24 Days of Christmas

Since Megan was very little, I have always done various versions of the 24 Days of Christmas. During the lean years, most days included free activities and one or two Hershey kisses and mini Reese cups. Along the way, I've added little ticket items like a find-a-word puzzle book, magazine, and other little dollar store finds. The first year I included Bridget in the mix, she received a mini Reese cup on day 2 and, from that point forward, she thought Reese cups were called "2s". And each year, I've made sure that we open each day's little gift or activity together as a family or it included a family activity or charitable event.

This year was the most challenging since Megan is away at college. Thank goodness for technology. The deal I made between the girls is that each day they could only open each item if they opened their items together while on FaceTime or Skype. Wow, it's been so much fun. We log on around dinner time. The girls can talk to each other and open their day's activity or gift while I'm fixing dinner. It really is like we're all together.

So here's how the first week has played out:

Day 1 - A mini polar bear that, when put in water, expands up to 600% over 10 days.
Day 2 - One Reese christmas tree.
Day 3 - A washcloth that pops up full-size while in the bathtub.
Day 4 - Make hot chocolate with each other.
Day 5 - Santa bubble gum tape (Meg's all-time favorite)
Day 6 - Make paper snowflakes together.

Tonight's activity was so much fun watching my two wonderful daughters making snowflakes. One is 19 and one is 5 and yet they couldn't seem closer. Love my girls.

I hope your December is just as magical and filled with close friends and family.

The Last of the 24 Days of Christmas

Alternate title: How I Wore Myself Out Over Christmas!

Seriously, this was so much fun, but I did learn that it's ok to have a super simple activity like coloring in a coloring book. A few projects took too much time and it was difficult to plan around the trips that I had scheduled on the fly. But we had fun and I will definitely do this again next year - with modifications, since Meg will be on college (cue the tears!).

December 22: Make a gift for the squirrels and hang it outside. We found pinecones, tied a string at one end, coated the pinecone in peanut butter, then rolled it in bird seed. Very easy project.

December 23: Have a candlelight dinner with family and name one thing you love best about each person. Today was also 11 years since my first date with the hubs. The date last 11 hours - 5 of those hours being spent in an Irish pub :)

December 24: Wrap all the presents and put them under the tree. Off to bed so Santa can visit!

24 Days of Christmas: Week 3

This has been so much fun enjoying a different activity each day with my girls.

December 15: Sing Christmas carols in the car and drive around. I must polish up on the lyrics next time!

December 16: Bake Cookies. We made sugar cookies and gingerbreak cookies. Now don't think I've gone all Martha Stewart over here. They were prepared mixes which required adding 2 ingredients and they were shaped into circles. Yep, couldn't find the cookie cutters.

December 17: Christmas Scavenger Hunt. So much fun! The hunt started with a story of how Santa needed Bridget and Megan's help to find Rudolph. Both girls had to solve a series of clues, leading them to Rudolph (a stuffed animal that plays music). I'm not sure which one had more fun!

December 18: Bridget and Megan made a beautiful gingerbread house (scroll down to see how wonderful it turned out!).

December 19: Make a Christmas drawing using glitter pens to make the picture twinkle with instructions to hang the pictures up for me to see when I got home from my race. I came home to pictures of a snowman and a Christmas tree that were absolutely perfect masterpieces!

December 20: Dance class recital, then ice cream with family. We were lucky enough that Grandma, Aunt Kim, Uncle George, Ben, Maeve and Quinn were able to join us and see ballerina Bridget. Meg had a swim meet and had a great performance!

December 21: We made ornaments out of pre-made Crayola clay. I couldn't believe how much fun.

24 Days of Christmas: Week 2

The girls and I have enjoyed doing this little project. Every morning Bridget gets excited to open the day's activity before going to school and then repeats it to me on the drive home. I was clearly a bit too ambitious when I started this project as I didn't factor in how tired I might be after a long day at work! So I've had to substitute a couple of days with silly, little things. Oh well, it's still been a blast!

December 8: We were supposed to make an ornament, but instead we just colored in a coloring book. I forgot to buy supplies and this one sneaked up on me way too fast! Thank goodness, substitutions are allowed.

December 9: Write your letter to Santa and mail it to the North Pole. I used parchment paper and let Bridget stamp Santa's picture on the top of card, then write inside. Easy project!

December 10: This was a travel day to see my brother and his family, so the girls just received a small piece of candy.

December 11: Spend time doing a family activity. We visited the Children's Museum with my brother's family and had a great day. Check out the fun photos!

December 12: Make snowflakes and hang them up. Thanks, Aunt Char, for the wonderful craft project! I even had a blast making snowflakes.

December 13: Movie night! Make popcorn and watch a movie with family. We watched Beauty and the Beast Christmas. What's not to love about Belle!

24 Days of Christmas

A few years ago I bought a new Advent Calendar for the girls. It's a giant stocking with 24 little pockets for treats or notes. This year, I decided to mix it up with fun stuff (treats/jokes), family activities and giving/spreading goodwill. Below is from our first week:

December 1: decorate the Christmas tree.

December 2: go to the town gathering for the lighting of the tree and meet Santa afterwards.

December 3: what do Santa's elves learn at the North Pole school? The ELFabet! Reese's trees as a treat for each daughter.

December 4: what do you get when you cross a snowman with a vampire? Frostbite! Small Activity/coloring book for Bridget and Vogue magazine for Megan.

December 5: what do snowmen eat for breakfast? Snowflakes! Santa bubble gum tape (both my girls love it!).

December 6: drive around enjoying the Christmas lights while enjoying Mitchell's ice cream. Mmmm!

December 7: gather two used toys and two good books to donate to a shelter.

So far the first week has been so much fun! Love the holidays and I love my girls!