Christmas Day is fun.
Sure. But, to me, the real joy of this season is in the anticipation, the build-up before the big day. And also that part of the holidays about spending time with the people we care about.
So this year I decided to do an advent calendar for the Littles. I love the idea of a countdown- it makes the wait even more exciting! But to refocus on doing things together and making memories and all that fuzziness, instead of little treats inside each day the Littles get a note. It tells them where to find a surprise, which in turn is a clue about what the day's special activity will be. I think they like this treasure hunt part as much as the rest of it! Missy gets to take the note out, and Little One has to read it. Then they search together for their clue.
The first night, it was a little package with sprinkles inside. Because if you know me, you know I must start things off right- with cookies!
And decorating!
This was kind of a cheat, since I really needed little elves to help me make and decorate all those hundreds of cookies so I could wrap and deliver them. (Ssshhhhh! I have them convinced it was a fun family activity, and not slave labor.)
The next night there were holiday prism glasses (which make little shapes appear when you look at Christmas lights through the lenses) hiding in the play car, and the activity was a drive through the light display at the beach. You get to drive right down the boardwalk.
The next night was a little dollar-store angel to top the miniature pink Christmas tree for their room, and their activity was to decorate it. They got very creative, using necklaces as garlands, and love the idea of their very own tree.
One night they got some stickers, shiny santa confetti, and fancy stationary and had some hot cider while writing their letters to Santa.
I love this one because it also became a lesson in how to write and send a letter. Little One learned about return addresses and so forth, and carefully printed everything Herself.
This year, both Littles insisted that they wanted to ask Santa for only one thing, and they both knew exactly and unequivocally what it was. It's been a couple months since they made these decisions, and they have stuck by them so far.
Little One's wish list: "A Toy Batman"
Missy's: "A Piggy Bank to Save Money"
I love these choices. They are so emblematic of who They are at the moment. Little One is SO into the boys at school and playing superhero and running around saving the world all the time. Missy wants so much to be like Big Sister and get coins for extra chores, and save them up. Such a practical Little, She wants to save money, "To save it. To keep it in there inside the piggy bank, so to save it so it can be safe." I don't think spending it has occurred to Her at all.
We've also had holiday movie night
A walk/ride through the neighborhood looking at lights on an unusually warm evening
Door decorating
wreath making
Gingerbread Man Garlands
Santa Crafts
Salt dough ornaments for Litte One's entire class
I'm having a lot of fun watching them get excited about the day's surprise, and doing these fun little things together each day. It reminds me to step away from the hectic aspects of baby and holidays and enjoy the magic through the eyes of my angels. I think we'll all be a little sad when we get to the end of the calendar!
Sure. But, to me, the real joy of this season is in the anticipation, the build-up before the big day. And also that part of the holidays about spending time with the people we care about.
So this year I decided to do an advent calendar for the Littles. I love the idea of a countdown- it makes the wait even more exciting! But to refocus on doing things together and making memories and all that fuzziness, instead of little treats inside each day the Littles get a note. It tells them where to find a surprise, which in turn is a clue about what the day's special activity will be. I think they like this treasure hunt part as much as the rest of it! Missy gets to take the note out, and Little One has to read it. Then they search together for their clue.
The first night, it was a little package with sprinkles inside. Because if you know me, you know I must start things off right- with cookies!
 |
| Baking |
 |
| Grandma joined the fun, too! |
The next night there were holiday prism glasses (which make little shapes appear when you look at Christmas lights through the lenses) hiding in the play car, and the activity was a drive through the light display at the beach. You get to drive right down the boardwalk.
The next night was a little dollar-store angel to top the miniature pink Christmas tree for their room, and their activity was to decorate it. They got very creative, using necklaces as garlands, and love the idea of their very own tree.
One night they got some stickers, shiny santa confetti, and fancy stationary and had some hot cider while writing their letters to Santa.
I love this one because it also became a lesson in how to write and send a letter. Little One learned about return addresses and so forth, and carefully printed everything Herself.
This year, both Littles insisted that they wanted to ask Santa for only one thing, and they both knew exactly and unequivocally what it was. It's been a couple months since they made these decisions, and they have stuck by them so far.
Little One's wish list: "A Toy Batman"
Missy's: "A Piggy Bank to Save Money"
I love these choices. They are so emblematic of who They are at the moment. Little One is SO into the boys at school and playing superhero and running around saving the world all the time. Missy wants so much to be like Big Sister and get coins for extra chores, and save them up. Such a practical Little, She wants to save money, "To save it. To keep it in there inside the piggy bank, so to save it so it can be safe." I don't think spending it has occurred to Her at all.
We've also had holiday movie night
A walk/ride through the neighborhood looking at lights on an unusually warm evening
Door decorating
wreath making
Gingerbread Man Garlands
Santa Crafts
Salt dough ornaments for Litte One's entire class
And lots more fun activities. Tonight we get to go to a pajama party with stories and crafts at the library, and there's a great show about international traditions at the children's museum Saturday. I have some more at-home crafts ready, too.
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