I've looked everywhere and I can't find my planning notebook (aka yellow spiral) that I keep all of my lists written in.
I know I took it with us to St. Louis, but I've unpacked everything and checked and double-checked the van and it seems to have vanished.
I feel lost!
However, I promised you all a list of the activities I'm going to fill my Advent calendar with, so I will do my best to work from memory.
Keep in mind that I'm going to work ahead in my calendar by a few days. This will allow me to be flexible and realistic with my schedule!
Here goes:
Family Advent Calendar Activities, or what I like to call "The Gift of Presence".
1. Decorate for Christmas! (Tree, lights, nativity sets, etc).
2. Make Christmas cookies (Sarah's choice).
3. Watch the Charlie Brown Christmas dvd (our family favorite!)
4. Have breakfast with Santa (at Abbey's school).
5. Do something nice for your brother or sister--without telling them it was you.
6. Shop/Wrap/Deliver our Giving Tree gifts.
7. Make Christmas cookies (Abbey's choice).
8. Handel's Messiah (we're going to a performance next week!)
9. See a Christmas play together (our church is doing one this year).
10. Go sledding (obviously, this is weather dependent but Colorado doesn't usually disappoint).
11. Spend an evening reading Christmas books.
12. Make Christmas cookies (Will's choice).
13. Drive around after dinner and look at Christmas lights.
14. Deliver cookies to neighbors.
15. Go out for dessert one evening.
16. Make a birthday cake for Jesus! (December 24).
17. Family game night.
18. Sign/seal/stamp our family Christmas cards.
19. Make luminaries (something new we're doing this year).
20. Make a gingerbread house (got my kit back in November with a 50%off coupon at Michaels--cheap!!!)
21. Pop popcorn and watch a Christmas movie (Holiday Inn or It's a Wonderful Life have been requested, though personally, I love laughing at ones like Christmas Vacation and A Christmas Story).
22. Make ornaments (we usually make them for friends/neighbors and tie them to packages).
23. Learn about Saint Nicholas
24. Read the Christmas story from Luke's gospel.
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I think I did okay from memory, but of course I added Christmas cookies three times! (smile!)
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A friend sent me a link to an AWESOME blog called The Idea Room and her Advent ideas post was great. I can't wait to go back and read more of her stuff. Go check it out! (Thanks, Michelle!)
17 comments:
Sounds like a wonderful December! I wanna' come to your house for a while ;-)
Oh, I cannot imagine losing my notebook!!!
My lists are extensions of myself!!!
LOVE your list and getting ready to make our calendar when Amber gets here! We'll have to play catch-up a little but that's ok!
That's a wonderful way to build memories with your family. Even without the list book.
I love all those ideas! We do lots of the same things. Christmas is such a fun time of year. I just love it.
So sorry you lost your notebook. I would be crazy if I lost my planner!! I know how "listy" you are....hope you can find it!!
What fun ideas you've shared--especially the 'making cookies' ones! ;)
I'm going to head over to your friend's site and check it out.
I'm excited to begin reading your husband's book tomorrow. It's been hard not picking it up for sneak peeks!
Hope you find your yellow notebook soon.
You are welcome for the Idea Room hook-up. Very fun ideas!!
Love you list. I hope you find your notebook -- I would be at a loss without mine!!!
I'm so ready for tomorrow to get here so we can begin our countdown activities.
Hope you find your notebook.
I love your list. We made our Advent muffin tins last week and filled them with a little print out and I told the kids we could also put in a candy, going to try to find a low sugar one. I'm going to try to post pics this week.
I'm sorry you lost your notebook, but I'm glad you shared your list. I just love the love you have for your family and for others. . . it is obvious by your Christmas list!!
Seriously, Mere, what sweet memories you're going to make!! :)
Fabulous list!! Thanks for sharing! We are doing many of the same things and I am beyond excited this year!!!!!!
Wow...if that's what you have w/o the benefit of a list, I'd say you prolly don't need a list. :)
THanks for all the great ideas. I think I'll be stealing a great many of them. Especially the cookies. Perhaps those will be my 3 cheats on the sugar fasting.
Wow! I love this! Thanks for sharing and letting me know about the link. I will do this next year for sure!
I'm so glad to find out that other people are doing activities in their Advent Calendar. I'm writing a book for Liguori Press that uses this idea as the centerpiece of reclaiming Advent, so that December can be a holy experience instead of an exercise in chaos and stress. I love your list. Do you find that the kids are almost as excited about Advent as they are about Christmas?
I'm using this. And that is a whole lot of Christmas cookies for someone trying to cut back on sugar. ;)
What a fun list, Mer. I don't know if you read The Motherload, but she just had a similar post: http://www.momadvice.com/blog/2009/12/use-what-you-have-handmade-advent.html
My parents were here this past weekend, and my mom helped me put together an advent wreath--yay! Will post that soon.
I bought the kids the Veggie Tale movie about St. Nicholas and they loved it...Addison calls him St. Louis though!
This list is awesome! Makes me wish I could be a kid again, and you could adopt me for the month. :) Stealing ideas now for our own family traditions...
We love Christmas Vacation and A Christmas Story around here too!
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