Every year, we put up our tree Thanksgiving weekend. It is a longer weekend and it gives us time to drag the stuff upstairs and then drag the empty boxes back downstairs. The girls really enjoy this task. Me? Not as much. It’s not that I don't’ enjoy the outcome; I’m just not a huge decorator fan. Thankfully, Madison and Ellie are. Jeremy enjoys (I think?) the task of putting up the lights outside – it is a quiet moment that brings ongoing positive results. Along with the tree and outside lights, we have some ribbon hung on the wall to display Christmas cards people send and a ceramic Nativity set Jeremy’s grandma made that we put out. Oh yeah, and a wreath on the door and a poinsettia.
Then, on the first day of December, we start the Advent Calendar. I place an activity in each of the days leading up to Christmas. This is the first year the girls have pushed back a little. Meaning, they are really excited about the idea of doing it, but each activity usually takes about 30 minutes, so if they have other play ideas in mind, it is hard for them to give up that creative time of their own making. That said, it is usually the new additions to the Advent calendar that they have been a little more reluctant about. And this year’s calendar has a few new things in it since we can’t go as many places. Anyway, just saying it is not always easy to do this, but so far, these things have been worth planning for. So, here it goes…
Day 1 – Make a snowman door. This was a new activity. It rivaled our first snow day of the school year. And when a snow day comes, all plans get shoved aside and you just have fun! We started the day making cinnamon rolls from scratch. The girls then put on all the snow gear to play outside. I usually go with them, but I was monitoring and cleaning up the rolls. They stayed out there almost 2 hours and had a blast.
Hot chocolate, fresh rolls, lazy day, and creating a door among other things was a great way to spend this Tuesday.
Day 2 – Print and Color Christmas Pictures. This was a new one, too. I really enjoyed this though and so did they. We picked some pictures off the internet, printed, colored, and hung in our little frames. It was a good way to spend some time together.
Day 3 – Check out books from the library. This is one of our favorite things to do, and it is so simple. We head to the library and return with a load of Christmas picture books to enjoy. This year, however, the library was closed due to COVID cases numbers rising. Thankfully, they still had curbside pick-up. So, I called ahead and had them select 15 books for us to enjoy. It was still fun.
Day 4 – Readers’ Theatre Performances. This was a new one, and one we have yet to try out. I did print some out, so maybe we will do this at a later time. We’ll see…
Day 5 – Christmas shopping. We did venture out all masked up for this one. Instead of going to Columbus or Mansfield or Canton which are some of the places we have gone in the past, we just headed to Wooster. I had a few things to pick up there anyway. The girls have fun picking out things for their cousins.
Day 6 – Candy Cane Hunt. Another new activity! This one was fun. It is like an Easter egg hunt, but you hang candy canes around. I thought about doing it outside, but it gets dark too quickly, so we just held the hunt inside. In addition, we were able to live stream The Search for the Christ Child that we usually go to at Oak Grove Mennonite Church. They had put together a video compilation from the past years and took the journey that way. It was fun to watch and go to again.
Day 7 – Mix up cookie dough. This has become one of the easiest days for me because they can do this without help!
Day 8 – Cut out cookies and bake. Also a fun one. Madison said she enjoys this part of the cookie process the best. I just man the oven while they cut away.
Day 9 – Frost Cookies. This is fun, but a bit labor intensive. The girls do a great job being creative with their designs. Jeremy even joined the fun for awhile on this day.
Day 10 – Pick out gifts for your teachers. For the past couple of years, we have opted to save all the charitable magazines we get – Compassion, World Vision, Heifer International, etc – and use them to pick out gifts to give in honor of the girls’ teachers. This year, Madison chose a share of a goat and a rabbit, and Ellie chose vaccinations and food for a refugee child for a week. It is fun to see what they pick each year to give.
Day 11 – Take a bubble bath. I am not sure how many more years we will be able to do this. They were shoved in the tub pretty tightly this year, but they enjoyed it. Maybe later, it will be individually baths. The bathroom always smells nice afterwards and their skin has shed the winter dryness.
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