Monthly Archives: December 2011

Merriest of winter wishes to you and yours!

This year, I was a bit late in putting up our advent stockings. It looks adorable hanging there, but the kids were never super excited for it, for some reason. And I have the hardest time coming up with what to put in the stockings. Not doing candy, for sure, no more trinkets are needed in this house, and I tried to plan activities for each day, but that usually never works out smoothly. Life is too chaotic and random to know that I will want to sit and make a gingerbread house on the 16th of December, or whatever it may be. We need to take one day at a time around here. So, I got them this calendar, and they actually really, really love it! It’s the simplest little thing, but it’s so snug to watch the Victorian village grow, leading up to a big Christmas tree in the center on the 25th. There are all sorts of cozy little things happening in the village, and they love to stare at it and ponder the “olden days” This is just the sort of thing I loved as a kid, as well. And no chocolate or trinkets! yeah! One of these years, I may embark on the ultimate project, though. (maybe!) Inspired by those Playmobil advent calendars, I thought it would be super cute to have a little mouse house, or a rabbit, or some other small critter’s dwelling, and every day there would be a new piece to fill their little burrow and decorate it for Christmas. eep! Totally ambitious, but maybe when I find myself twiddling my thumbs when the kids are in school all day….
Well, these final days before Christmas are super busy, of course! Today we’re baking gingerbread men for my Dad (his favorite treat every year). Are you doing anything cozy for Winter Solstice? We usually roast a big hunk of meat, light the fire, make some mulled wine and fire up some medieval carols.  I love it.

Kid crafts are in full effect over here. My three year old is a confetti factory, busily whiling away a good 40 minutes just cutting little chunks of paper and littering them all over the house. Her other favorite activity is folding paper into mishapen lumps, and wrapping them in yards of tape. She then presents them to me as a gift with such tender sincerity, that I couldn’t possibly be mad that she literally used almost all the tape.
My eldest is having an ornament exchange at school, so she came up with this idea, which I thought I’d share. She rummaged through my things and found this little bird, and asked to needlefelt a nest for it, and then found little treasures to tuck in with it. Then I just poked some wire through the nest to hang it and voila! I thought it was pretty snappy. :) So simple and cute!