25 Days of Christmas.....

Next Wednesday, December 1st, marks the beginning of our 3rd annual 25 days of christmas!  We use simple advent made of a felt tree cutout and felt ornaments.  (I really need to update our tree and ornaments... but that's a story for another time.)  We celebrate the holidays with a month long advent countdown.  Each day we add an 'ornament' to our 'tree', and each morning my children receive a gift in a large red box.  Inside the box they will find a gift, the supplies for a project, or a clue to a surprise event. 

1. Holiday Pencils
2. Supplies for candle making.  A candle lit dinner in commemoration of Hanukkah, and the season of light.
3. Candy canes.  The first of the season!  I like the natural ones colored with beat juice. ( But honestly I'm kind of a candy cane junky.  I LOVE them.  I blame my childhood friend who's family owned a tree farm)
4. A Santa pen (for Ava) and a Santa plane (for Cyrus) A clue that we are going to see Santa that day.
5. A holiday t-shirt, and socks
6. Robert Frost    I like to add to our seasonal books a little each year
7. Supplies to make our own stickers
8. Ingredients to make our own cocoa.. maybe to make marshmallows also?
9. Holiday tattoos  
10. Supplies for making this years ornament
11.  A clue of either mama made hats (wishful thinking) or a bundle of hay (more likely).  For Matt's work  holiday party
12. A christmas tree ornament... we are going to get our tree that day
13. Snowflake Bently... We will make paper snowflakes this day
14. Holiday grow sponge shapes
15. christmas tree ornaments  (I seriously LOVE ornaments)
16. bath bombs
17. Christmas light clue... we are going on a family drive to look at lights
18. Cookie cutter... 4th annual baking cookies with Grandma day
19. Money clue... a trip to the dollar store [I know, I know] for each child to pick out a gift for each family member
20. Ingredients to make cookies... a gift for our neighbors
21. "Cookout" style foods... to celebrate the Winter's Solstice we are having a dinner cooked out over a backyard fire
22. Train park tickets... our annual holiday trip to the McCormic Ranch Train Park
23. DVD... christmas movie night
24. mama made, and a book... On christmas eve we add a star to the tree and do things a little different.  I like to give my babies something to go to bed with.  This day they open the gift at night.  Matt read The Night Before Christmas and they get a little gift.  This year was supposed to be their quilts, but I was too excited and gave them that gift in October.  This year... I'm still thinking.  Maybe a little quilt for their babies?  Eh.  I don't know.
25. Christmas day.  A gift from Santa, a gift from daddy (I gave them mine the night before) and a gift from each other.  Add stockings and it shouldn't be too much 'stuff'.  That's the goal anyway.

 

 

Have a happy Thanksgiving to everyone who will be celebrating this year!  I'll see you back here Next Monday.