Munich Christmas Market Advent Calendar
Brück and Sohn of Meissen, Germany have been in the printing business since 1793 and they have created a special series of Advent Calendars celebrating European towns, many of them in Germany, naturally.
Having lived in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, we visited many of the Bavarian Christmas markets - Chriskindlmarkts - year-in, year-out. Munich, the capital of the Free State of Bavaria, Germany, was the closest large Christmas market and one we never missed. Bruck and Sohn's Munich Advent Calendar is a treasured memory of those wonderful years.
In 2013 Munich's Christkindlmarkt and Kripperlmarkt opens on Monday, November 25th.
Munich's Christmas Market is special, in that since the 18th century it has had a section devoted specifically to Krippen (the nativity crib or creche). The Kripperlmarkt has only a half dozen booths and features hand-crafted, hand-carved nativity mangers, figures, and accessories from Oberammergau, South Tyrol, and the Erzgebirge (all wood-carving centers in Germany).
Advent Calendar Candles
In Denmark Advent Calendar Candles are traditional.
According to the official website of Denmark:
We have carried Advent Calendar Candles on and off and are pleased to once again offer them. These Advent taper Calendar Candles are Red or White. 10" tall.
They are marked with the days of December 1-24 and decorated with Reindeer and Snowflakes. A memorable tradition! The big challenge is to remember only to burn a little every day.
Gingerbread House Fairy Tale Advent Calendar
We are ever so pleased to be able to offer this German Gingerbread House Advent Calendar.
Glitter-dusted and 3-Dimensional, this special Advent Calendar folds out to form a Gingerbread House. It sets up very nicely in the middle of a table so that the children can easily enjoy it from all sides. A wonderful holiday table centerpiece.
Three Fairy Tales are seen on the sides of the house: Hansel and Gretel, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, and the Bremen Town Musicians. The calendar stands 8" high x 9.5" wide x 5" deep and is made in Germany.
My Growing Traditions also offers Hansel and Gretel, the Wicked Witch, and an Inge-Glas ornament of the Gingerbread House itself.
We also carry Inge-Glas' Snow White and the Seven Dwarf ornaments
and a wonderful wood carving of the Grimms' Fairy Tales Bremen Town Musicians by the Christian Werner Workshop of Seiffen, Germany.
Enjoy a Fairy Tale Christmas!
Toy Shop Advent Calendar and Christian Ulbricht Christmas Toys and Ornaments
This is the first year we have offered the Toy Shop Advent Calendar -
an old-fashioned toy store filled with teddy bears, cars, books, a baby buggy, dolls, rocking horses, the Three Kings with their camel, an elephant, and page, blocks, a Shepherd with his sheep, trees, a wonderful Bavarian Angel, a Christmas Pyramid, birds, etc., etc. It is simply charming. Glitter-dusted. 11" x 12" and Made in Germany. A delightful way to count-down to Christmas.
Many of Christian Ulbricht's classic Christmas ornaments from Seiffen, the Christmas Capital of Germany, are of toys.
Supreme among Ulbricht's Christmas toys is a Santa, available both as an ornament and a toy alone - a roly poly toy to be wobbled like a weeble on a table top - the Wackelmensch.
We had so much fun playing with him last year, we decided to carry him specifically, plus Ulbricht's Santa Wobbly Ornament and his Mushroom Wobbly Ornament.
We also offer Ulbricht's simple and classic Christmas ornaments - natural wood - primary colors -
Toy Train
his Teddy Bear 
and his Toy Soldier
The toys of Christmas from the Toy Shop to your Christmas tree. Enjoy!
Brück and Sohn European Advent calendars now available at My Growing Traditions
For years as we lived and travelled in Europe, we found ourselves purchasing these wonderful Advent calendars as a memento of our trips. We didn't really need to purchase much of anything as a souvenir, but were taken with the fact that Brück and Sohn's Advent calendars represented not only a memory, but were also useful, and really quite nice art. Actually, there was an additional reason, the Brück and Sohn printing house is in Meissen, Germany. With our love of pottery/china/porcelain, travel to the Meissen Porcelain factory was imperative. We enjoyed two trips to Meissen and were truly charmed by this small town, with it's village square and the Frauenkirche's Meissen porcelain bells.
There, right in the center of town was the Brück and Sohn printing house, a small business thriving on an exquisite product.
The Brück and Sohn printing house has been in business since 1793 and we are proud to finally be able to offer their Advent calendars at My Growing Traditions. It is a family business now owned and managed by the seventh Brück generation.
We do have favorite Advent calendars, probably because they are of places we experienced. On the whole they celebrate the Christmas Markets of individual cities. Below is their calendar for Meissen, itself.
A particular favorite is not of a specific city in Germany, but rather of the wood-turner from Germany's Erzgebirge region--an important center of Germany's toy making industry. The Erzgebirge, with its town of Seiffen and the surrounding villages, is renown for the production of wooden German Folk Art, especially folk art important to Christmas.
Our offerings this year are of the German cities: Berlin, Dresden, Meissen, Nurnberg, Rothenburg, Salzburg, Seiffen, and Stuttgart. We also have their calendar for the Nauschweinstein Castle (the inspiration for the castle of Disneyland), for the city of Colmar in Alsace, France, and of Vienna, Austria. You can find our Brück and Sohn selection here.
