Technically the Christian holiday of Advent begins on a different day every year, between November 27th and December 2nd. But the advent calendar typically in use today just has one slot for each day of December from the 1st to the 25th, essentially serving as a countdown to Christmas.
Most of your standard run-of-the-mill advent calendars have a cheap chocolate or small plastic toy behind each day's door. Why not liven things up with a geeky advent calendar this year?
Circuitry Advent Calendar
This simple circuitry project involves a nine-volt battery, a breadboard, and a handful of electronics parts. The instructions suggest that you bag up all the parts and give it to your friend to put together themselves, but it would be a lot nicer if you assembled it first.
You push the button once a day to increment the days to the 25th, and while it doesn't dispense any actual treats, it does dispense quite a lot of geeky charm.
Lego Advent Calendars
These packages of geeky delight contain a new minifig or small Lego project for each of the 24 days. They come in a variety of styles (including a Star Wars, Lego City, and just plain bricks) and they are obviously pretty popular because right now they are all sold out. Set yourself a reminder to buy one for next year!
Dr. Who Advent Calendar
This official BBC mini-site offers a new Dr. Who treat for each day. Technically yes this is 2012's calendar, but on the up side it means that all the content has been unlocked, so you can click around and read everything all at once. (Perfect for those like me, who would just sneak downstairs and eat all the chocolate on the second or third night of Advent.)
Image of Lego advent calendar courtesy Flickr/henry...
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