The Dirigible Balloon
Poetry for Children

Advent Calendar

Behind the first window a sprig of holly
Behind the second a Santa, jolly
Behind number three is a field of snow
Behind number four there is mistletoe
Behind number five sweets in a jar
Behind number six a guiding star
Behind number seven an empty stable
Behind number eight a Christmas table
Behind number nine a choirboy singing
Behind number ten a bell is ringing
Behind number eleven angels dancing
Behind number twelve reindeer prancing
Number thirteen? A festive wreath
Number fourteen has sleigh bells beneath
Number fifteen we’re halfway there!
Number sixteen a Christmas fair
Seventeen hides a plump roast duck
Eighteen a charm to bring you luck
Nineteen a parcel tied with a bow
Twenty? Only four more to go!
Twenty-one carol singers knocking
Twenty-two a Christmas stocking
Twenty-three now there’s only one more
I may as well peep inside twenty-four!
Twenty-five whoopee at last it’s here!
Can I have a chocolate one next year?

About the Writer


Carole Bromley

Carole was born in Middlesbrough in the UK and lives in York. She has had pamphlets and collections published and has also won a number of competitions, including the Bridport, the Yorkshire Open, Torbay, Poetry Space and the Bronte Society Literary Prize. Her poems for children have been published in The Caterpillar, in her collection, Blast Off! and in anthologies from MacMillan and Emma Press. She was the winner of the 2022 Caterpillar Prize. Carole will be tutoring a course on writing poems for children at the Garsdale Retreat in October 2024