So I have been feeling like a little bit of a scrooge when it comes to holidays. I will blame it on my love for laziness. But since I want my children to have fond memories and traditions that they remember repeating, I thought I need to DO something. I saw a bunch of cute ideas for advent calendars on Mindi's blog (she has links to quite a few- check them out). I know I am starting a few days late but I thought this could be easy enough even for me to pull together. It was. I just got 24 green envelopes and glued 24 already cut red mittens on them and labeled 1 -24, representing the days in December (for those of you that don't know what an advent calendar is). I filled the envelopes with pieces of paper. On each paper are activities to do to celebrate the holidays together. Examples: Watch a Christmas movie, drive around and look at Christmas lights then come home and have hot chocolate, read a Christmas story, make paper snowflakes.....etc. For more of these ideas see Jordan's blog here. The best part about this is that I can switch the activities around however I want so if I don't feel like: making cookies and taking them to someone I can switch it with the: sit by the Christmas tree and stare at the lights together in silence. Nice. It all depends on how energetic I am feeling at that moment. This I can totally do. And if your kids are like my kids, anything that you get to open, read, and then do is the most exciting thing ever, even if it says: kiss your dad under the mistletoe.
11 comments:
very cute!
way to go Dais!!! question: how do you switch them around? (if they pick one thing, how will you get them to do another?) ....... yes I am going to COPY YOU!!!
Go Daisy!! It came out great! You've inspired me!
I love the sit by the Christmas tree and stare at the tree in silence. Sounds like something Gordon would come up with. I love the whole idea. Too bad my grandkids don't live close enough to do it with.
what a smart woman you are!! :) i have an advent calendar up at my house and it has nothing in it. my boys are wondering what it's all about ... so i'm stealing your idea. i LOVE having paper with things to do instead of a treat. thanks for the ideas!! :)
Amy- the envelopes are not sealed. Thus making the old switcheroo easily NOT detectable. AND I can also reuse the envelopes for years and years.
Sharon- You should send a bunch of written activities for you grand kids to do, like: Call and sing a Christmas carol to grandma, Draw a Christmas tree and send to grandma, Go to a live nativity and take a picture for grandma, etc.
Genius. I'm going to make one for Christmas. How many times do you think I could make one saying, "Buy a present for your wife" before he caught on?
I really like the stare at Christmas tree lights in silence. You are awesome.
Hi Daisy! Hey, will you email me your address-megryan6901@hotmail.com
I would love to send you guys a Christmas card.
yay daisy!!! i am proud of you for breaking down and going for it (which was basically what i did last year)--you will love it.
and yes, i do the switch around thing, too--tonight was supossed to be "go to store and buy each of your sisters a small present", but i just switched to "watch a christmas movie". i want minimal interaction with them tonight.
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