Advent Tree... and a new tradition

I've been on the lookout for an advent project for a week or so.  One that would excite my boy and still look pretty in our house.  Inspired by my twin's cute little advent tree, I tried unsuccessfully to make one of my own...All of my fabric was just too small to make a substantial wall hanging, and none of the Chritmas prints that I had were calling to me...(FYI, I am NOT a traditionalist when it comes to Christmas colors...Red is my least favorite color.)

PLUS....Machine blanket stitching, are you kidding me?!?!?!?!

(forget THAT, my machine pretty much has a conniption fit when I ask it to do even a simple zig-zag stitch!).

So, after scratching the tree that I spent close to an hour making, I got out my stack of Christmas craft books. Oldies but goodies that Laura and I scored during our weekly pilgrimage to the Thrift Store.

Look at what I found!!!!
 
I fell in love on the spot, but something just told me that Eben wouldn't get too excited over some hearts and ornaments hanging off of some branches....I know, call me crazy.

What he (and I for that matter) needed was chocolate.

I scavenged through the house for some, but all I came up with was some M&Ms that I had socked away during Halloween.  They'd work, but what were we going to put them in?

That was the question.

I still had the bag of quilt squares out from when I got some together for the Sew Mama Sew giveaway.  I decided that little fabric pouches would hold the M&M's nicely.  And being a whole FIVE years old, Eben decided that every one of the 25 squares should be filled with not 1-not 2-not 3-not 4- but FIVE M&Ms each.

He held each bundle

as I wrapped the yarn around the top.

We then filled a large glass vase with some glass stones and a cut branch from the yard, finishing it off with a lovely ribbon.

And Eben picked out and hung each and every little satchel on it's very own little branch tip.

25 in all, we ate 3 right off the bat..... to catch up in our countdown (we made this 3 days into December).

But we DID save the squares.

Because when the last bundle has been eaten and Christmas 2009 is just a memory....I am going to sit down and sew all of those little squares together to make a Christmas pillow to remember it by.

And so starts a new family tradition.

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Now tell me, what is YOUR tradition for Advent?