Are we allowed to say it yet? It is midway through November after all. Mince pies have been on the shelves for two months and the John Lewis advert has been showing for a whole week now. I’m going to do it…
OK, OK, perhaps it’s a bit soon to be saying it. Can we say “It’s nearly Christmaaaaas!” instead? Either way, it’s firmly on my mind as I hunt for an advent calendar for my two year old. Last year, we didn’t bother (I felt she was too young to understand the concept of Christmas) but this year, I’m going to go the whole festive hog. Stockings with mini treats (and chocolate coins and an orange at the bottom), decorating the Christmas tree together (I predict she’ll get bored after approximately four minutes), reading books about Father Christmas and teaching her some Christmas carols.
But the first task is finding an advent calendar. And I’ve been surprised by how tricky it’s been to find a chocolate free advent calendar. Every morning I have a struggle to get the toddler out the door to nursery – she runs around the living room as I chase after her, waving her shoes and jacket, firmly telling her that it’s time to put them on so we can leave. (Then I invariably resort to switching off Peppa Pig and telling her we can put it back on once she is wearing her shoes and jacket. This works every time.)
So add chocolate to that morning sequence for 24 days straight, and I’d have no chance of getting her ready. She’d be hyperactively jumping around on the sofa, doing her best impression of her friend Peppa in a muddy puddle. I’ve tracked down three non-chocolate advent calendars to solve this problem…
Caroline Gardner Merry Christmas Tree advent calendar, £4.95
Dots and Spots advent calendar, Not On The High Street, £4.95
Eric Carle pop-up advent calendar, £6.30, Amazon
Love the pop up one – great illustrations x
Author
It’s lovely isn’t it? I can’t decide which one to buy…
It’s so lovely when you can start Christmas traditions for your own children. Gorgeous calendars but I think the pop up has to be my favourite, I’ve never seen one quite like it!
Author
I love that one, but fear my toddler would probably rip the beautiful pop up parts off, like she does with pop up books. Heartbreaking!!
Hey Ali.
While I will not fault you one modicum for trying to keep sweetie intake down, my nerdy sciencey need-to-be-correct tendencies require me to point out that there is no evidence that sugary treats increase hyperactivity in kids.
Couple of good blogposts on the topic: http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=52516 and http://www.yalescientific.org/2010/09/mythbusters-does-sugar-really-make-children-hyper/.
Key quote: “Why, then, does this myth still persist? It may be mostly psychological. As previously stated, experimentation has shown that parents who believe in a link between sugar and hyperactivity see one, even though others do not. Another possibility is that children tend to be more excited at events like birthday and Halloween parties where sugary foods are usually served . People may have confused proximity with correlation although the environment is probably more to blame than the food.”
Rod.
Author
Interesting, Rodders. What’s the reason then for adults feeling an energy burst (and then a slump) after eating sweet foods (and carb heavy foods)?
I Am Not A Doctor, but my understanding is there’s no real thing as a “sugar high” — it’s more that you feel tired after eating too much of *any* carbs.
Professor Google finds this: http://www.foodrepublic.com/2011/08/11/what-sugar-high