A 'reverse advent calendar' will make even the most stoic Grinch tear up

"There are lots of people struggling at this time of year."

A Melbourne mother has found a way to make the traditional advent calendar even sweeter this year - and it doesn't even involve chocolate.

Most of us are familiar with the tradition of opening a treat each day in the lead-up to Christmas, Sasha Shanks and her family have added a heartwarming twist. 

They give, not take.

Sasha shared a now-viral video on Instagram, garnering widespread praise for her generous idea.

"Have you heard of a reverse advent? Each day, our kids pick a toy or book that they no longer use or play with, and it gets put into a box to donate," Sasha wrote.

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"There are lots of people struggling"

Each day, her children dig through their belongings to find an item they’re ready to part with. Sasha shared several reasons behind the tradition:

"I think having a designated place for the donations has helped our kids grasp the concept a bit more; and they're more excited about helping other little children at Christmastime," she told Kidspot.

"We prefer to highlight 'giving' rather than 'receiving', and this helps with that."

In the video, Sasha shows herself setting up a plastic container, labelling it with her cricut, so that her children deposit items destined for a new, loving home.

“Being surrounded by philanthropy and generosity makes you realise how important it is, and how much you can make a difference even with small gestures. It's important that we teach our kids this lesson.” she explained. 

"It helps us all see in a tangible way how lucky we are to have enough to donate, which fosters gratitude and appreciation."

Image: @stylish.interiors/instagram

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An opportunity to clear the clutter

Her followers were thrilled by the idea, with many inspired to introduce the tradition themselves.

“This is the most beautiful idea, babe. So important to teach our kids these lessons,” one commenter wrote.

“Saving this and implementing it in my house,” another shared.

Some followers even shared their own variations of the concept.

“I did this one year and am planning to do it again. Instead, we put the items in a bag for Santa so one of his helpers—usually Lola, our Elf—can give it to him to take to other kids,” one person said.

“We’ve done it with food before to give to a food bank, but I never thought of doing it with toys,” another added. 

However, some parents were quick to point out flaws with the idea, such as this mum, who joked: “Knowing my kids, they’d change their minds after seeing it all sitting in the tub all month." 

For Sasha, the tradition also doubles as an opportunity to clear out clutter and prepare for the influx of new gifts.

“Even though we don’t bombard our kids with gifts, we’re very blessed that others give a lot too. I don’t want to be swamped by things in our house that our kids have outgrown or could be better loved by another child,” she said.

"Anything is better than nothing"

She offered some advice to families looking to adopt the idea in their own households. 

"The earlier you can make donations the better, to give people time to benefit from it for Christmas," she said.

"It doesn't have to be done the way we've chosen to - kids could alternate days, they could do one a week, they could even just pick one thing overall to donate. Anything is better than nothing!"

Originally published as A 'reverse advent calendar' will make even the most stoic Grinch tear up