December 24th:

Ornament exchange and the reading of How The Grinch Stole Christmas and The Night Before Christmas

Last one!

It's the last day of the Christmas activity advent calendar. I'm not going to lie, this was a lot of work. And I don't just mean the creation of it, or just the execution of it, it was all of the things that happened outside of the activities that I couldn't plan for like play dates with friends, sickness and power outages. 

But it was all worth it because I learned a lot from this experience. The biggest thing I learned was that I had to stop stressing about all the things I think I should be doing and make time for the things I most definitely need to be doing, because the kids didn't care if I didn't get through a pile of mail or mopped the floors, they just enjoyed doing our activities together. And in making time to do those things, I feel like we were able to slow down time. Christmas and Thanksgiving were so close together this year, that I felt as though it was going to whip by. But by taking time everyday to do something meaningful together, it was as if we were able to stretch the days to make them last.

Merry Christmas!

December 23rd:

Buy some hot chocolate and go for a drive to find awesome Christmas lights

Soooo...there's not a whole lot of people with electricity around here, but we did find a subdivision with some Christmas lights. The lights were extra pretty shining through the layers of ice coating everything. There aren't any lights on our cherry tree pictured below, just an example of the ice blanket:

December 22nd:

Enjoy the entire evening with only Christmas lights and candle light

It seemed only appropriate for this activity that the power went out at 5 pm, just as it was starting to get dark. But we only wanted the regular lighting off, we had no intention of going without heat, water and toilets. So we cheated a little and headed to Buffalo Wild Wings where they not only had heat, water and toilets- they had the Detroit Lions game on!

Lorelei has told me before, "coloring helps release my stress."

Ashton was very happy to be back to football.

No electricity, but still having lots of fun.

December 21st:

The first day of winter! Play outside- go sledding or make a snowman

The scheduling of this activity was a big gamble; just because the calendar says it's winter, it doesn't mean we will actually have snow. But we got lucky because there was just enough really wet and heavy snow on the ground to make a happy snowman.

First, we had to hang the bird/squirrel treats we made last night. Then we got to work building our snowman. And then we went inside because it started to rain on us! Oh, Michigan. Where the weather has more personality changes than Sybil...

Meet Snowy!

December 20th:

Make food/decorations for Mother Nature's creatures

We decided to pop popcorn and string it with cranberries. We also made bird feeders with paper towel rolls and seeds.

I'm definitely going to stop with the microwave popcorn because the kids thought this popping process was hilarious!

"There is no butter. This does not taste good!"

The kids loved using these long needles. They liked pretending that they were "surgering."

Ashton may have eaten as much popcorn as he strung.

December 19th:

Write Christmas Haiku

I love nutcrackers
I love the snowflakes outside
I love Santa Claus
-Lorelei

You were smooching me
Underneath the mistletoe
I see dancing plums
-Ashton

ForEver green tree
The star shining from up high
Lights warm in my soul
-Melanie

Christmas is snow fall
Bright lit homes and family
Gifts under the tree
-Chadd

December 18th:

Make hand print snowmen bulb ornaments with dad

December 17th:

Make "bubble travel" ornaments (inspired by the movie Oz the Great and Powerful)

My all time favorite movie is the Wizard of Oz and I was over the rainbow excited about this year's release of Oz the Great and Powerful. The scene with the characters traveling in bubbles made me wish that I, too, could travel by bubble whenever my heart desired. When I saw this ornament project on Pinterest I just knew I had to do it! Chadd was a little less excited. He was worried that the children would look trapped or sickly. So we decided to focus on the "travel" aspect. We gave the kids some luggage and I chose to make them sepia colored photos because bubble travel seems a little  "old-timey" to me.

December 16th:

Watch Elf and enjoy a spaghetti dinner

Our family absolutely loves this movie. We watch it all year, but a Christmas activity advent calendar wouldn't be complete without Elf. Grandma came over to have dinner with us and it came to out attention that she had never seen it before!!! We immediately directed her to the love seat and we ate our spaghetti dinner in front of the TV and giggled and giggled. Fortunately, there were no meatball choking incidents! (Though, the dogs did steal one off Lorelei's plate.)

Grandma's review of the movie: "It was cute!" 

December 15th:

Breakfast with The Santa Claus movie marathon

We started today's activity right away. As soon as I heard the kids starting to wake up I put in the first DVD and made the Mexican hot chocolate. 

We had our actual breakfast at the end of the first/beginning of the second movies. I always forget how much work a big breakfast is until I get it started, but it's all worth it when I get to sit at a table with these two smiling faces!

It's been snowing here for two days, so we had a play break between the second and third movies. 

Then it was time for dry clothes, blankets, hot tea, homemade cookies from the neighbor (thanks, Lindsey!) & the third Santa Claus movie. 

This was such a wonderfully perfect day & I wish I could do it all over again!

December 14th:

Make winter wonder domes

Chadd's (on left) is titled, "Santa Takes a Break"
Mine, "Visiting the Tree Farm"

Ashton (on left) titled, "Christmas Island"
Lorelei, "Santa's Snow Land"

This was a messy project that took a long time to clean up. I missed this tiny plastic candy cane that Lorelei found, stuck to her foot, long after clean up, dinner, air hockey & 20 minutes into being in bed.

"I just found this stuck to my foot!"

December 13th:

Make salt dough ornaments with Tia

Santa Hand Print Salt Dough Ornaments. Ashton (left), Lorelei (right)

The kids were really excited to make a project with Tia. They made their hand prints yesterday since the dough needed a 3 hour dry time before painting. So, today after school the kids went back over to Tia's to paint, so they actually got 2 days out of this fun project! And the final product is super-cute!

December 12th:

Go to Panda Water Ice, try a holiday flavor to take home and watch The Polar Express

The obvious choice with this movie is a hot chocolate bar. But this movie just makes me think of cold so we went with a cold snack. A freezing cold snack. Panda Water Ice is like scooped ice cream without dairy. It's smooth and full of flavor and just plain yummy. Lorelei got a bowl of margarita and chocolate chocolate chip. Ashton chose pumpkin and peanut butter chocolate chip.

December 11th:

Make popsicle stick snowflakes

December 10th:

Dance to Jingle Bells ten times in a row

Since I was a young lass, I have been obsessed with Barbara Streisand's version of "Jingle Bells?" If you've never heard it, you are really missing out. It's so fast. You know that scene in Horrible Bosses where Nick and Dale inadvertently inhale cocaine while trying to sift through it and they go into hyper-drive? That's this song. It's Jingle Bells on "snow." (Personal suggestion: skip the rest of this Christmas album. Because she sang Jingle Bells so fast it's like she had to make up for it by singing the rest of the songs excruciatingly and oh. so. painfully. slow.)

I know that this seems like an easy activity, but it was actually the most dangerous. In our house, it's always a possibility that a tree might fall on you. It's happened before...

December 9th:

Decorate wreath cupcakes with Bridget & deliver to friends, family & neighbors

Bridget signed on to be a part of our calendar of events last month when we were decorating Ashton's birthday cake. She brought over her very fun tool box of cake decorating tips and we got to work decorating cupcakes. The kids loved using the parchment bags and there were a lot of uncontrollable giggles whenever the top of a bag came undone and plopped frosting out onto the table, the scissors, the tape dispenser...there was frosting everywhere!

Bridget teaching Ashton how to use the leaf tip.

Ashton showing off his leaf tip craftsmanship.

Lorelei had to use all her strength to squeeze the frosting, but she powered through.
She's one tough cookie cupcake!

As predicted, Lorelei was the Sprinkle Queen.

There were a lot of cupcakes...

Ready for delivery!

Thanks for playing with us, Bridget!

December 8th:

Make gingerbread houses with grandma

The kids were super excited about this and who wouldn't? They got to combine their love of art with their love of sweets!

December 7th:

Go to Secret Santa Shoppe with Tia and grandma

Every year, the kid's school puts on a Secret Santa Shoppe with local crafters. Kids (and adults) get to shop local handmade goods, wrap them up and have secret presents ready for under the tree. It's a lot of fun and the kids love to shop at it. And I love the presents I get because I know how much care they put into choosing them. No pictures for this one, because that would be like sneaking a peek at my gift!

December 6th:

Paint nutcrackers

Everyone really got into this activity.

The Final Results: Chadd, Me, Ashton & Lorelei

December 5th:

Write letters to Santa

Ashton's letter was pretty basic. He always starts out asking how Santa and the wife are. He asks about the elves and the reindeer. Then he gets into the things he wishes for because he's been so good- pajamas, art easel, clay, a couple footballs and matching kilt's for him and his dad. You know, regular ten-year-old stuff.

Lorelei took a different approach. She's been very curious about our elf, Shay, and his "activities." She saw a tag on his booty and commented that it was "suspicious." She asked if we (mom & dad) move Shay when her and Ashton aren't looking. She is also concerned about his welfare;  if Shay really does travel to the North Pole every night to give Santa a behavior report, does somebody feed him? So, she pretty much wrote an interrogation letter to Santa:

Dear Santa, I have been good. Your elf doesn't move or talk. Sometimes he looks like a doll. He looks plastic and he has a tag. Why do they have pointy ears and hats. Why are they so small. Do they have real names. Does Mrs. Claus make the elfs. How do you get different elfs.

And then she left a space for answers. 
(Insert Ricky Ricardo voice here) Santa, you got a lot a splainin' to do... 

December 4th:

Attend the Hurley Diabetes Support Club Christmas Party

As per usual, Ashton hit the dance floor as soon as possible (my camera was being a poop and all the pictures were blurry, but trust me, Ashton didn't hold back). Lorelei branched out this year by SITTING ON SANTA'S LAP FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER! I was shocked and if I didn't have this picture I still wouldn't believe it. 

December 3rd:

Sort through toys to donate to Goodwill.

I don't have any fun pictures of this. We didn't empty out nearly as much as I had hoped, but we almost filled and Ikea bag and the kids didn't argue so I count this day as a win!

December 2nd:

Go to grandma and papa's house for a pizza dinner and to watch The Grinch.

Papa isn't always home for dinner and cousin Trenton only appears every other Monday so this was an extra special evening!

Christmas Activity Advent Basket

Now that I'm an official stay at home mom, I get to do all the fun and time consuming things that I never got to do before. This December, we are doing a Christmas activity advent basket. Every day has a dated bag or box containing some sort of activity to be done that day. They vary in time, detail and people- friends and family got involved to do special things with the kids. I can't wait to get through all of them!

December 1st: Decorate the Christmas tree and watch Home Alone.

The lights and my camera didn't quite go together. We got a lovely Canaan Fir this year- I swear, our tree really isn't purple.