Let the Holiday season begin

How did you spend this year's first advent? we started preparing the house for the holidays. Pulled out some favourite decorations, made the outside look pretty, planned Christmas activities all the while listening to the Vienna Boy's Choir create a festive mood. I also managed to put the finishing touches on this year's Advent Calendar, and just in time. This year's version features a mix of hockey cards and of course chocolate.

The Details? This IKEA fabric caught my eye last year, and I had to have it, as I knew it would be the perfect backdrop for an Advent Calendar. Add in some hockey cards, every 8-year old boy's favourite, and some chocolate, and voila, our 2015  calendar.

Happy 1st Advent

For our little family, first advent has always marked the beginning of the holiday season. This weekend we pulled out our Christmas decorations, started playing Christmas carols, and even managed to make salt-dough ornaments.

And, as I have done every years since Aidan was born, I made an advent calendar. This year's I am especially pleased with.

As I have found out, first graders are especially fond of Pokemon trading cards, so I decided to use those as my advent calendar fillers. Cheery wrapping paper and pretty tags helped complete the project. And finally my new chalkboard wall turned out to be the perfect backdrop. 

Aidan is already itching to rip open his first envelope.

Happy Advent!

Advent Countdown

It's that time of the year again! The holidays have snuck up on us, the first snowfall has already happened, and the countdown to Christmas begins. 

Now that I have made an Advent Calendar for 3 years in a row, the expectation has been set, and my son started asking days ago when this years' will be ready.

I just finished setting it up yesterday, and I find that it makes the house look festive. We're slowly setting up our Christmas decorations and we have a few cookie baking days set aside, these also having been requested by my son. I have to say, I am pleased to see that the little traditions I started a few years ago seem to already be ingrained and looked forward to. To me it means that he will have happy memories as an adult and that is exactly what I was hoping for.

On a more practical note, I am starting to run out of ideas as to what to fill the calendar with! I started with a puzzle, went on to a Playmobil one, last year's was filled with activities, and this year, every day he will get to unveil a Lego piece. 
What about next year?

Ideas? Suggestions? I realize I have another year to come up with something....still....help!

Tell me about your Christmas traditions. Anything that makes the countdown special? Something the kids can't get enough of? I am open to ideas, so go ahead, share!

And A Happy Advent-time to everyone.

Advent Calendar and accepting imperfection

There are only 10 days left till Christmas, as I have realized with horror, and not much has happened in way of preparation. Not nearly enough. I am hauling out decorations and feverishly writing lists of things still to do before the holidays. I will never get everything done in time!

I did manage to stick to one tradition I started 2 years ago (see here and here), I made and Advent calendar for Aidan. And that, at the last minute, by that I mean the night before the first of December.

I have been meaning to photograph it , however the weather has been so overcast on weekends, that I barely get any light. This is the best I could do:

  My favorite crafty blogs are full on ingenious ideas, and so is Pinterest, but due to the time constraint, I chose to go with a simple idea. Each envelope contains an activity for us to do each day. We have crafts, coloring, baking, singing. There are outdoor activities too, such as a visit to the Christmas market (another yearly tradition) and a trip downtown to admire the decorations.

Aidan has really thrown himself into the Christmas spirit this year, making sure the activities are followed and done the way he believes Santa would like them done.

Seeing him so happy and filled with anticipation, I stress a little less, as I realize that it does not all have to be perfect. He does not care if the decorations match, or the wrapping is "professional", or there are three types of cookies instead of ten, or the house is immaculate. He is perfectly content making his Christmas crafts, while humming carols, and correcting me, when I incorrectly sing along in french!

So tonight, even though my list is still long, I will pour a glass of wine for my husband and I, and we will curl up on the couch to watch a Christmas movie, and glance occasionally at the slightly lop-sided Christmas tree in our living room.

The list will still be there tomorrow morning!

Christmas is coming

I am not a winter person. Not even a little bit. Countless times I've said that come November I could barricade myself inside the house and not leave again until April. With one exception, Christmas.

I find the time starting with the first Advent enchanting. It's the first snow, the decorations, the smell of freshly baked cookies, the hot chocolate, spiced wine, roasted chestnuts and all the anticipation. Granted, it's hard to avoid the commercialization of the holidays, but it's ultimately up to each and every one of us to set limits, to make them special, to remind ourselves of what it's all about.

So I'm starting my own family Christmas traditions.

Because one of my most cherished treasures from childhood is an Advent calendar my grandmother had, I've decided to make one for A. myself.

He's only three years old, so my choices were somewhat limited. I thought for the first year I'll keep it simple. So I bought a 25 piece puzzle (I realize 24 would be the correct number, but it's not that easy to find), with a theme we're currently fascinated with (pirates), envelopes, foam snowflakes, string, clothespins, threw in some chocolate, and....voila!

I cannot wait to start building memories with my own little family, and can only hope that when my son is an adult he’ll have fond recollections of these times.