Best Advent Calendar EVER!

So, remember the advent calendars you got as a kid, the ones that had the little door you popped open every day in December until Christmas? There was a little chocolate piece in there, in the shape of something festive. Atticus got an advent calendar this year. It is NOTHING like that.

Carol (Tutu) has been talking about this advent calendar for over a year. I kept hearing " I am working on Atti's calendar, or I hope to be done with the calendar soon." I had no idea what it was that she was really making until she brought it over the other night. Holy cow this thing is amazing. I wish I would have taken a picture of Atti's face when she brought it in the door. Somehow he knew instantly it was for him. I will try to describe this "calendar", it's really more like art.

First off, Tutu made the entire thing herself. She did all the painting, gluing, fastening, etc. She created 25 tins full of treats. Each tin is unique and each has a different treat inside. They are stuck to the board with magnets so, Atticus can take them on and off.

Here is one of the tins. No two are alike
and they all go with the ocean theme, which happens to match his room.

Here is a close up of the middle of the board.
I wonder who the blond snorkeler is?

It is only day two, and he is already in the habit of getting his advent treat as soon as he wakes up. In fact the first night he tried to pull a chair over to the dresser in order to climb up and get at it. We may have to find a way to keep this around even after Christmas is over. I tried to convince Tutu that she should make these for other people, maybe sell them on Etsy. She gave me a look that said "You have no idea how much work this was.". But, I can tell just by looking at it, it was made with a lot of hours, hard work, and lots of love.