"I Spy" Nativity Ornament

Last year (after Christmas) I bought several sets of tiny ornaments to use for Christmas "I Spy" bottles this year.  About a month ago, it occurred to me that it would be even more fun to make "I Spy" ornaments rather than bottles (since we already have a Halloween "I Spy" bottle).  I'm VERY excited about how this turned out!

To make the "I Spy" Nativity Ornament, you need a plastic ornament that opens in half, tiny nativity ornaments, filler (I use bulgur), and a ribbon.  I filled the ornament with the tiny nativity ornaments and bulgur.  It was hard to get enough bulgur in the ornament without spilling any.  Also, the grain left a little dust so after a day or so, I emptied the ornament and wiped out the inside. 




I refilled the ornament, and glued it shut using craft glue. 




I added a ribbon to the ornament and handed it to E(2) who was waiting anxiously for it! 




(please excuse her dirty fingers...Elliott had just given her an oreo...a rare treat, and it was EVERYWHERE!)   This was my first "I Spy" ornament, and I'll share the 2nd one tomorrow!

A Little Christmas Tree

Our book for last Wednesday was The Little Christmas Tree.



The girls made felt Christmas tree ornaments (from a kit) to go along with this book.

Snowmen at Night

Snowmen at Night isn't a Christmas book, but I decided to include in with our 24 books advent books since we love it so much, and I had a fun snow activity planned :) 





We made "snow dough"!  We mixed 12 cups of white flour with 1.5 cups of baby oil to make the snow dough, and it was SO much fun!  We kept adding in a little more baby oil, so we probably ended up with close to 1.75 cups of baby oil.




We put a few plastic animals in the dough, which E(2) really enjoyed.  O(5) loved "cooking" with the dough.


 




I had fun making snowballs :)  This was a pretty messy activity, so it's definitely one for the porch or yard!

Cookie Count

Our 4th day's book was Cookie Count by Robert Sabuda.  We love this book!  Our favorite page is the last page with the pop-up gingerbread cottage.



Our activity was decorating a gingerbread cottage, of course!  I always buy our gingerbread cottages after Christmas at half price.  That way I have a good excuse to not let the kids eat the candy and icing, and I save money! 

Our 2nd and 3rd Day Books and Activities

The Polar Express was the girls' second book to open this month.  The best thing about our Polar Express book is that it came with an audio book.  They have loved listening to it everyday on the way to and from school.  Their activity was to wear their warm footed pjs and drink hot chocolate while sitting on their grandparents' front porch to watch the trains go by.  Elliott and I were on a shopping and dinner date, but we heard that great fun was had by all!

The girls 3rd book was Franklin's Christmas Gift, and the activity was to choose and buy toys to donate to Toys for Tots.  I LOVE this book, and luckily, the girls do to.  It really motivates them to think about giving, and I think it's one we need to keep out and read all year long!

Our First Advent Activity

Our first advent book was Advent Storybook.  After reading the first story in the book, the girls used glitter and glue to decorate small wooden stars.  They LOVED this book and activity!









 
O(5) was excited to add a little glue and glitter to her fingertips!



 
After the stars were dry, I hot glued small clothes pins to the back and wrote the girls' names and the year on the back of each one.  We clipped them to our Christmas tree and to the tiny tree in the girls bedroom.

Our Advent "Calendar"

We have 24 Christmas books (wrapped in fabric bags) under our tree! Each bag has an activity in it (or a note card describing the activity) that relates to the book. This is the first year EVER that I have had all of our advent activities and books ready before December 1!

The girls love opening the bags to find the books, and the activities have been a success! I love Christmas!



Thanks to my mom for helping me get the books wrapped and the numbers on them!!!

The Most Played with Toy on Christmas...

was the Wedgits set that I bought for 2.50 at a second hand shop (Once Upon a Child) this summer!  Christmas could be so simple and inexpensive if only I would let it!!!

Christmas...

did not go as planned.  We were all downed by a vicious stomach bug.  It started with E last Wednesday.  O was the next victim followed by me on Christmas Eve.  We enjoyed Christmas day together before the virus struck Elliott during the night on Christmas night.  We are all still recovering.  It was still a good Christmas...how could it not be with these sweet girls?  However, I may quarantine the whole family a couple of weeks before Christmas next year!

Nesting Doll Ornaments

Most of the ornaments on our tree are either handmade or they are bought while we were on vacation.  However, when I saw these sweet nesting doll ornaments at World Market, I couldn't resist buying one for each of the girls. 








They open, so I occasionally put a small piece of chocolate inside.  O loves searching for a surprise on the tree, and she's always excited by chocolate!

Homemade Marshmallows

Last year after Christmas, my bff and I made plans to start a tradition (this year) of making homemade marshamallows and decorating gingerbread houses at her house each Christmas.  Luckily, I remembered this plan just in time and called and invited myself over.  We had a great time, and the marshmallows were delicious!  She used this recipe from Smitten Kitchen.  EB used homemade vanilla extract which she says is the trick for making them extra yummy!

When I told my sister about our plans, she pointed out that marshmallows only cost a dollar for a bag...clearly, she had never had homemade marshmallows!  Unfortunately, she had to work and couldn't join us, but my niece along with my mom, my kiddos, and our friend from college and her sweet boy were able to join us. 

Marshmallows in progress.



The kids were amazed by this giant marshmallow!



O enjoyed mixing the marshmallows around to coat them in powdered sugar.  She worked happily until EB told her she could eat a marshmallow, then it was all over.  As soon as she found out she could eat them, that was ALL she wanted to do!



Homemade marshmallows are GREAT with hot chocolate!






While EB made the marshmallows, the kids worked on their gingerbread cottages.  Unfortunately, the gingerbread cottages in these kits were not prebuilt.  O did not want any help with hers (this was fine with me because I really don't like building the houses), and she was quite creative...she made a gingerbread sandwich!  She didn't eat it, of course, but she was VERY proud of her creation!



I also had a gingerbread tree kit.  It's made up of stars that you stack to form a tree.  It was really fun to build the tree, and the children took turns placing the stars on the tree (it reminded me a little of building the pink tower).  E even joined in and stacked a few stars.  After we finished building the tree, the kids had a great time decorating it.



We did lots of fun activities, but I think that the kids enjoyed playing under the table and blankets more than anything.



They ventured upstairs and found an empty room with just a bedspread and a few pillows.  It's amazing how entertained they were for quite a while with these simple things.  (they are all hiding under the blanket)




We had a great day, and we are looking forward to doing it again next year!  Thanks, EB!