Cow Christmas Advent Calendar Blind Box

About this calendar

Twenty-four doors and no list of what is behind them. Each day turns up one more little Highland cow, dressed as something: an artist, an astronaut, a chef, a bookworm. Nothing is revealed in advance, which is the whole point of a blind box and the reason it gets opened before breakfast rather than after school.

The blind box part

You do not know which cow is coming next, and neither does anyone watching. That uncertainty is what turns a small figure into something to look forward to, and it holds up for the full twenty-four days rather than wearing off in the first week. Nothing is printed on the outside to spoil it. It also settles the question of whether to open it early, because there is nothing to check in advance.

The little cows

Highland cows, so the coats are long and the horns give them away. Each one is finished with a small hat or prop to match its character: a beret, a helmet, a wooden spoon. Small enough to sit in the palm of a hand, and detailed enough that the props are worth looking at on their own. The horns are the giveaway from the front, and the outfits are what people end up comparing.

Building the herd

The set is meant to be lined up. Put each one out as it appears and by Christmas Eve there is a row of twenty-four, which is a better end to December than a flattened box and a pile of recycling. The characters are chosen so that no two look alike from across a room. Twenty-four in a row takes up about a metre of shelf, which is worth knowing before the first door is opened.

Giving it

It works as a gift because it lasts the month rather than the morning. The box is flat enough to post and nothing inside is fragile enough to need padding, so it travels well if it is going to someone in another city. Buy it in November so it is in the house before the first of the month. If it is going to a child, it is worth saying out loud that the doors are numbered and the order matters.

Specifications

Type	Blind box advent calendar
Doors	24 numbered days
Contents	24 Highland cow characters
Finish	Sculpted and painted figures

Through December

1. Open it early

   A blind box rewards getting to it before anyone else.

2. One row

   Line them up as they come out rather than leaving them in the box.

3. By the fireplace

   Small enough to sit on a mantel without rearranging anything.

4. Given in November

   So it is in the house before the first of the month.

In the box

• 1 x Highland cow blind box advent calendar

Care

Painted figures, so dust them with a soft brush, keep them out of direct sun and away from water. The box stores flat if you keep it, which is worth doing if the set is going back in for another year.

Common questions