TurtleHead

Andrea at Quietfish is always doing something beautiful and crafty with her daughters. I read about these projects on her blog and I always think, “Oh, that’s so lovely, but I’d never have the energy to put that together.”

Then, an hour later, I’m thinking, “Well, I do have that big pile of wrapping paper scraps just sitting around.”

And an hour after that, I’m thinking, “And, she did make things really easy for me by providing the pattern and the numbers and everything.”

And two hours after that, it’s all, “I guess I have a lot of activities I want to do with the kids this month, anyway, so really, is it going to be that much extra work?”

Next thing you know, I’m making a 25 mini-envelope advent calendar filled with daily family activities:

I’m pretty excited about this calendar and the kids are too. I’m just afraid I’m going to run out of energy by the time we get to December 25th! At least my shopping is pretty much finished. I don’t think I would attempt this if I still had all my shopping to do, too, because the mall? It sucks the life out of you. Seriously. The only known cure is Diet Coke, The Elixir Of Life.

Anyway, here’s what we’ll be doing every day in December. Assuming I survive the first week. Don’t tell the kiddies, it’s a surprise!

1. Hang up our stockings.

2. Put up the tree.

3. Make paper snowflakes and hang them in the window.

4. Watch The Sound Of Music [but not the scary Nazi parts at the end] with chips and popcorn.

5. No school! [It's a PD day.] Visit with the Carl Sagans.

6. Play a board game with Mommy and Daddy.

7. Wrap a present for your brother or sister.

8. Have a bubble bath in the big tub.

9. Visit Santa; take a toy to Toy Mountain.

10. Build a fort in the front room.

11. Make a paper chain and hang it up.

12. School Christmas Concert Day!

13. Make a book about Christmas. Or Star Wars.

14. Make gingerbread houses [from graham crackers - no baking required!]

15. Make Peppermint Bark.

16. Dance Party!

17. Go to the KidZone. [An indoor playground.]

18. Bring a present to school for your teacher.

19. Put a giant piece of paper on the floor and make a city map for cars and trains.

20. Get dressed up for dinner – we’re having take out!

21. Make a snowman and have some hot chocolate.

22. Go to the bookstore [or library, if you have quieter children than I do] and read books about Christmas.

23. Go for a drive – in your PJs – to look at Christmas lights.

24. Bake cookies for Santa.

25. Open presents, and call your grandmothers to say Merry Christmas!

Here are some other ideas I had that I didn’t use in the end. Most of them are very easy, so I’ll use them if I need to make a last minute substitution for some reason; otherwise, we’ll do them over the school break.

Decorate a cut-out tree with Fruit Loops.
Make rice krispie squares.
Colour a picture and mail it to Grandma.
Go to the video store and rent one movie each.
Make a giant mural by gluing on pictures of toys from flyers and magazines.
Build a train track all around the Christmas tree.
Go sledding.
Make a silly crown and have a parade (the Captain has big plans for this one on Christmas day — I think he thinks we will be parading all through the town, so watch for us on your street!).

It all sounds like fun, doesn’t it? Hopefully it’ll be fun, too!

Many thanks to Andrea for the idea, the patterns, and for making me a better Mommy!