Christmas Countdown 2011 - Day 12

Day 12 - Christmas Books by the Fire

Day 12 found the kids relaxing by the fire in their pajamas and snuggled in their sleeping bags ready to read some Christmas books. Each year we have decided to buy each of the kids a Christmas book, so this night was the big reveal! We have a box of Christmas books we pull out each Christmas and leave by the fire and the kids are welcome to read them as much as they want...as long as they put them back in the box! ;)

My Christmas Cuties!

Book #1 - "Santa's Favorite Story"

The next book we had them close their eyes for and then open!

Book #2 - "It's Christmas, David!"

They were both so excited for their books!

And we had a great time reading them...

Christmas Countdown 2011 - Day 9

Day 9 - Watch America's Funniest Videos

"Christmas Spectacular"

One of our favorite shows to watch together as a family is America's Funniest Videos. This is something I grew up on and Mikayla has fallen in love with the laughter that comes from watching this show! It brings back so many memories of my childhood! For Day 9, we all cuddled up with a tasty treat ("Monkey Munch") and watched the Christmas Spectacular version of the show. It was such a blast and I haven't laughed that hard in so long!! There were a couple of times that Austin would look at me (after I was hysterically laughing) and said, "Mom, it's not that funny." I suppose he doesn't have his momma's sense of humor!

All cuddled up and ready to watch the show!

Best "family photo" we could get!

Let the show begin!

Monkey Munch for a snack!
(with some red & green M & M's to make it more festive)

Christmas Countdown 2011 - Day 8

Day 8 - Pajama Story Time at Mud Puddles

A friend of mine shared with me a great new tradition that we decided to start this year and it became our Day 8 activity of our 25 Days to Christmas. We have a local toy store that is one of those cute little shops that sells quality toys where the kids get to explore, discover, and read. When the kids were younger, we would be sure to make it a habit to visit their weekly story time, but now that both kids are in school we don't make it there as often. For the Christmas season, they were holding a special night time event where the kids could dress up in their pajamas and listen to Christmas books!

I let each of them bring a "friend"...

Austin really was happy to be there...
even though this picture doesn't show it!

It was such a treat to be able to enjoy this time with Mikayla's good friend Ellie because now that they are attending different schools they don't get to see each that much anymore! Ellie's mom (and my good friend) is the one who told me about pajama story time!

Ellie's little sister, Claire, wanted her picture taken, too!

Story time!

Waiting in line for hot cocoa...

It was a fun night and the bedtime process was so much easier that night. We got home, brushed teeth, and then they hopped into bed!

Christmas Countdown 2011 - Day 5

Day 5 - Candy Cane Milkshakes & The Candymaker's Gift

For Day 5 of our 25 Days of Christmas activities, we made candy cane milkshakes and read the beautiful book called The Candymaker's Gift. It puts spiritual truths into a charming story of the origin of the candy cane. It focuses on the importance of Jesus, the one whose birth we celebrate at Christmas. I met the Haidles (a husband and wife author/illustrator duo) at the first MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) Bazaar I participated in where they both signed our copy. This tradition is something we started two years ago and we will continue to do this!

I bought these cute little snowflake glass mugs one year on an after-Christmas clearance. This is the first year I have pulled them out for the kids to use during special times.

{ready to make candy cane milkshakes!}

{break up the candy canes}

{scoop in the ice cream}

{pause for a picture}

{ready to blend}

{ready, set, puree!}

{ready to enjoy...yum!}

{story time by the Christmas tree}

{sipping on milkshakes while listening to the story}

Day 1 Christmas fun!

December 1st marked the day of our FIRST DAY of the 25 Days of Christmas! Each day the kids will pick an activity out of our countdown calendar (a tradition we started back in 2008) and we will celebrate the season doing something fun together as a family, whether it be big or small!

Day 1 - Decorate the Christmas Tree!

First things first...let's get festive with Santa hats!

Check the lights to see if they work...

You seriously want me to untangle that mess?

Time to open the first gift of the season from Grandma Ruth & Grandpa Charlie. Each year (starting when the kids were babies), they have been given an ornament to hang on the tree. It's a fun tradition that the kids look forward to each year (and me, too!)

An ornament for Austin's 5th Christmas...

And Mikayla got Minnie Mouse this year!
Then it was time to go through the ornament boxes and look at all of the ornaments from Christmases past while Daddy hung the lights on the tree.

Ready to light up the tree...

THREE
TWO
ONE!

Now it's time to hang the ornaments...

Hanging ornaments takes concentration, you know.

Daddy helping Austin reach up on the high branches...

Our newest family ornament from our Disneyland trip in October.

{our tree}

And the cutest little Santa helpers I've ever seen!