Counting down to Christmas!
Happy first day of December! If your family is like mine, today is the day you’ll bring out the Advent calendars and start the official countdown to Christmas day.
When I was a little kid, one of my very favorite parts of the holiday season was our Advent calendar. Year after year my mother hung a simple felt wall calendar with little pockets for each day of the month. I honestly don’t remember what Mom put inside the pockets…which just goes to show you that it’s the anticipation and daily ritual of recognizing the Advent that makes it so exciting, not the candy or prizes in the calendar.
When you were little, did you have a favorite ornament or Christmas decoration? The one that you looked forward to pulling out every year, that you kept taking off of the tree or mantle to play with? I did. It was a music box with a little wooden rocking horse and teddy bear sitting on a drum that played the song “Toyland.” I can still remember the song, and the way that music box felt in my hand, as though I just held it yesterday. I found one on a collectibles site and am seriously thinking of buying it because it was that special.
I know many of you remember a certain ornament, and your advent calendar, with just as much nostalgia as I do…which is why I’m so excited about today’s giveaway from Hallmark: an adorable keepsake ornament that counts down the days to Christmas. I have a feeling this is one that won’t stay on the tree long – your kids won’t be able to keep their hands off it! Hallmark will ship the ornament early next week, so you’ll still have plenty of time to use it.
The winner will also receive a package of holiday cards with pre-stamped envelopes.If you’re like me and your best intentions are sometimes thwarted by the inability to locate a stamp at that crucial card-sending moment, these will definitely help make getting those cards out a little easier this year!
make every day special.
Before I get to the giveaway details, I wanted to mention that this is the last of my posts in the Hallmark-sponsored Life is a Special Occasion series. It has been a wonderful partnership that’s allowed me to explore some of the quieter and less-flashy “special occasions” that often tend to get overshadowed by the Big Events. So even though Christmas is a major holiday, I’m trying hard to hold on to the “Life is a Special Occasion” attitude by treating each small moment of the holiday with just as much reverence as that big Christmas-morning event.
Which reminds me: it’s about time for me to go make Owen a cup of hot chocolate and then start putting that Advent calendar together. So, here are the giveaway details!
check back all week for more great giveaways!
- One winner, chosen at random, will win the Santa Claus keepsake ornament above plus a package of Hallmark holiday cards with pre-stamped envelopes.
- Contest open to residents of the United States only
- To enter, simply leave a comment with a valid email address (in the email field, not in the body of the comment.)
For up to 3 extra entries:
- Tweet about the contest, then leave an additional comment letting me know you did
- Share the contest on Facebook, then leave an additional comment letting me know you did
- Sign up for Hallmark’s Life is a Special Occasion newsletter full of tips and inspiration to celebrate all of life’s special moments. Make sure to leave an additional comment letting me know you did. Oh, and if you decide to poke around at Hallmark.com, use the code SOCIAL20 at checkout for 20% off your purchase!
Contest will close at 1:05 PM EST on Saturday, December 3. Winner will be selected randomly using the “And The Winner Is” WordPress plugin and published on The Happiest Mom by Sunday, December 4.
All entries will automatically be included in this weekend’s drawing for a Motorola Droid Razr!
Good luck!
To welcome the holiday season, I’m giving gifts away for six days with a great grand prize drawn from all entries – a Droid Razr! Check out the intro post for more details, Day 1 for a chance to win a $25 iTunes gift card, Day 2 for a chance to win $25 to help your kids save money, and Day 3 for a chance to win a super-cute wooden play kitchen. And stop back tomorrow for another great giveaway from Scout by Bungalow!
Hallmark ornaments are so fun! The excitement is palpable every year opening up the container of ornaments. Wonderful walk down memory lane!
I think this is a great contest!! I live the Hallmark Store, when I have nothing to do, I go into a Hallmark,it always makes me feel better, I have Stage 4 breast cancer, and when I am in the store, it makes me feel that I have hope! Have a great day!! 🙂
Merry Christmas!
This is a great giveaway – thank you and Happy Holidays!
I used to work at Hallmark.=) heatha100@gmail.com
Oh yes, I can identify with the “can’t find a stamp” problem. I just found a card from last Christmas that I wrote out, addressed and then put aside until I found a stamp. Apparently I never found a stamp! So I love the idea of the pre-stamped cards.
I have always loved Hallmark! There is always something for anyone when you need a special gift. 🙂
I have signed up for Hallmark’s “Life is a Special Occasion” newsletter.
Thank you Hallmark for selling items to make special Christmas memories.
Love love love Hallmark ornaments. Pretty soon I will have to get a second tree:-)
I love Christmas ornaments, I have several that fall into that special memory category. I also had a tradition with my grandmother when I was growing up – I bought her an angel ornament each year. Thanks for reminding me of the great feeling special ornaments can give!
Great giveaway. I’d love to get it.
Wonderful! I know a little one in this house who could use a way to count down to her favorite holiday…besides her birthday that is 🙂
How cute! I love this!
This is my first Christmas with a child, so we’re trying to start as many traditions as possible!
For the 13 years my husband and I have been married, and now the four years as parents, Hallmark ornaments really are some of our most cherished Christmas items. Thanks for this great giveaway!
We’ve never done an advent calendar but I know lots of people who have.
My family would love this ornament.
Would love to add this ornament to my collection!
Would like this ornament to give to my wife! She’s been collecting hallmark ornaments for over 25 years.
Thanks for the contest and I am going to share!!!
Oh yes sign me up. I get a new Hallmark Ornament every year and have started the same tradition with my girls so that when they are older they have a start on their tree ornaments such great memories from those ornaments.
I’m so excited for Christmas this year, our daughter is almost 2, and has been running around the house saying, “Santa claus! Ho ho ho!” Soooo much fun!!!
I would love to have this ornament. I will be visiting my favorite Hallmark store tomorrow. I hope they have Deck the Halls Duo. That will be one of the things I will be buying.
Thank you Hallmark for collectable and all the memories they create.
What a wonderful giveaway! I love Hallmark ornaments. I have such special memories associated with each of mine.
I love that ornament! My son is so excited about counting the days until Christmas.
That ornament is very cute 🙂 I think my son wouldn’t leave it in the tree very well!
I love shopping Hallmark! I collect several of the product linees and look forwaed to what comes out next! I can spend hours browsing the Hallmark store.
Neat advent ornament. It is fun to count down the days!
God bless you for being so kind. You are goling to make some lucky person’s Christmas quite special!
We had a special little stocking for a new ornament every Christmas morning. It’s a tradition I loved and I’m continuing it with my kids.
I’m a huge Hallmark Ornament fan. In our family, godparents give their godchildren the Hallmark godchild ornament on Christmas eve each year My aunt has bought it for me since I was in high school – that’s when we started the tradition … not sure if they made them before that. Now I buy them for my two godchildren and my kids get them too. They are so beautiful! It was also nice when I struck out on my own that I had a nice starter set of ornaments.
How neat – never thought of an advent calendar ornament before!
I have so many favorite decorations new and old. There is just something about decorating for Christmas. Right now my kids are 4 and they just love taking down ornaments from the tree and playing with them!
I simply love Hallmark — I really appreciate that I am also buying “local” since they are headquartered here in KC. 🙂
We just did our annual Holiday excursion to our nearby Hallmark store and I made the HUGE mistake of taking the kids with me. So many goodies!
Every year, I buy a few Keepsake ornaments – the Nostalgic Home and Shops series is my absolute favorite, but I also love the vintage toy series along with anything and everything Curious George.
This is a good reminder to pull out our Advent calendar, which is a highlight of the season for my daughter.
I love Christmas ornaments! Our decorated tree fell down the night we put it up and a bunch of our ornaments broke, so it would be great to win a new one!
we never had an advent calander, but it is something I have started with my own kids and they love it! I just bought the calanders so they are so easy
Thanks for the opportunity to win such fun things!
Advance Merry Christmas to everyone. I really excited for this coming Christmas. This is really wonderful giveaways for the incoming holiday season.
Merry Christmas! Thanks for the giveaways!
So, I’m thinking that the advent calendars with pockets might be a great way to give the kids a special holiday treat by using up the last bits of Halloween candy. Saves you going out to make extra purchases unnecessarily.
Also, super cute ornament!
Great giveaway!
I tweeted!
Love that ornament! What a cute advent calendar.
Love Hallmark year round, but SO much good stuff at the holidays!
Long time Hallmark lover here!
I love hallmark ornaments, we add a couple to our tree each year.
I absolutely LOVE these ornaments. I haven’t seen the countdown one before, but it is so cute!