Fear not if you forgot to get your chocolate calendar this year, as Greenwich town centre is to be transformed into a living Advent Calendar so all visitors and residents can join in the count down to Christmas.

After a successful launch last year, the second project of its kind organised by St Alfege Church will see Greenwich homes, shops, pubs, schools and community groups transform their street-facing windows into vibrant designs to represent an advent calendar.

A window will open, or be unveiled, every day between December 1 and December 24 and all windows will be on show until January 5. Once all the windows have been unveiled, on foot it should take approximately two hours to see them all.

Voluntary parties and organisations involved have been asked to take inspiration from a hope and fears theme, which St Alfege says is to reflect advent hope but also people’s basic fears, especially at a time of economic uncertainty.

Expect to see windows referencing snakes and ladders, eco friendly homes, the run up to the London Olympics, the credit crunch at home and abroad and the traditional focus on the stable in Bethlehem, freshly interpreted. A variety of media will be used, including installations, stained glass, models, paintings and graffiti art.

Chris Moody, the vicar of St Alfege Church, said: “So many different sorts of people live, work and study in Greenwich or come here as visitors, it’s easy to pass each other by without noticing. In its casual and low-key way, Advent Windows offers people the opportunity to meet each other under a common umbrella. It’s time taken out, however momentarily, to refresh our hopes and broaden our sympathies.”

From this week’s openings, look out for the installation Untitled at 22 Nelson Road by artist Jonathan and Pets and the City at 334 Creek Road’s Life in Black and White on December 4, which is billed as a thought-provoking image capturing the essence of all our hopes and fears.

The children of James Wolfe School have based their window this year on their hopes for the future and will unveil their window with carol singing on December 5. This week’s main event is bound to be the huge white star hanging from 213 Greenwich High Road from December 6 accompanied by smaller stars in the other windows made by local children.

Advent Windows until Jan 5. Various locations in and around Greenwich town centre.