It has been a little over a month since I have been able to sit down and post about my creative works... or lack thereof - depending on how you look at it. I had a good friend, Miss P, visit me this morning with her new baby boy. It was wonderful to see her, even if I was running around like a chicken that just had its head chopped off (Friday 13th???) and Miss P always inspires me to get back here. So here I am.
Now that I have two little girls (and am feeling scroogish), I decided that it was time to do something diferent. I lost my christmas spirit (even though I love the day and having family around) years ago when I worked in retail. Sadly my mother did too. So my mission this christmas is to restore the family Christmas spirit.
With Christmas just around the corner (sorry to remind you) and the fact that this little baby is due around the same time I have had the realisation that I need to be organised. I wanted to make this Christmas special for the girls as Miss 3 is old enough to understand and get excited about Christmas and Miss 1 was too little to remember her first Christmas. Plus as much as I don't want to admit it, this could be one of a few Christmas' that we will get with both of my sisters now we are all grown up. Life changes for everyone and we have the opportunity to have my sister Miss G and her bf here in Australia this year for Christmas (I think it will be one of his first Christmas' here). Which makes it all the more important that I help make this an awesome Christmas for everyone... Not sure how J will go with a Christmas that isn't white but I am sure we will make it an "experience" for him ;-) I want to share all of my ideas on here BUT I know there is a certain Miss G who reads this blog and seeing as she was always the one that used to go hunting for christmas presents before the fact (AND has been caught unwrapping to rewrap presents) I am going to withhold information. Well at least some of it.
A few years ago I made an Advent Calendar (LOVED IT) but I have found a DIVINE one that I want to make instead... So I am giving the one that I already have to my mother (who loves it). When I made the Advent Calendar, the intention was to put treats in the pocket, and watching my husband and cousin (who was living with us at the time) fight over who got to the Advent Calendar first for the treat was amusing.
I have developed a small obsession with Pinterest and found Advent "experiences"... now admittedly they were written/created by clever people who get snow at Christmas so I did a little tweaking and created some of my own...
Here they are:
Decorate a Gingerbread house
Read a christmas book
Make thank you notes for after christmas
Wrap christmas stocking gifts
Christmas craft
Go christmas light hunting
Get a treat from the christmas box
visit santa
Play some christmas games
Make christmas decorations
Make gingerbread men
Write a letter to santa
Have a big bubble bath
Decorate the christmas tree
Go to the ABC giving tree (or Kmart one)
Get a treat from the christmas box
Decorate christmas tags
Treasure hunt
Get a treat from the christmas box
Have a hot chocolate buffet before bed
Decorate christmas cookies
Have lunch at a special restaurant
Gat a treat from the christmas box
Have a christmas movie night with treats.
Now. In the christmas box mentioned above, I plan on placing "special" christmas baubles, some christmas chocolate, christmas "santa" sacks and a christmas DVD. Here are the pages that have some great ideas, Advent 4 Ways and Advent Experiences.
Of course, while that will keep myself and two little babes nice and busy I am aware it will take more than that to bring on christmas spirit so I am investing in an Elf on the Shelf. I LOVE the ideas and activities that you can do with it and thought that although the girls are a little young at the moment it is a wonderful tradition to start. Here are some of the pages with fantastic ideas... Elf on The Shelf and Great Elf on the Shelf Ideas.
Also because I am OTT and cannot do ANYTHING by halves, I will be having a box filled with wrapped christmas books (thank god we already have a decent collection) and every night the girls will get to pick a book and we will read the book at bedtime. See the page that inspired me here.
Of course I am not finishing there. Grandma has always said that when there are little people in her house for Christmas, she will be having a "party" on Christmas Eve for those little people. It will involve Party Pies, Sausage Rolls, Cordial and Cake (and hot chocolate). To add to this I wanted to start the tradition of Christmas Eve Box (another Pinterest discovery). It is a box that I will organise and wrap and they will get to unwrap on Christmas Eve (maybe in conjunction with Grandma's Christmas Party). I have found the most gorgeous dress pattern for nighties and I will be making two little Christmas themed nighties that will go in the box (so they have something nice to wear Christmas morning), a Christmas movie (or Christmas themed Peppa Pig), popcorn (to watch with the movie), mugs (Melamime for my little rascals), hot chocolate, marshmallows, socks or slippers and one final Christmas book. I am aware that by this stage my children are going to be VERY hyped up on sugar etc but hey, it only happens a few times a year. See the page that inspired this idea here.
I have focussed on the children lots and I still want to create Christmas spirit for the adults that will be in the house... All 8 of us. Do you have some brilliant Christmas ideas or traditions for the big people in your household... or the little ones?
Keep smiling.
Lauren
xxx
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