As Our Parents Age So Do We

Click to visit Jacquie Lawson E-cards

My mother sent me an electronic Advent calendar from Jacquie Lawson E-cards and Greetings. It’s amazing. No, this calendar is not just amazing — it cute, whimsical, and downright fun. Also it’s a simple and easy gift to give to a grandchild, a grandparent, or anyone in-between — and easy to use. It may be necessary to join the e-card site, but it’s cheap relative to what we spend on cards and greetings.

Each morning, just like when I was a child, I dash to my computer or iPad, open the digital door, and start the day’s Advent/Christmas animation. My calendar depicts Victorian London, and so far I’ve decorated a tree, watched a London market stock up for Christmas, and explored a room inside Big Ben’s clock tower.

A couple of weeks ago the calendar arrived via an e-mail message with a download link and instructions. It works on my PC and my Mac (in fact, the day after installing it, I upgraded to a new Mac operating system, and the calendar continued to play without a hitch), and an advent calendar app is available on iTunes.

My mom sent this to me a few days before Thanksgiving, more than a week before the calendar’s December 1st starting date allowed me to open a window. To keep users engaged the Jacquie Lawson animation programmers incorporated a puzzle feature so users can assemble a digital puzzle of the calendar’s picture. And the puzzle came in different sizes — 12, 20, and 42 pieces. I put the puzzles together half-a-dozen times before ever opening an Advent door.

All-in-all great fun that’s enjoyable for adult children, aging parents, and grandchildren. Thanks Mom!