Week 4!! It's CHRISTMAS!

Wow! What a fun past few weeks. I know I have had a blast with all the things I have done with my daughter. :)

• December 21st- Having the family over for Christmas? Decorate a table cloth for the holiday table! Take a plain white table cloth, and have your children decorate it with holiday things using fabric markers. Have each of them sign it and put the date. It's washable because of the fabric paint, and can be added to over the years. Some idea's for decorating include: A large tree, holiday messages to loved ones, Christmas memories, etc. (this can also be a great Birthday idea as well.
  


• December 22nd - Don't forget our feathered friends! Taking a walk? Bring some bird seed along for the birds. In our town we have a great little park with duck that love bread. This time of year, there aren't as many tourists out to feed them, so we are heading to the park today to feed the duckies.

• December 23rd- Wrap presents! And an even better idea, is to take plain paper and decorate it yourself with stamps and paint! Don't have stamps? Make some using potatoes. Make sure to let the paper dry before you wrap the presents.

• December 24th- Read "The Night Before Christmas" to your children at bedtime! Tonight our family will go to church, and once our little one is bed, we put the presents out. Another thing we will do tonight is of course leave out cookies and milk for Santa, along with using baking soda to make footprints from the fireplace for our daughter to find in the morning! :)
  


• December 25th- HAPPY BIRTHDAY JESUS! And Merry Christmas as well. Today we are having a cupcake to celebrate the birth of Jesus.

I hope that everyone has a very Merry Christmas this year! I also hope that everyone had fun getting ideas on what to do during the holiday with your children. The best gift ever is time spent making memories, and I hope that this little blog was able to help.

Week 3

Wow! Time is flying by. Christmas is 2 weeks away, and it seems like the season just started. Have fun this week, and remember the most important thing is spending time with the ones you love.

• December 14th - Go to a Christmas Concert! Our Church is doing their Christmas Cantata, so I will have Autumn in church with me instead of Sunday School, so she can enjoy it as well.


• December 15th- Love the smells of Christmas? I do! Today we are going to make an Orange Pomander ball! Simple to do and only requires ribbon, an orange, and whole cloves! Little hands can help with this one!


• December 16th- Story time! Tonight take time to read O. Henry's Gift of the Magi.


• December 17th- Cookie time! Bake cookies for a neighbor or friend! Simple sugar cookies are easy for younger kids to decorate. I let my daughter help me stir and add ingredients.


• December 18th- Today take time to donate items to a family in need. Gloves and winter hats would be a great thing to take. Or take food items to the Food Bank in your area.


• December 19th - Make breakfast for dinner! Pancakes and waffles anyone? Tint the pancakes in holiday colors, or make a Santa face with whip cream!


• December 20th- Build a snow man! Now this is for our Northern friends that have snow right now. If ya live in Texas like me, there is no snow in sight, unless ya count the sleet/ice, stayed on the ground white stuff we had for one day. BUT don't dis pare! Get thee to a store and pick up a can of cheap foam shaving cream! Place on table, or plastic sheet, and have fun! My two year old loves playing with it, and we get the added bonus of getting clean and smelling great. (and no frozen fingers and toes!)

Week 2

• December 8th - Snowflakes anyone? Take time today to teach your children the art of paper snowflakes! Hang them from the ceiling, or stick them to the windows. Need some help? Check out these websites for instructions on how to make them. http://highhopes.com/snowflakes.html or http://www.papersnowflakes.com/

• December 9th- Teach your children about giving today. Find a store with a Salvation Army Bucket, and let them put in a bit of money to help those in need. And if your children are older and can hang out for awhile, consider signing up sometime this month to ring the bell!

• December 10th- Take time out today during dinner or after to talk about the many symbols of Christmas. There are may websites that have different ideas on what the symbols represent, this is one of my favorites: http://www.saskschools.ca/~gregory/chr/symbols.html

• December 11th- Gingerbread! Gather up all the fix'ins and make a gingerbread house! You can buy ready made kits in the store, or get brave and make your own gingerbread! For little kids, put the house together the night before, then let them decorate to their hearts content! (recipe and instructions for making a gingerbread house: http://homecooking.about.com/od/specificdishes/a/gingerbreadhous.htm

• December 12th- CAMP OUT! Get out the blankets and camp out under the Christmas tree! A great chance for some fun pictures, and to look at the lights on the tree. :)

• December 13th- Ice cream in December? Sure why not? Make some homemade ice cream (or buy some if you can find it) in various Christmas flavors! Peppermint, Eggnog or even a gingerbread!

Week One

Christmas time is upon us! While the stores have been in full swing with decorations and music since before Thanksgiving, Christmas doesn't get underway in our house until the day after Thanksgiving. This year I decided that my daughter and I would do something Christmas related for the 25 days of Christmas. If you celebrate Advent as well, don't forget to get your wreath ready. There are also several places on the web that have some great resources for Advent as well. I will post things early to help with planning, and getting supplies ready.

Not every idea or suggestion will be appropriate for all ages (like on the 7th), but take the idea and run with it. My daughter will get to watch a Christmas movie that night instead. Another thing that we will be doing is something called La Posada . If your area does this, it is a wonderful tradition to start.

• December 1- Work on Christmas cards. Have your child make hand prints or even drawings that you can turn into cards to send family. (make sure to mail these out in time to get to where they need to go)



• December 2- If you haven't started already, have your child help you with putting up the decorations. My daughter has her own tree with plastic ornaments on it, that she helps decorate. Make it an all day event. Fix hot chocolate and play Christmas music.
  
  
• December 3- Short on ornaments? Now is the perfect time to make some handmade ornaments for the year. Hand prints are always a good one, and many examples can be found at this website :http//www.artistshelpingchildren.org/christmasartscraftsideaskidsprojects.html


• December 4th- Let even your youngest child get into the spirit of gift giving. Make a trip to the Dollar Store today (or any store of your choice) and let them pick out their own gifts for family. Not only will your child feel special getting to purchase their own gifts, but the memories through the years of what they think Daddy needs, will be something to treasure!
  


• December 5th- It's Friday! Find a Christmas light display and go for a drive looking at all the neat lights! If you live in the New Braunfels Texas area, there is Santa Ranch off of I-35 heading to San Marcos!
  


• December 6th- Has your child sent their letter to Santa? Take time today to write your letter to Santa and send it out in the mail.
  


• December 7th - See a holiday play. Does your town do the Nutcracker? If so, get tickets to go. Sunday's usually have matinee prices! In my hometown they are putting on A Christmas Carol. While my daughter is still a bit young for the theatre, you can bet I will be there!