25 days of Christmas... part 1

     Our Countdown Calendar Surprises have been a HUGE hit!  Of course the kids look forward to what we get to do each day but I also have been having a lot of fun planning special things to do!  I look forward to their excitement!
     I have often hesitated to embark on this sort of thing for fear of failure...  "what if I forget or just don't have time?"  or "that craft will make such a mess...  I'm just not willing to try it."  But I have been learning not to fear failure, just to do my best.  (like I tell Ella when she struggles with handwriting.  If only I took all the advice I give my children...  by God's grace, one day at a time.)  So, I'm so glad we started such a fun journey to Christmas!  And it really hasn't been hard to keep up with!
Surprise! -sarcasm.
     This is what we have done for the first 8 days...
1. Get a Christmas Tree and Watch a Christmas Movie.  ~We actually did this on Nov 28th but since I decided to start this on Dec. 1 I counted that as our first Christmas festivity.

3 little Bares on the hunt for the perfect Christmas Tree!  -  Ella's pretty happy about this adventure!  Love her!

Lucas is on the run, Daddy is coming with the tree!!  -  Our Tree!  Ta-Da!

2. Decorate Tree!  ~It was so much fun to see the kids get excited about their ornaments from years past!  And I totally forgot to take pictures!  I'm still getting into the habit.

3. Christmas Shop for Brother/Sister.  ~We took the kids to toys R us and let Ella and Lucas each pick a toy for the other.  Lucas did so much better at making a choice than he did last year!  It was a successful trip!

4. Cut out paper snowflakes.  ~Not the best project for a 5 year old and not at all for a 3 year old.  I helped  Ella and we ended up with some lovely snowflakes and she had lots of fun putting them anywhere she wanted around the house.  (allowing this kind of freedom to the kids is not easy for me.  I usually want to tell her just where to put it...  Again, I'm learning!!  And it makes me smile when I see each snowflake in a funny place)

On the hand rail for the stairs - on the bathroom mirror - on back door handle.

5. Make Christmas gifts.  ~We had a couple of special craft projects we did this year for Christmas presents.  Unfortunately I can't post pictures or share details or else it would spoil the surprise.  After Christmas I'll try to remember to share those ideas.

6. Go to the Library and borrow Christmas books.  ~We haven't taken the time to go to the Library in a very long time.  It must become more of a regular thing!  I wasn't too pleased with the selection of Christmas books.  I guess I shouldn't be surprised but we brought home all that we could find and have been enjoying them!

7. Make a fort and do School in it.  ~This is a favorite so far!  I loved making forts out of sheets and blankets when I was a kid! And it sure was fun even now!

Fort supplies:   String,  Tall sticks or broom,  clothes pins and hair ties,  and LOTS of sheets and blankets.

The finished fort.  It covered the whole school room!  -  Playing /"sleeping" inside!  Lots of fun!  and a great place to read the library books we just got.

8. Christmas Shopping (today)  ~We spent the whole day out finishing Christmas shopping.  The fun part for the kids was getting the choose some gifts for friends at the dollar store.  They also picked some things for all the guys that work with Daddy.  

And Tomorrow:

9. Christmas Movie at the Theater.   ~We plan to go to Arthur Christmas.  The kids always get excited about going to the theater and all that it involves.  popcorn, drinks, sometimes candy...  we'll see.  It should be fun as long as Kinslie will sit still for some of it!  We'll let you know how it goes and how the movie was.

That's all for now...  More surprises to come!