Christmas Countdown Day 12 - 15!

Is it a good thing that I have been too busy DOING to post?  LOL  So, let's go....

Day 12:  choose a new family ornament

Yeah, that did not work out so well.  We did not find ANYTHING we liked.  Then we had a brilliant idea...we'll do a family "house" collection instead.  Those, however, were hard to find, so we will be going out on Saturday to buy our first little collectable house.  I will add a photo then.  :)

Day 13: Make a nativity and a train

This was fun!  I found two sites with some great demensional printables:
Printable Paper Train
Printable Natvity

Day 14: An early stocking stuffer

I have been done with stockings for a while, but just found two things that will in no way fit (and I forgot I bought last year), so guess what we gave them today?  Collin got a Narnia character and Isabel got a Hello Kitty puzzle.

Day 15: Christmas in Canada

Yep.  Canada.  Now don't get me wrong, I like Canada, but man, their traditions are not that far off from ours.  I did some reasearch and asked a few Canadian friends and came up with a not too scary menu.

Before dinner we pulled some Christmas crackers.  We found them at Target and all loved them!  Collin got a whoopie cushion and a car....Isabel got a mini flashlight and a tape measure....Billy got some mini screwdrivers...and I got...wait for it....nail clippers.  (You may OHHH and AHHHH now.)

I could not find a different enough main course that everyone would eat, so we stuck with chicken pot pie, poutine (fries with mozzerella and beef gravy) and butter tart squares for dessert.  I was the only one who like the poutine...but the butter tart squares.  YUMMY!  I was sad I had to share them.

Christmas Countdown Day 11

Tag for Day 11:  Go See Christmas Lights

But not just ANY Christmas lights...THESE Christmas Lights

Christmas on Greenview Video

We LOVE them...and each year the kids get more and more into it.

I do not have a good enough camera to capture good pictures of fast moving lights, so I snagged some pics. off their website to use in my album.  I got the pictures from here:  Christmas on Greenview Drive Photo Gallery

Countdown to Christmas Days 8, 9 and 10!

Whew!  We have been BUSY!  I have been BUSY!  Tis the season for the teachers to need help planning their Christmas parties....some creative planning for projects they want the kid's to do...Church activities...volunteer work with some local agencies...finishing the Christmas shopping...

Yes, I am just that good!  And in pearls and heels even.  (As if...)

Day 8 Tag: Dinner Around the World

Each week in December, we pick a different country to have a meal from and talk about how they celebrate this time of year.  This year, I let Billy and the kid's pick the countries.  First up was Collin with....

I got out our good dishes...cooked up some yummy food (Sweet and Sour Chicken, Chinese Chicken Salad, Rice, Egg Rolls, Fortune Cookies and Snowmen Cakes...okay, that last one was just for fun).

Day 9 Tag: Holidays Around the World at Vinton

This one was a given since I helped organize it and was working in the Germany room.  LOL  We picked four countries (Germany, Italy, Mexico and China) and the families could pick two rooms to visit.  We told them the about the traditions of that country (either through a fiction book or slide show presentation) and then they made an ornament that represented something we shared.

I did Germany with Isabel's teacher, Ms. Rausch and Collin's teacher, Mrs. Marksbary.  LOVE THEM!

Right after I took the above picture, we got a SWARM of latecomers....we ended up with about 70 people in the room to learn about Germany.  And that was just in the FIRST session.  Whew!

We ended the evening with a concert by our fourth graders who sang holiday songs from those countries and then we headed off to the cafeteria for hot chocolate and cookies.  A VERY successful program!

Day 10 Tag:  Living Nativity at Faith

We love to do this every year!  Our local Mega Church does a living Nativity scene that you can walk through or drive through.  It is a HUGE project and is really nicely done.  It takes you through Adam and Even and ends up with the Ascension.  It is VERY hard to get photos since the lighting is bad and there is constant movement.  Every year I see if I can get better pics than the year before.  A CHALLENGE!  LOL

Adam and Eve:

Moses and the Burning Bush:

Mary being told by the Angel (I missed the angel...):

Traveling to Bethlehem:

The City of Bethlehem:

No room at the Inn:

Baby Jesus is born:

Angel tells the Shepherds:

Wisemen come:

Jesus walks on water:

Jesus raises Lazarus:

Jesus was crucified:

Jesus raised from the dead:

Jesus is returning someday:

Afterwards there are cookies and hot chocolate.  Every year they add a new scene, so it is always a bit different.