The Advent Calendar ... finally!

As promised, here are pics of the Advent calendar I've been working hard on for the past couple weeks. It didn't start off as a Challenge entry but BASB is having a challenge that fits it so I'm going to enter it.
What the heck, eh?!
 Marley and Paige watched the creation of the boxes but I hid everything away once I was ready to add the numbers and the embellishments. It was driving them crazy wondering what I was making but the reaction this morning was worth it. They love it! I think it turned out pretty well too. There are still some kinks to work out and I'm sure over the years (because I do plan to use it FOREVER!!) I'll be fixing it and tweeking it as needed.

Here are close ups of the drawer embellishments. I managed to find a pack of Christmas paper so big that each drawer has a unique paper pattern. No repeats! Some of the "handles" are hotglued on (they are all buttons on top of buttons) and some are glued on with big fat glue dots. We'll see which method survives the longest!!

And here are a couple close ups of the contents. Not all have chocolate in them because I wanted this to be about more than just a candy grab for the girls. So below is a drawer that has letter shaped postits (P for Paige and M for Marley!)

And finally, here are some pictures of Marley opening the first drawer and the calendar in situ beside the other two cheapo calendars that Greg bought before I had a chance to tell him about my project plans. The girls are going to be flying high every day this month!! Sigh!

PS - I just have to add that today I am VERY thankful for sunshine! November here was pretty dreary and rainy but December is starting off with sunshine and crispness and I love it! I got to walk not only Marley to kindergarten but Paige to preschool too. So very thankful!