Jeremy C Kester

December is upon us! This means Christmas, which also means advent calendars. The countdown to Christmas is all anticipation, even as someone who no longer expects to get any gifts.

In our household, we have a slightly different Advent Calendar. It was something that my wife started. I am not 100% certain if this was something that she saw from somewhere else, something she adapted, or created herself. It doesn’t matter.

Now we have a family that values the importance of reading. Despite my wife’s dislike for reading herself (honestly she loves reading, but is very particular on what), she made it a top priority to ensure that our son learned to love reading. And he does. A lot. Ever since he sat reciting Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? from memory, he was addicted to books. Often he will sit, even with the TV on and just page through books.

Now to celebrate this during the Christmas season, we have the 24 nights of books. It’s my wife’s way of making an Advent Calendar that also celebrates our son’s love for books. Each night he opens another and they sit and read it that night.

Every year she heads out months in advance scouring places like Half Price Books, Barnes and Nobles, Anderson’s Bookshop and The Book Ladies Attic trying to find great deals on books that she knows our son would love. The books are mostly used as Half Price and The Book Ladies Attic are her two top stores, but she is not against taking advantage of a great deal elsewhere. Along with this calendar, she also ensures there are more books under the tree.

I love it, and it has become one of my favorite things to her her (and him more as he’s grown to a very competent reader) read the stories after opening them each night. It’s a fantastic tradition that puts reading first.