National Advent Calendar Day

From Chocolate Doors to Boxes of Calm

When I was a kid growing up in Germany, Advent calendars were serious business. Every December morning meant the suspenseful crackle of cardboard, a tiny door creaking open, and the unmistakable joy of discovering a chocolate shaped like something questionably festive (Is that a reindeer or a blob with antlers? We’ll never know — I always ate the evidence.)

Fast-forward a decade and an ocean later: I moved to the U.S., ready to relive that daily dose of anticipation — only to find nothing. No calendars. No little doors. Just aisles of candy canes and confusion.

For years, I searched. Then one day, the clouds parted — right over a grocery store. I had stumbled upon the modern American twist, years before ALDI declared National Advent Calendar Day (the first Wednesday of November, in case you’re marking your calendar to buy a calendar). That’s when the store unleashes a stampede of calendars filled with wine, cheese, toys, beauty samples, and yes, chocolates. It’s the Black Friday of tiny surprises — but with fewer elbows and more brie.

But last year, I built my own Advent calendar from a collection of small boxes, each holding an inspirational saying. I called it my “Boxes of Calm.” After becoming intolerant to most foods — including chocolate — crafting my own calendar became a kind of therapy. Every box I filled wasn’t a treat for my taste buds but a balm for my nervous system.

Instead of counting down to Christmas, I counted up to calm. No chocolates, no trinkets — just quiet little reminders that joy doesn’t have to be edible (though it often helps).

Now, every November, when ALDI fans line up for their calendar haul, I smile and think: I was doing Advent before it was trending again. Call it retro joy, nostalgic neuroplasticity, or just me being German about it.

So, this National Advent Calendar Day, celebrate however you like:

• Unbox a daily chocolate if that’s your thing.
• Pour yourself a wine-calendar glass if it’s that kind of December.
• Or make your own Boxes of Calm — the calorie-free kind of comfort.

Because whether it’s chocolate, cabernet, or courage in a box, the real gift isn’t behind the door — it’s remembering to open it. And if you forget? Well, congratulations — you just invented December 26th breakfast.