In the interests of catching you all up on what I'm sure is just scintillating material, here in one excruciatingly large post are the first two weeks of advent, minus Days 1 and 2:
Day 3: Toys for Tots donation (undocumented, but we totally did it. S picked out a Polly Pocket set, and really really wanted it for herself, but bravely put it in the box outside the store. She also picked out gifts for some of her friends and got nothing for herself. Because Christmas is about giving, damn it.)
Day 4: Wagon ride!
That's not us. We went earlier, with one of Sarah's BFFs. They loved it. And the horses didn't even poop! Win!
Day 5: New Christmas book: Jan Brett's The Twelve Days of Christmas (Also undocumented. It's a beautiful book, but all of Jan Brett's stuff is gorgeous. The detail in the margins never fails to delight us.)
Day 6: Toy (I didn't do many of these, but I just happened to have some random little things around so... This day it was pirate-themed Silly Bandz. Sarah was excited for the two minutes it took to open and catalogue the package. I have no idea where they've ended up. THANK GOD I BOTHERED.)
Day 7: Game Night!
Day 8: Put up Sarah's tree
Sarah has her own fabulously fake tree in her bedroom. She gets to pick out new ornaments every year to add to it; this year we found a set of wooden mini ornaments (isn't the soldier cute? he's maybe an inch and a half tall).
Day 9: Make ornaments!
1 c. cinnamon, 1/2 c. white glue, 1/4 c. applesauce. Mix, roll, cut and let dry for 24 hours. Then decorate to your heart's content.
These were supposed to be attached to gifts, but I love them and am keeping them. I'm a terrible person. But I'm going to make other ornaments for the presents, so no one's losing out. (Don't tell me otherwise; I don't wanna hear it.)
This guy's my favorite. Sarah did the whole thing except the eye. Could you just eat him up? (Except don't. Glue. Yuck.)
Day... um. 10? Paint nails in Christmas-y colors. (No photo here, either, but I was painting the nails of three squirmy four year olds. I'm only human, people.)
Day 11: Get tree
Day 12: Decorate!
Pretty, right? (That's not the tree skirt, though. That's just an old sheet for under the tree skirt to wrap around the tree before we take it out after Christmas. I'm clever like that.) It looked like that for three whole hours before it crashed. Yay! Only lost a handful of the standard glass-ball variety of ornaments, although I have found a couple pieces in the tree. We are all about the holiday safety here. (Um, kidding. Mostly. I mean, I really did find some pieces, but this all happened after Sarah was safely in bed, and now the tree is shard-free. also, she almost never chews on the tree, so no worries, right? [Still kidding. Please don't call Social Services.])
Day 13: Toy (A stinky little Strawberry Shortcake doll thing. I don't know where it came from.)
Day 14: Christmas movie! Sarah was home sick from school today (she's fine now, and no, it had nothing to do with the broken ornaments) so this was particularly serendipitous. Mickey Rooney's crazed ho-ho-ho in Santa Claus is Comin' To Town does not improve when played on a loop all day, for those wondering.
Aaaaand, done. To think I've never considered myself a Christmas-y person.
8 comments:
Fabulous mothering you!! WOW!~ and the ornaments are gorgeous and we are totally going to do that fun! Love the tree!
You're super-duper Christmas Elf!
Seriously. I consider myself lucky if I get a tree, buy and wrap some presents, manage a couple dozen cookies for the swap, and avoid going STARK RAVING MAD.
(Of course, I'm busy making Christmas happen for about SIX HUNDRED PEOPLE, but, you know. Details.)
#3: BRAVE Sarah!!
#5: Jan Brett is, indeed, awesome.
I'm doing the advent activities, too, and boy, that is some.... let's just say, I have other things to do, but I do it almost every night, even if it's just reading an extra story at bedtime or watching christmas movies in mama and papas bed or eating a candy cane. But we also made some ornaments and visited santa and decorated a christmas tree so i suppose i'm doing okay, although begrudgingly. The kids think it's great.
I'm totally going to make those ornaments. But I'm wondering where do you buy Cinnamon such that you get a CUP!? I mean that would be about what? eight of those little bottles in the spice section??
Rowena, I've been following along with your advent activities, and you've come up with some great ideas! I love the little houses you made.
Cindy, this time of year you can find big honking containers of cinnamon in regular old grocery stores in the baking section. One 9 oz container is good for at least two batches of dough. Hope you make some! They're really fun and the house smells insanely good while they bake.
looks like fun! Giving sarah her own tree in her room is a fabulous idea! I may have to do that next year. Maybe I can ever find a clearance one next week. bonus!
Amy, I hope you do find trees on sale, because the child's tree is awesomely cute AND doubles as a nightlight. Go for the tacky! Sarah didn't remember her tree from last year and was distinctly disappointed that it wasn't PINK.
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