My mom was always a fan of Christmas. In our small apartment in Bay Ridge Brooklyn we made our own ornaments out of dried milk pods with glitter, antique etchings encased in miniature frames and dried cranberries. Of course she would buy ornaments, but she had a real knack for finding ones that looked like they came from an attic in the 1800′s. Needless to say I was completely sucked into the Christmas spirit and could not wait for my gifts.

To add to the excitement of Christmas coming, we had an advent calendar. I was obsessed with it. I got to open a little box each day and there would be a beautiful picture in it. The countdown would start and then end with the presents on the Dec 25th.

My parents were both public school teachers, which sadly for our country, are never the best paid professions, but they still gave my brother and I a magical Christmas… Until I was 13 and forced into realty.

Anyway, I decided to have our own advent calendar this year where we showcased a few of my favorite items. To make it even MORE special, when you buy the item of the day in one of our stores you get a $35 gift certificate to use on another purchase before the 25th. (The promo is only good in store, can’t be applied online. Contact one of our stores for more details.)