Time toFace the Christmas Music
Our Holiday is well and truly over and since I sort of put life on hold until we’d actually managed to finally take this holiday I kind of forgot about my solemn promise to be on top of things this Christmas, before December hit!
But here we are.. December. Eeek!
I had big ideas for Christmas things I wanted to do at home with the girls and now no time to do them.. let alone motivation! I am still going to attempt a few things anyway!
I want to get the girls to help me make things to decorate the tree this year. Well we need to get a tree first but I am hoping to go look at live potted trees tomorrow, or we can always go next door and chop down a HUGE pine tree or go up the street and buy a smallish tree from the numerous Christmas tree farms around here…. but I think a smallish potted tree is the way to go if I can get one. Even better if I can not kill it and use it again next year or even plant it somewhere on the farm maybe.
So I’ve been trying to think of some really simple Christmas deco ideas that we could make.. considering the girls are only just three and scissors are not something they have encountered yet, plus they have the concentration span of a gnat! They do love to paint though so I think cutting out some star shapes from their paintings might be an easy way to go!
I have also been doing the Martha Stewart site ( I love Martha in a weird kind of way) and found a few really cool things I want to try and find time to attempt, though I am not holding my breath! I think these balls are an ace idea though I would make mine in bright and wild colours since we don’t have snow. This gingerbread man christmas wreath is just ace.. might put the hard word on my Mum to help me with that one when we are there next!
I’ve also been cruising the amazing crafty Mamma blogs around and been inspired to try and sew some simple birds to stuff for the tree.. maybe even a few stuffed stars… and other shapes if I can manage them… well ok maybe this should be a project filed away for next year!
I am a bit inspired to make an effort to get the girls involved in some kind of Christmas/solstice/end of year celebration magic. Not sure what as we are not at all religious and it is sort of odd to see so many of the ‘Christmas‘ traditions relating to winter when it is summer here. But I am hoping to get a book about Saint Nick from the library and talk to them a little about Santa and giving and sharing etc.
I am not super into the whole Santa thing as I see it being so commercialised these days which just misses the whole point for me. My girls have already been told that if they are ‘not good Santa won’t come’ by a complete stranger which just makes me furious! Last year Zoe was petrified by any large Santa type objects or people and we are yet to see how she is faring this year on the subject. And I don’t really feel comfortable keeping up the pretense that every Santa they see in every shopping centre is the ‘real thing’ I don’t see how anyone can believe that.
So the plan is to read about Saint Nick and talk about Santa as it comes up. Be honest about it but still grow and nurture the magic and fun of pretending. The girls will still get ‘presents from Santa’ as part of the ritual and magic but they will only be little things. I guess they are still on the young side to really get into to much deep and meaningful Christmas stuff so hopefully we’ll just start setting the stage for years to come when they will be more interested.
Now onto the present thing…..
Over the past few years we’ve bought less and less of the presents we give and made more and more things which I am trying to do even better on this year. I have several ideas in mind for presents the girls can help with or inspire for various relatives and friends and even a couple I want to try for them. If I can pull it all together that is!
As for presents for the girls… we won’t really go overboard on presents for them at Christmas. As I said above I have some ideas for a few small gifts to go into a stocking from ‘Santa’ and then one or two bigger gifts from us. At this stage I am thinking we’ll splurge and buy them each a really nice fairy/dancing dress as they are so into dressing up at the moment. And we are also thinking about some kind of paddling pool / inflatable pool… something a bit substantial so that they can really splash around in it!
And the much asked question at this time of the year… what else do they want for Christmas? The easy answer would be nothing as they were well spoilt at their birthday with so many things on their wish list finding their way into their hot little hands! But I know people aren’t going to listen if I say nothing! LOL
We will hope for another zoo pass I guess… tho I am still not sure about the whole ‘having to pay for the child in the year they turn four’ if that is the case it doesn’t seem worth the money since they will only be four for 1 month that the zoo pass is valid and up until then would get in for free anyway!
After our holiday they are swimming mad… considering they rarely get to go as it requires two adults to take them, they had a ball at the beach and then the last few days at the pool with the playgroupers. I was so impressed at how confident they have become in the water and how well they managed to keep themselves afloat with a blow up ring! I know they’d love a blow up ring each for the pool and I’ve been wording them up to ask a certain absent aunt to give them a promise of coming swimming with us sometime as a Christmas present… hope you are reading this absent aunt!
Apart from that…. books are always a winner…. they have been amazing with the floor puzzles they got for their birthday so dare I suggest puzzles? (oh I am just shooting myself in the foot I know with all the extra puzzle bits I will be fishing out from under the couch!). I can’t really think of much else… they will just enjoy the attention of the various family members and friends we’ll attempt to catch up with!
For the big kids in this house… I have my eye on a bread maker now that our free bread is becoming way too much trouble to be worth while, so I think that is what we will buy each other! I have also requested monetary donations from my parents as I badly want some more RAM for the PC. I have also seen a very fancy set of cooking scales which will measure in grams, mls and I think cups as well so I can add all my ingredients in one bowel measuring as I go… love that idea!
Not sure what the big boy might like…. if I ask he always says ‘nothing’ so I guess since he’ll eat more than his fair share of bread then that may have to do!
It’s funny… Christmas is at the same time every year but every year it manages to creep up on me. Even when I promise myself I will be organised and I start ‘thinking’ about it months in advance I just can’t launch myself into action until it is way waaaaaay too late! Ah well perhaps that is just part of the whole Christmas ‘thing’ for me!
What about Dough ornaments???
its 2 cups flour, 2 cups salt, and 1 cup water put it all in the mixer till it forms into a dough. take it out and knead it for 5 minutes-ish, roll it out, then cut out shapes with cookies cutters, then with the end of a pencil make holes for the string to hang it, place it on a cookie sheet and bake at 225 degrees (F) for 2-3 hours fliiping occassionally to make sure they thoroughly dry out. and then paint and decorate! voila you have an ornament! we are having fun with them.
I brought the cookie cutters from lincraft last year your welcome to borrow them. I was going to make some to bring to playgroup too.