The Advent Calender

The holiday season is all around.  If you don't know me that well then let me tell you...I FREAKING LOVE CHRISTMASTIME!!!! And quiet frankly everything to with it, the music, the decorations, wrapping and giving gifts, decorating cookies and gingerbread houses! Every year since I was little I always had a paper advent calendar and this year I decided to step up my game and go big.  I ordered a beautiful large advent calendar to hang with 25 pockets for messages. All of my messages make note of a treat they will receive or activity they get to do on the given day. I hit the ground running on December first...

The boys got to pick candy canes off of the tree so they thought that was pretty special too.  And yes the chocolate milk was served in Maine Brewfest glasses!

I didn't want to make the calendar about gifts so sprinkled in are things that needed to get done to get ready for the holiday season.  One day was to go to the store and pick out gingerbread houses. It had to get done and the boys loved picking out their own houses! Big surprise that in another couple of days the message will be to put them together and decorate it.

And then on the day the message was to help make cookies we had so much going on we didn't get to make them until late. But a promise is a promise!

Lincoln showing off the message

The boys being oh so helpful
making cookies

It's also handy and nice to have a few up your sleeve that you can reuse!

This is one of my favorites! Their is always something special about watching a holiday movie in your parents bed.  This was a Very Special Muppet Christmas!

And then you have the days when you feel like you have cheated a bit and go lame...

An assortment of different types of Hersey Kisses in a Santa Ziploc bag did make them just as happy as any other message but it seemed a little lazy on my part.

Today gave the boys some good old excitement; they each got a dollar and got to pick something out at the local dollar store. Oh what fun to pick out a blow-up sword and hammer!


We still have 2 weeks left to go and I'm trying not to repeat myself to often.  Let's hope my Christmas spirit will carry my through to keep my creativity high because this has become quite the undertaking!