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Dating back during the 19th century, counting the days till Christmas was not made on printed calendar with pretty Santa Claus complete with chocolate, instead tracking the days down was made through the use of a chalk line on the front door or a burning candle to indicate the days until Christmas. It is in this fashion, that a Christmas advent calendar was created.
In 1908, Gerhard Lang printed the first advent calendar at his office in Munich, Germany. Since then, Advent Calendars became a saleable item and were being produced in volumes. By 1950's chocolate advent calendars were on the shelves of every local store to purchase and as expected became a hit not only for grown-ups but for kids as well.
Presently, advent calendars are still popular when Christmas season comes. There are several collections of advent calendars to choose from, everything from the children's much loved cartoon characters – like Barbie Dolls and the likes - to the sparkly Santa Clause and the famous Christmas icon – Mr. Snowman. Modern chocolate advent calendar has usually 25 boxes to open – representing each day until the eve of Christmas. Each box contains a single chocolate in various forms. Some contains the shape of Santa Claus, snowflakes, a reindeer, a star, while others were shaped as snowman, which keeps children more interested in the Christmas countdown.
Christmas advent calendars may vary from the most simple to the most elegant, depending on the buyer's preference. Kids tend to get attracted to the modern advent calendars that are filled with milk chocolate goodies and sweets, while adults lean towards sophistication like Praline, Dark Chocolates, or White Chocolates and can be bought from almost all candy shops and chocolate stores.
Advent calendars are available on display in most shops as early as October. However, because of its high demand, it is advisable that you buy one before December starts, since they tend to sell out really fast. One option though is to purchase it online and have it delivered straight to your door. Some can give you bigger discounts. What's more, you can choose from a wide array and compare prices without having to hop from one store to another, making you save time, effort, and money.
Christmas advent calendars don't have to have chocolates in it. There are some that contains a nice note behind every window. A wooden or magnetic one is also available and is a very good alternative to the chocolate one, since it can be reused for the next year.
Another option would be to have a photo of your loved-one enlarged and have it fashioned into an advent calendar, or instead of putting chocolates, you may put a photo of every family member behind every door.
Christmas advent calendar can also be an excellent pre-Christmas present. A homemade one with photos of every family member behind each window would surely be a delight for grandfathers and grandmothers. Seeing their sons, daughters, and grandkids behind every door will surely bring joy and warmth.
Christmas is a special time of year. People are thinking about the holidays and getting together with loved ones. People are sending the best wishes for their business associates and their clients, knowing that hey are appreciated. But why wait until the week before Christmas to let a client know that they are appreciated? Why not do what a lot of companies are doing and give out promotional advent calendars?
There are a couple of advantages that companies have found for using promotional advent calendars to promote their business around the holidays and to let people know that they are appreciated.
More Than a One Time Thing
Most gifts that companies give around the holidays last only a day or two, but when you give a client promotional advent calendars they are reminded of your company from December 1st all the way up to December 25th.
Something New and Different
A lot of companies send food to their clients to show them that they are appreciated, but a client really notices it when a company does something new and different from the other companies that they deal with.
There are also things that you need to take into consideration when you are sending someone promotional advent calendars as a gift for the holidays. Before you send that calendar off to that client, ask yourself these questions.
Do they celebrate Christmas?
Since promotional advent calendars are something that is related to Christmas, you wouldn't want to send it to someone who does not celebrate Christmas because they may be insulted by it. If this is a valued customer, you don't want to take the chance and insult them, no matter how innocent the gesture may be.
Will they accept the gift?
Again, this is something that you should ask yourself before you send it to them. There are people who, for some reason or another, don't like Christmas and want nothing to do with it.
Some tips on using promotional advent calendars for clients:
Don't send it to a first time client – get to know the client well before you send them something like this. You should know that the client isn't going to take offence to the gift and that is something that you will learn over time.
When in doubt, don't send it – if you aren't sure how the person is going to react to receiving promotional advent calendars, don't take a chance. You don't want to lose their business by sending them something that they won't want to receive.
Promotional advent calendars are a good promotional item when you know the recipient well enough to gauge what their reaction is going to be, but you should always be careful and think it out before making the decision to send one. They are not an expensive item but they can wind up costing you a lot of money if you insult a valued customer and drive their business away. Some people can get very touchy around Christmas time and it's always better to be safe than sorry.