Fun Christmas Activities

My goal is to post about all of our Christmas celebrations, related fun, and our New Years within the next two weeks. So, hang on to your hats, there's going to be LOTS of pictures, pictures, and more pictures coming up.

We really had a great time celebrating Christmas this year. Every year it just gets more and more fun. The kids loved each activity we did. And I loved seeing Christmas through the eyes of my innocent, hopeful, wide-eyed children. It was truly special and it made me excited, not just for this Christmas, but for the Christmases to come.

We wanted to get our Christmas tree as soon as possible. In the past it seemed like we were taking it down days after we got it set up. So, the weekend after Thanksgiving allowed us the perfect opportunity to pick out our tree. Unfortunately, we don't have a Christmas tree farm that grows the kind of trees we want close by. So, off to the Home Depot we went. The kids ran around and played in the giant "Christmas tree tent" while Ryan and I examined each one. We finally concluded that the very first one we looked at was the best one [that seems to be the way it always goes for us]. But, before purchasing the tree Mama wanted a family picture to document the occasion. But, Little Miss wasn't having it. 

This was the best we could do.

 

That same day we got it set up in the house and Ryan put the lights on it. On Sunday we all decorated it. I have no pictures of that because, as you can imagine, it's a crazy scene trying to both include the kids in the decorating and making sure no ornaments are broken in the process. You've got four busy, little hands going through their ornament boxes [some of which are very fragile and irreplaceable], carrying them from the sofa to the tree across the hardwood floor, and then trying to find a spot on the tree for it to hang. It was chaotic and fun mixed in with some happy tears from Mama because, well, that's what she does sometimes.

After putting the finishing touches on it, we were able to stand back and enjoy our tree. 

 

 

Early on in the Christmas season we went to a local parade! It was a night parade, which seemed to make the lights and excitement more magical. 

The weather, however, was so warm it wasn't feeling too Christmas-like. The kids were in short sleeves for goodness sakes! But, we had a ball nonetheless.

Playing in a tree before the parade started. 

 

Here it comes!

Mama and her babies.

 I love this picture. It pretty much sums up life for me right now. 

A few days later we made some ornaments from scratch. It was a lot of fun!

David and Rachael helped cut them out.

  

 

Both kids love to use the rolling pin. Of course, I only have one, so they have to take turns. Rachael thinks she does a much better job using it than David does, as evident by this sequence of pictures.

 

 

 

That cracks me up every time. That girl is something else.

After I baked the ornaments, the kids painted them. Naked. Yes, naked. These are acrylic paints! They had a blast. 

 

 

Once they were dry and I sprayed them with a sealer, they were ready to hang. I had about five different types of string to use and let the kids pick out which one to put on each of their ornaments. They made about 12 altogether. They each picked out one to give to both sets of grandparents as an early Christmas present. Here's just a few of the ones that stayed on our tree. 

 

 

 

We had a little extra "dough" left over, so I made each of them their initial to paint. 

 

 I was also feeling very Martha Stewarty one day and thought we would try the Salt Dough Santa hand print ornaments. Well, it would seem I'm no Martha Stewart. But, I am very proud of how they turned out. I hope that one day the fact that I painted them will make these ornaments extra special for David and Rachael. 

David's:

 

Rachael's:

In the middle of December we got to spend an entire weekend at home, together! It was the perfect break in the middle of all the holiday hustle and bustle. We watched as many Christmas movies as we possibly could, ate popcorn as often as allowed, and made some yummy chocolate chip cookies.

I really didn't take many pictures that weekend, because I truly wanted to enjoy that time and be in the moment. But, here's a few of my favorites that I did capture. 

Our sweet, old Bogie Dog.

 

Sometimes he gets used as a pillow, but he doesn't mind. 

 

 

David watching one of his favorite movies- The Grinch.

 

Refilling his bowl of popcorn.

 

Rachael wanted to join him. 

 

One evening we went to a live nativity, which was something new for all of us. It was WAY more than we expected. The church went all out to really help us understand what was going on in Bethlehem at the time of Jesus' birth. The kids liked most of it. Since it was at night, the Roman soldiers on horseback yelling at us to pay our taxes was a bit scary. But once we got past them it was really interesting. And the best part of all? A REAL "Baby Jesus"!

Here's a Wise Man greeting Mary and Joseph.

And afterwards there was hot chocolate and marshmallow roasting!



We made lot of gingerbread things this Christmas too. As a kid I didn't really get into the gingerbread making, so I don't know much about it. But, David really wanted to try it, so I looked up a recipe and to the kitchen we all went. First, we made gingerbread men.

 

Of course, the best part is decorating with the icing.

One time, Rachael got bored while waiting her turn for the icing, so she just ate some of her cookie. 

David worked really hard on each one.

Some of our finished products. Note the legless gingerbread man. 

Another day we built our own gingerbread house from scratch. Again, I've never had any experience with these, as you will soon see. 

Using the same recipe as we did for the men I cut out the walls, complete with windows and a front door, two gingerbread kids [David and Rachael], and made a Christmas tree that would stand up. We made another batch of buttercream icing and got to "work" as soon as possible. 

 

And our masterpiece!!! 

 

I told you I've never done this before... Those are graham crackers for the roof and ginger snap cookies for the stairs [David built those all by himself]. The Christmas tree is on the right side of the house, so you can't see it from this angle. The "D" and "R" are also gingerbread cookies. 

No, it's nothing to pin on Pinterest for sure, but it was ours and we were very proud of it.

Immediately, after having a chance to admire our creation, it was time for the kids to take their naps. So, up the stairs we went. When I came back downstairs THIS is what I found.

 

 Our old, never ate anything that isn't his before, sleeps 23 hours a day, sweet faced dog ate as much of the gingerbread house and icing as his teeth and tongue could reach! I couldn't believe it. And even worse I was afraid the kids would be sad that much of their house was now in Bogie's belly. 

But, when they woke up they weren't too upset. After the initial shock, they actually thought it was funny.