Snowman Wreath

Isn't he the cutest? I love my new snowman wreath. It was incredibly easy and economical to make, too. I already had the center wreath in the basement.

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Christmas Candy Corn and Oreo Bark

Who doesn't love candy bark? One of the most often searched and viewed recipes on my blog is my Halloween Candy Corn Bark. When I saw Holiday Candy Corn at Michael's I had to buy it to create a Christmas version.

This is all you need to make some tasty Christmas cookie and candy corn bark. If you like salty with your sweet, toss in some pretzels in this mix too. That's the great thing about bark...completely customizable.

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Advent Activities Rundown

I cannot believe it is only three days until I begin our annual advent activity tradition. I posted last year about the things we included in 2009, the first year we switched from candy to fun, you can find that post here. Last year I had planned to post our activities six days at a time as they happened but the month was just far too busy for blogging and I only posted the first six. Instead of blogging them in January I saved it for a more timely post...now! I've had several requests for our list of activities. I'm still working on this year's list. Many of these will remain the same since in just two years they've become things the kids really look forward to.

But without further ado here's what happened in 2010:

December 1st
Decorate Your Own Christmas Tree in Your Bedroom

December 2nd
Ice Cream Sundae Bar After Dinner

The slip of paper had to specify after dinner or the kids would've been asking for these as soon as breakfast was over.

December 3rd
Write and Mail Letters to Santa

After they created their letters to Santa we drove to the mall to drop them in the large red mailbox Macy's has set up specifically to collect letters for Santa. The kids enjoy the large Santa mailbox and I like the fact Macy's donates a dollar for every letter to the Make a Wish Foundation.

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Handprint Wreath

This simple handprint wreath was part of our Advent activities this past Christmas. We're lucky enough to have my parents living just two doors down. And recently my dad's mom has come to live with them, now my kids have their grandparents and their great grandmother living close by. Great Grandma Gene's preferred holiday decor is white and blue; my mom's Christmas style is all Santas all the time. To help her feel more at home my mom found a small white tree and outfitted it with blue and white lights for Great Grandma Gene's bedroom and I thought the kids could make her something to help make the room festive as well.

To make this wreath I traced and cutout three of each of my three kiddos' hands on white and cream paper; total of 18 handprints. I used a dinner plate to trace a circle on a scrap piece of cardboard and a smaller bowl to trace and cut out the middle circle for my wreath form.

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Crystal Snowflakes

We don't get much snow in the southeast but thanks to this simple craft the kids have been making their own large sparkly snowflakes the past two years. All you need is boiling water, pipe cleaners, borax and a large container...easy peasy.

The snowflakes really last too. This is the one my daughter made in 2009. The color faded from hanging in her window an entire year but the crystal structure remains strong.

It now hangs in my laundry room since her current one took its old place in her window. Fitting spot since it's made from household laundry detergent.

To make your own you're going to need some pipe cleaners. I cut 3 pieces about 5" long and another 6 pieces just under 2" long per snowflake.

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The First Six Days of Advent Activities

December 1: Decorate your own Christmas trees

Princess Fierce and her pink tree

Thing Two with his black tree

Thing Three with his black tree as well

December 2: Ice cream sundae bar at home after dinner

The fixings

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Recycle Old Christmas Cards into New Christmas Cards

A great Christmas craft for the kids and a wonderful way to recycle all the cards you receive from previous years. This was a favorite Advent activity last year and again this year.

The night before this activity I cut out all the images and messages from my stack of old cards. I also fold construction paper in different colors into cards.

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Advent Calendar Activities

When my second was born my in-laws gave us this beautiful Advent Calendar Cabinet. However, it took me until last year to figure out the right way to use it. The drawers are too small to hold gifts for all three children; candy was the only fit. However, I did not enjoy counting down the days with only candy. Then last year I came across the idea of an activity Advent Calendar. Simple genius!

I set to making my list and writing it on curls of red paper to tuck in each drawer. Occasionally I'd stick three Hershey's Kisses in as well. I mean, I don't mean no candy, just wanted something more than candy. The activities were a huge success with all three of my munchkins. They're very anxious to start the tradition again tomorrow morning. While I was preparing this year's list I took a trip down memory lane. Here's what happened last year:

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Gingerbread Man Shaped Nutella Snacks

I had leftover refrigerated pie crust from Thanksgiving. I have no plans for pie in the immediate future. And frankly, if I make a pie I need to get busy with my Martha Stewart quest and bake hers complete with *cough*homemade*cough* crusts. So what to do with this crust? I decided to try and make a treat for the kids after dinner. I grabbed the dough, the Nutella and my gingerbread man cookie cutter.

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