australia and New Zealand. Toward the end of November I got a package in the mail. Inside were twenty-five gifts wrapped in Christmas paper, each with a number from one to twenty-five — an advent calendar in a box courtesy of Mom. 
Last year I made an advent calendar (well, box) for my other half and I’ve just finished putting together days 1-17 for this year. I suggested to him that I could hide the packages to make it an advent/treasure hunt but he didn’t go for it (although if you have kids, this could keep them busy for a bit each day). What you put in the packages depends on both your budget and your recipient, but it doesn’t have to be expensive or elaborate. You can find little gifts at dollar stores, thrift stores, or even grocery stores. You can also give I.O.U’s of your time or skills. Or do a digital version of an advent calendar.
Here are a few suggestions to get you thinking:
Small gifts
Keep in mind that gifts don’t have to be new; they can be made or bought from the dollar store. Advent gifts don’t have to be expensive, just thoughtful:
- Bookmarks
- Hot chocolate (split a box of several packets for multiple days)
- Tea
- Second-hand books
- Bookplates
- Notebooks
- Pens
- Pencils
- Sticky notes
- Candle
- Coffee mug
- Bulk candy
- A can of Coke (add one of those little tiny bottles of rum if you like)
Digital gifts
- A link to an interesting site
- An ebook
- A link to a funny video
- A picture
- An I.O.U.
- A link to a quiz
- A link to a game
My dollhouse from when I was a kid. Since I was weird, I ditched the dolls for Smurfs.
If you don’t have time to do an advent calendar for Christmas, consider that the idea can be adapted to other events as well. When I was a kid I got a dollhouse for my birthday. In the days leading up my birthday, my mom let me pick a gift out of a bag. Each item was a piece of furniture for the dollhouse. It was a fun way to get the gifts (and likely made me appreciate them more than getting them all at once).
Just think of the possibilities for Valentine’s day. 
What a wonderful and thoughtful gift idea!
Kathy R (Bermudaonion)´s last blog ..Mailbox Monday