Gingerbread Advent House

December 20, 2023

My daughter was born in winter, and her birthday is coming up soon. Our family’s holiday season begins with Thanksgiving, is connected to Christmas, the end of the year, and New Year’s, and finally ends with her birthday.
It’s the most exciting season of the year. With so many gifts already in hand and birthdays right around the corner, gift ideas can be tricky to come up with.
So I decided to prepare a birthday advent house to count down the birthdays. The idea came from last year’s advent calendar. I filled a house-shaped tinker tray with gifts. For the five days leading up to her birthday, she will open one box a day to celebrate.
Inside are clothes and accessories from mice, which she requested. To this, I added five small books. The books are our stories. It is a story about the mice who meet, get married, and have a baby coming. My daughter loves to hear nostalgic stories about before and after she was born. It’s the story of how we met and became a family. I have created an original story by weaving in some funny episodes.
It is a miraculous story that is seemingly ordinary, but very special to us. One book a day for five days, until her birthday. I prepared, wondering how it would look and feel in the eyes of a nine-year-old.
In this way, our family’s holiday season finally settled down with the arrival of our daughter’s birthday. Next year, she will finally turn 10!

Materials

– Tinker tray　　　*Details are below
– Craft Paper
– White marker
– Double-sided tape or glue

Tinker Tray in the Shape of a House

The house-shaped Tinker tray from Kiev, Ukraine was perfect for this project. My encounter with this tray was by chance. I had purchased it some time ago with the intention of supporting small businesses in Ukraine, and the quality of what I received was beyond my imagination. I am happy to be able to use this for special occasions like this. There are three types in different sizes. You can purchase them here.

Instructions for making

Step 1. Place the Gift

Place the gift inside the tinker tray. This time I included clothes and accessories from mice, requested by my daughter. I put a miniature book of original stories in there. The details of the book are described at the end.

In each of the compartments, each mice has a miniature book.

Step 2. Draw a House

On the paper that will serve as the lid, draw a picture of the house with a white marker. Write details to match the shape of the tray and the dividers inside. If you have a specific order in which to open them, add a number.

Step 3. Stick the Paper

Apply double-sided tape (or glue) to the edge of the tray and the paper that will serve as the lid. Cut off the excess paper with a cutter. The advent house is complete.

The other gifts were also wrapped in kraft paper and drew with a house. A town of gingerbread houses was created.

Miniature Books

A tiny miniature book, 30 x 36 mm, to fit the size of mice. The inside paper is folded into the accordion style and made into a book. Finally, a thick cover is attached to complete the work.

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Gingerbread Advent House

December 20, 2023

冬生まれの彼女の誕生日はもう間もなく。我が家のホリデーシーズンは、サンクスギビングから始まり、クリスマス、年末、正月とつながって、誕生日でようやく終わりを迎えるのです。
一年で一番盛り上がる季節。すでにたくさんのギフトを手にしたすぐ後の誕生日は、贈り物のアイデアも悩ましいところです。
そこで今回は、誕生日をカウントダウンするためのバースデーアドベントハウスを用意することにしました。アイデアの元は去年のアドベントカレンダー。家の形のティンカートレイに、贈り物を詰めました。誕生日までの5日間、1日ひとつのボックスを開けて誕生日を迎えます。
中身は彼女のリクエストのマイスの服や小物。そこに、小さな本を５冊加えました。本の中身は、私たちの物語。ねずみくんとねずみちゃんが出会い、結婚して、赤ちゃんがやってくるお話。娘は、日頃から自分が生まれる前、生まれた後の懐かしい話を聞くのが大好きなのです。どうやって私たち出会い家族となったのか。ちょっと笑えるエピソードを織り込んで、オリジナルストーリーに仕上げました。
平凡だけど私たちにとっては特別な奇跡のストーリー。誕生日までの５日間、一日一冊づつ。9歳の目にはどう映り、感じるんだろうと思いながら準備をしました。
こうして我が家の祝日の日々は、娘の誕生日を迎えてようやく落ち着きを取り戻すのでした。来年はいよいよ10歳！

用意するもの

– ティンカートレイ　　*購入先は下記リンクにあります
– クラフトペーパー
– ホワイトマーカー
– 両面テープ

家型のティンカートレイ

ウクライナのキーフから届いた家の形をしたティンカートレイは今回の私の企画にぴったりでした。このトレイとの出会いは偶然です。ウクライナのスモールビジネスを応援するつもりでしばらく前に購入していたのですが、届いたものは想像以上のクオリティでした。こうして特別な日に使うことができて嬉しいです。サイズ違いで３種あります。こちらから購入できます。