Since these are our first official holidays in the Pacific Northwest, we have had to make some changes in our traditions. The most obvious change is... well, we have no relatives closer than 20 hours away. This after being two hours or less from all of the grandparents before we moved. Boo. Since it was just going to be our happy little family for Thanksgiving, we tried to make it memorable. The five of us participated in a local 5K to raise money and/or food for a local food pantry that morning. The weather wasn't bad... about 55° and a bit rainy at first, but it dried up soon after we started. My husband and our oldest son ran the whole thing. Our daughter jogged a considerable amount of it (but stopped occasionally to look back and make sure she could still see me). And our youngest and I walked as quickly as we could. He sang "Jingle Bells" for approximately the last half-hour, to the amusement (or annoyance) of those around us at the back of the pack.
Thanksgiving dinner was prepared lovingly by my husband and it was delicious. Once we had all rested our bellies a bit, we drove about 15 miles to the only tree farm we could find that was open that day and we purchased a perfect Christmas tree. Once we got home, I helped the kids all put up their mini trees in their rooms and they decorated them. Friday was spent getting out all the decorations and cleaning. We were all extra excited because my in-laws were coming Saturday! They'll be with us until Thursday morning, and we are loving the company from back home.
So, I finally sat down Saturday night and wrote out this year's Advent plans. If you'd like to see what we did last year, you can read all about it here. I've found several local things to do here that will be new to us, and I picked up Lisa Whelchel's The ADVENTure of Christmas to glean a few more ideas.
Here are the plans for 2014:
Dec. 1st - 24 days until Christmas - After school today we are going to make cookie mix to give to friends. There will also be peppermint ice cream after dinner (after soccer for London)!
Dec. 2nd - 23 days until Christmas - We will play a couple of Christmas games this afternoon and then we’ll get pizza with Nana & Pa after Eden’s yoga class!
Dec. 3rd - 22 days until Christmas - We’ll make cookies after school and tonight we will drive through the Portland WinterWonderland with Nana & Pa!
Dec. 4th - 21 days until Christmas - This afternoon we will have hot cocoa and make angels to hang!
Dec. 5th - 20 days until Christmas - Tonight is the downtown Christmas tree lighting. L’s choir will get to sing and we’ll talk to Santa!
Dec. 6th - 19 days until Christmas - Tonight is the Christmas ships parade! We’ll go have cider and cookies at the port, then we will watch the ships head down the Columbia River.
Dec. 7th - 18 days until Christmas - Today is the 2nd Sunday in Advent. After church we will wrap our gifts for one another and watch a Christmas movie or two!
Dec. 8th - 17 days until Christmas - After school today we will play Christmas BINGO!
Dec. 9th - 16 days until Christmas - We’ll make candy canes into reindeer this afternoon to give to friends of your choice!
Dec. 10th - 15 days until Christmas - There will be a yummy treat we’ll make after school today. They look like Christmas trees, but they’ll taste great!
Dec. 11th - 14 days until Christmas - Today we’ll learn how to say “Merry Christmas” in a few different languages!
Dec. 12th - 13 days until Christmas - For movie night tonight we’re going to make red and green popcorn!
Dec. 13th - 12 days until Christmas - This afternoon we are going to go on a “Journey to Bethlehem.” There will be a live Nativity scene!
Dec. 14th - 11 days until Christmas - Today is the 3rd Sunday in Advent! Dad is going to the Seattle Seahawks game; we are going to make gingerbread houses for the first time ever!
Dec. 15th - 10 days until Christmas - This afternoon you can make Christmas cards for your grandparents!
Dec. 16th - 9 days until Christmas - Today we will bake cookies for your teachers!
Dec. 17th - 8 days until Christmas - We will make containers for your teachers’ cookies out of Pringles cans!
Dec. 18th - 7 days until Christmas - Tonight is B’s preschool Christmas program!
Dec. 19th - 6 days until Christmas - Tonight we will walk through the Portland Grotto Festival of Lights!
Dec. 20th - 5 days until Christmas - Today we will make treats for our neighbors and deliver them to their doors!
Dec. 21st - 4 days until Christmas - Today is the 4th Sunday in Advent. We are going to make paper luminaries to line our sidewalk!
Dec. 22nd - 3 days until Christmas - Tonight we’ll all get in our PJs and drive around looking at Christmas lights!
Dec. 23rd - 2 days until Christmas - Today we are going to make Wassail (a special kind of homemade apple) and watch another Christmas movie!
Dec. 24th - 1 day until Christmas - Today we will make cookies for Santa, read ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas, and go to the Christmas Eve service at church!
As I mentioned last year, I go into all of this in a very flexible frame of mind. I only print out a few of the notes at a time just in case we need to make changes. This morning our daughter happily opened the first door on the Advent calendar to read what we were doing today. I love seeing the kids' faces when they find out what the activity is. They never seem to mind if it is a big thing or a tiny thing.
I also need to give a shout-out to my friend and former co-worker, Ann, who gave me a little story last year. It's called "The Last Straw," and she said she'd read it to her children at the beginning of Advent for several years. Last night (the first Sunday in Advent), I read it to my children. It got just the response I was hoping for and my oldest created a little manger that we are now filling with toothpicks (in lieu of straw). You'll have to find the story (or ask me for it) if you want the details. :)
As always, *For those new to my blog, check out the beginnings of ABC Summers here.*
