When the Christmas season rolls around, I tend to have very high aspirations of doing fabulous crafts with my kids, having a beautifully decorated house, baking all kinds of scrumptious goodies & generally being the most awesome person ever. Unrealistic, yes, but can't a girl dream?
Last year, I started the tradition of doing something Christmas-related with the kids each day of December leading up to Christmas Day. I kept it pretty low-key & found some cute ideas online. Fun was had by all. This year, I planned to do similar crafts, activities & projects, changing a few things just for the sake of variety. Technically, we've done something every day except one, but a case of strep throat, three cases of hand foot & mouth & a rather hectic schedule have made it a bit crazier & somewhat less enjoyable. I've struggled a bit with whether I'm actually doing it all for the kids or if it's just for me (gasp!). If nothing else, this December has taught me to just roll with it a bit more than I normally do.
Day 1: Begin Elf on the Shelf
This is the Chamblee family's first year to have an elf watching over the affairs of our household & reporting back to Santa. We read the book that first night, & after much deliberation, the kids named our elf Gordon after our preacher. I still need to inform Gordon of his namesake. Every day, there is much excitement over searching the house to see where Gordon is hiding & watching. Jake was rather grieved to not get to hold Gordon in the first picture.
Don't worry, we keep things fair around here - he got his turn. Since these pics, we haven't been able to hold Gordon again. It takes away his magic!
Day 2: Christmas Tree Stickers
I found this sticker set at Target, which came with two tree stickers & a ton of lights, ornaments, presents, etc. for the kids to add to their tree. Fun & easy!
Day 3: Wooden Nativity Set
Jake & Mallory have had lots of fun with this Melissa & Doug set. It helps suppress their yearning to touch Mommy's nice set, which was my grandmother's & is definitely off limits! On day 3, we also received the gingerbread cookies that Aunt Debbie makes each year for their countdown calendar. Each kid (including Beau!) gets a cookie each day as we count down to the big cookie they'll get on Christmas. Today, Mallory excitedly exclaimed, "We're getting almost there!"
Day 4: Read The Night Before Christmas
They seem more into this pop-up version of the classic this year than they were last.
Day 5: Watch How the Grinch Stole Christmas
Daddy was sweet to entertain & care for the munchkins on this evening while I hosted my bunko group downstairs. He even agreed to work in a Christmas activity!
And here are a few cute shots of my sweeties in their Christmas attire before church one Sunday.
1 comment:
I absolutely LOVE Christmas and try (unsuccessfully!) to be the most awesome person ever, as well. :) Therefore, I love this post of yours! So so so fun.
I'll share the wealth: a tradition of ours, started last year (that I copied from someone else!) is to read a Christmas book every night at bedtime... 24 books in all. I collected all 24, some Santa-ish and some Baby Jesus-focused, wrapped them up, and have them under the girls' tree. Each night, they take turns unwrapping a "present" and then we read it at bedtime. Helps them with the urge to open presents, and provides us with good snuggle time in Christmas pj's. :) Check out after-Christmas sales for some books if you'd like... it is fun! (I save them all, then just re-wrap next year! Got rid of a couple that were too babyish and found a couple new ones this year...)
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