Hello, late night readers. This post is a teaser for tomorrow morning. Tomorrow morning is December 4th. I’m including that detail for a reason, and I’ll explain it in a bit.

First, here’s a preview of what’s coming tomorrow:

Backstory: I know you remember those chocolate-filled Advent calendars from your childhood, and from your children’s childhoods. They seem quaint now, don’t they? Those sweet little cardboard boxes filled with 25 tiny pieces of chocolate, each behind a paper door that you opened, one at a time?

And now that quaint, sweet Advent calendar has exploded into a very grown up (and expensive) market full of Advent calendars from Jo Malone, L’Occitane, Bonne Maman, and so much more. You can, as surely you know, get wine, bourbon, or naughty toys in your Advent calendar, if you didn’t wait too late to purchase.

Oh, wait. It’s already late. But December 1 is not the first day of Advent, so “Advent” calendars are really just December calendars that are missing a few days at the end. Let’s just make that one point abundantly clear.

Anyway, the world’s awash in December countdown calendars with one-per-day goodies galore.

What else is the world awash in?

COVID-19 variants.

Enduring hope.

Assholes.

Really good people who are doing the best they can, just as you and I are.

And with that mix of variables comes a fair amount of stress.

So this December, maybe a different kind of countdown calendar could help. One with simple, practical tips to help all of us not lose our fucking minds. Sound promising?

Well, tomorrow you can have a look at it and decide for yourself. It will be a free download — a PDF that you can print for yourself, or just look at on your screen and think about printing (that’s what I usually do, if I’m honest about it).

Why tomorrow, December 4th, instead of Wednesday, December 1st? Because on December 4th two people I love very very dearly celebrate their birthdays. And since they are both festive, sparkly, joyful people, celebrating their birthdays makes me feel festive, sparkly, and joyful — which is how I want to feel for the holiday season. So I’m starting on December 4.

Also, I couldn’t quite get this proofed and published and polished (as polished as it’s going to be) until now.

But the countdown calendar/journal has a full 31 entries, so you’ll have more than enough to get through until the very last minute of 2021.

Bonus: I might just — MIGHT — post a tip a day for the entire month of December. We’ll see.

Here’s a taste of what’s to come:

So come back tomorrow, yes?

See you then.