Christmas Street Advent Calendar, 12 Miniature Houses

This calendar works with 12 doors, not 24. The countdown is shorter than with a classic advent calendar, so you start later in December. If you want to arrive on Christmas Eve, you open the first door on 13 December.

Every door holds one piece for your scene. The product photos show colourful miniature houses, a red telephone box, a letterbox, little fir trees, a snowman, a lantern and a small car among them. A single cottage turns into a whole street over the evenings, with corners you can lose yourself in.

According to the customs tariff the houses and figures are made of plastic or resin and are classified as ornaments, not as food. The back of the calendar carries a backdrop with a row of houses: cut it out and stand your village in front of it, and the scene gains depth.

• Advent calendar with 12 doors
• Miniature houses and village pieces behind the doors
• Box shaped like a mint green townhouse
• Printed string of lights, fir trees and Christmas Street lettering
• Back of the box as a cut-out row of houses
• Figures made of plastic or resin
• No sweets inside, the pieces stay as decoration

The calendar belongs in homes where advent is a ritual: one door each evening, one new piece for the street each evening. Because the figures stay, it can grow into a family tradition that carries on next year.

As a gift it works for advent, for Christmas and as a small Saint Nicholas present. Since the countdown only runs for 12 days, you can still hand it over at the beginning of December without anything having been missed.

• Clear a fixed spot on the mantelpiece or sideboard before the first door, so the street has room to grow.
• Cut out the backdrop from the back only once the calendar is empty, then set it up behind the scene.
• Let a different family member open a door each evening and place the new piece.
• Photograph the scene each evening, and at the end you can see how the street grew.

How many doors does the calendar have? It has 12 doors, which makes a countdown over 12 days rather than 24.

Are there sweets inside? No. Behind the doors you will find small houses and village pieces, not chocolate.

Do the houses light up? No, no lighting is part of the calendar. The string of lights is printed on the box.

Can the figures be used after Christmas? Yes, they are meant as decoration and can stay on the mantelpiece or sideboard.

What is the back of the box for? It is printed with a row of houses that you cut out and use as a backdrop for your Christmas village.