christmas countdown

i had many grand plans for a grand advent calendar this year.  then life got in the way and none of them came to fruition.  every year, as hendrix gets older, christmas gets more exciting around here.  kids make even the biggest scrooges (ahem, mike) get excited for christmas.  i love advent calendars because they help the kid countdown to christmas and they help me stay focused on what matters.  i always like to include special activities like: get a christmas tree, decorate cookies, or go ice skating in his calender.  then for the days when we can't quite DO something...he gets a special treat.
anyways, there i was standing in the kitchen at the end of november wondering how i was going to whip out a calendar quickly and cheaply...when i spotted hendrix's christmas stocking.  it has a calendar on it. ta-da! the christmas advent stocking!  so every day since saturday, i have been putting little treats in there.  he's really been loving it...and so have i.  the santa pez dispenser was a big hit yesterday. thursday is saint nick's day so i will putting a picture of a shoe in his stocking and telling him to check his shoes for a surprise. do you have an advent calendar in your house? how do you fill it?