So, this may be a little bit nuts and a little bit early but I had an idea last week and I just have to share it. You might have seen it over on Instagram under the hashtag #AdventCraftSwap.

I’ve a bit of a thing for Advent. It comes from living in Germany, where it is a bit of a big deal. Here Advent calendars are not just paper pictures with little windows to pop open. Oh no! They are SO much more than that. Think Rowan Atkinson wrapping a Christmas present for Alan Rickman in Love Actually. Germans put a lot of thought, love and effort into making handmade Advent calendars for their family members.

That gave me the idea to initiate an Advent craft swap. Just like a big, virtual Advent calendar, the idea is to get 23 people (plus me makes 24) to sign up and hand make a little gift (no more than €5 worth of materials) to post to stranger.

I’ll allocate each person someone to send their gift to and also a date in December for each gift to be opened, one each day from 1st to 24th.

Sounds good to you? Then drop me an e-mail to AdventCraftSwap[at]gmail.com and let me know you are interested. You don’t have to be a blogger, a professional crafter or anything like that. If you like the sound of this, you think you have it in you to hand make a small present and you have a kind heart, get in touch.

Several lovely peoplehave been in touch and want to join in, but we need a few more to make it to 24, so don’t be shy! We’re a lovely bunch so far and we’d love to have you join in.

Once I have enough people I’ll send out the rest of the details (partner address, postage dates, etc.) and set up a few basic rules, to make it all fair. 

Ooh, this is exciting! Looking forward to hearing from you.

Fionnuala