Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Start Now and Be Ready for Advent

{update: If you'd like to join in with the tea swap 2011, check out this post!}

My family have always been big celebrators of Advent -- whether we were scoffing chocolates out of a Cadbury's calendar, or opening beautifully wrapped bibs-and-bobs that my Mum had collected in the previous months, my brother and sister and I could always expect the twenty-four days before Christmas to be exciting.


Perhaps I've matured a bit, or lost my sweet-tooth (um... no), but Advent is no longer all about the sweeties. As the nights get longer, and the last-minute preparations come together, those twenty-four days are a time to reflect on family, friends and community, and to connect with the people that matter most.

And in the spirit of connecting, this year I have a plan for something extra special. I was inspired by Kojo Designs' wonderful tea wreath (above). But, rather than going out and buying twenty-five types of tea myself, I thought, why don't we have a little swapsies.


The plan: You send me, and twenty-three others, one bag of your favourite tea (and keep a bag for yourself). Meanwhile, twenty-three others and I are sending you a bag of our favourite tea. Voila! Twenty-five teas to sample over advent. (And it doesn't have to be your favourite. Maybe there's a wacky tea you've always wanted to try, but didn't want to drink a whole box of yourself? Share it with us!)


The lovely thing is that a teabag won't cost very much to send, so this shouldn't break into your Christmas fund too much. And just think of all those exotic envelopes heading towards your postbox...

So, if you'd like to join me in brewing up a tea-rrific advent calendar from around the world, please leave a comment below, or send me a quick email to: astrid@redredcompletelyred.com. We need twenty-four people, so don't be shy! Family, friends, old and new readers are all welcome!


P.S. For more advent calendar ideas, have a look over here.

5 comments:

Ingrid in Bj! said...

Hi Astrid, I'm in. Sounds like a really great idea and I would love to join in. I love the tea garland too. A good photo op!

Kathryn said...

First, I love all the Christmas posts - keep 'em coming! :)

Second, I would totally love to do this if I lived in the States! Sending 1 tea bag to Japan would cost more in postage than the tea itself (and vice versa X23), but I'm excited to read your posts with your finished product! Enjoy!

Red Red Completely Red said...

Great, Mum and Gem, I'm glad you like the idea! It's lovely to think we'll be having our last cups of tea together in the Old Rec!

Kathryn, I'm glad you like the Christmas stuff! I can understand Japan's a long way to send stuff... perhaps you can swap a few bags with local friends instead?

Anonymous said...

I think this is a fun idea and the wreath is so pretty! I have so much work and so much to mail all the time so I won't join your swap, but I would love to send you a bag of my favourite Finnish tea for your calendar if you e-mail me your address! kajsa dot wikman at gmail dot com

Anonymous said...

Takk for en interessant blogg