What to do with all those cards

I LOVE getting Christmas cards from all of my friends and family.  It's always good to hear from those who we love and see the cute pictures of their family's that are growing and changing from year to year.  But what do you do with those cards when they come?  Unlike some, I don't have room to stand them up in display, or I don't care to hang them on the wall or on the back of the door.  Nope, instead, I use them as a decorating accent in my very plain and super un-festive garland that adorns my stair railing.

 

 

Tie a bit of string, ribbon, whatever you have lying around, and add those cards to that boring old garland.  There, the cards are out of the way, but not thrown out as soon as you read them. 

 

Remember those who have remembered you this holiday season, and enjoy the cards and sentiments all season long.

Christmas Countdown

So we are all ready to start counting down to the most magical day of the year.  In years past, we have done this in many different ways.  One year, we did count down blocks.  They were cute and reminded us of how much longer we had to wait, but they weren't really fun.  Then we tried one with candy and that was super fun, but really, do we need more treats at this time of year?  So, this year we are trying one that's a bit more interactive.

 

For each day we count down, there is a card we pull off of the advent that gives us an activity to participate in.

 

 

To make the advent calendar itself, I just found a large frame at the local thrift store for $0.50.  I sprayed it red and added string across it to hang the cards from.

 

I secured the string with staples and then covered those with hot glue just as a reinforcement.

 

 

 

I went to Kmart and found these cute gift tags to use.

 

 

And on each one we wrote an activity that we would like to do this Holiday season.  Examples are: drink hot cocoa with lots of marshmallows, watch a Christmas movie, have a family sleepover under the Christmas tree and make Christmas cookies.  We also have some fun ones like take a drive to see the Christmas lights, do a Christmas service project for someone in need, attend a Christmas concert, and wrap gifts for others.  Think of activities that are age appropriate for your family and repeat specific activities as desired.

 

 

Now we are all ready to select our activity and get ourselves in the Holiday spirit as we countdown to Christmas!

Bring on the Elf

By now most of us are gearing up for the holiday season. I know I have been searching for ideas. I came across this idea during the summer (when I went back to the source it was no longer available. Please message me if this is your idea and I will give credit where it is due).

Most of us know the story of Eli the elf… Little elf that creates fun messes at night while you are sleeping to keep kids on track for the Christmas season. Great idea but… Christmas needs to be about Jesus. As we all know he is the reason for the season.

 

 

 

So here is the letter to go along with the Eli the elf. (However, our elf is named Harris....so if yours is named something other than Eli, substitute the new name in.

 

 

Dear ...................................,

First off, I have to tell you that I think you are all very special children. I know you are filled with love for each other, your parents, but most importantly, you are filled with love for Jesus, and I know that He lives in your hearts. He lives in mine too, that makes us all especially special!

I have to let you know something important. You know that whole naughty and nice list that you hear everyone talking about? Well… truth is, that’s not really true. I don’t have a naughty and nice list. Because I know Jesus, I also know a lot about grace and getting what we don’t deserve. I know you know all about that! Like when you make the wrong choice and when you choose to sin, Jesus gives you grace and loves you still! And sometimes I know that your parents even give you grace too… like when you deserve to be disciplined, but they give you another chance!

I know that kids are not perfect. I know that you guys are not perfect. But I know that Jesus loves you all the time, and I do too. So you don’t need to worry about being on my naughty or nice list. If you believe that I will come to your house on Christmas Eve and leave you some special surprises, then I will come!!! That’s all you need … is to believe!

To help you remember about grace and about love even when you don’t deserve it, I wanted to send you a very special treat for this Christmas season. Since it’s the first day of December, the month that we celebrate Jesus coming to earth to be our Rescuer, I thought you might enjoy a little visit from a very special friend of mine.

This is Eli the Elf......

He is a dear old friend of mine, but he tends to be a bit naughty. I have explained grace to him many many times, when he chooses to sin and be a stinker. I have told him that is why Jesus had to come… to rescue him. Because he has sin in his heart. He is beginning to learn, but I thought that if he stayed with you for the Christmas season, then you might be able to teach him some more about the way Jesus loves us even when we sin. I know that you both are learning that you get to obey and love God because He first loves you so very much. I love Eli so much and I want him to understand and believe Jesus and know that his heart can make good choices too because Jesus loves him so very much!!

One important thing about Eli… he is an Elf, and elves are not the same as humans. Eli stays still all during the day, but he comes alive at night. You can talk to him; play with him just like your other toys. Eli is quiet during the day, but loves to play at night once everyone else is sleeping. That’s usually when he can get into some trouble, so you’ll have to watch him carefully!

When I told Eli that he was going to stay with you guys, he jumped up and down in excitement! He really things you guys are so fun.

Have fun! I’ll be back to pick up Eli on Christmas Eve when I come to drop off some surprises for you!

I love you guys so very much!

Santa

 

 

 And Santa has his very own stationary for this!

 

 

 

We are having the letter delivered to us in the mail and that day, Harris will show up to spend the season in our household.  I can't wait!!

 

 

 

 

 

An Indoor Snowball Fight

Who doesn't love a snowball fight?  Being outside in the freezing cold, getting pummeled with icy cold "rock" like objects that always seem to hit you in the face?  Well, I love a good snowball fight; when I am the one that stays warm and out of target range, but I especially love the idea of having one indoors.  So, since my kids and I love to have these snowball fights, but aren't too fond of the icy cold either, we decided to bring the snow indoors.

 

 

I found these little metal buckets at the dollar store

 

and with a paint pen, added some embellishments to the front.

 

I then went over to JoAnn's and found me some fluffy white fabric....on the clearance rack of course.  When I got home, I cut the fabric into various sized circles, and with right sides together, sewed them up leaving small hole so I could turn them right side out and add stuffing.  When they were stuffed to my liking, I simply hand stitched the small hole together.  And that's it, a homemade, fluffy warm snowball.

 

I decided to take it one step further and add faces to these snowballs.  Perhaps it would make getting hit with them a little more fun.  So, I embroidered little black eyes, an orange carrot nose, and a mouth with cold rosy cheeks to make them look fun.

 

Put a bunch (my buckets held 6) together in a bucket and then, you are super well equipped for the best snowball fight ever.

 

Now isn't that crafty?

The Christ Book

Christmas is such a busy time of year for everyone.  Making sure the decorations are up and just so, baking all sorts of goodies and treats to share with others, making sure we have enough gifts for everyone as to not start a fight over who got more, and scheduling every activity to help get us in the "mood".  And as busy as we are making sure everything is perfect, we forget the most important of all Christmas to-do's.  And that is taking time to remember the true meaning of Christmas.

While purusing Pinterest, I came across a blog called Sew Dang Cute that had a great idea of making a book of scriptures, songs and pictures to read and share each day during the month that will help keep the "true" meaning of Christmas with us this season. It's called the Christ Book.  I wanted to re-direct you to this blog in hopes that you too will make one and share the true meaning of Christmas with your family and bring His Spirit into your home this season.

Here is how mine turned out.......

 

Check out the blog Sew Dang Cute Crafts to get started on your own.  Merry Christmas!!