adding to the advents.

We always have fun counting down the days until Christmas. My obsession with advents helps the process. I added a few new advents to the mix this year.

I picked up these small muslin bags a few years ago with the intent of making some kind of advent but didn't get around to using them until this year (a few weeks into December). After a few failed ideas, I went with something simple. I just stenciled numbers on each bag using silver glitter paint and put a simple ornament in each bag. I found the tree at Target (which I love but it sheds glitter like crazy). Over the years I hope to replace the cheap ornaments with more meaningful ones. Each day we remove an ornament from a bag and hang it on the tree.

I saw these advent bags at Ikea this year and knew I needed them for something. I strung them up with twine and small clothespins covered in festive washi tape (which is also how I like to display Christmas cards). Since we already had a few advents filled with treats, we decided to fill these with good deeds each day. Everytime we did something nice for someone, we could put a small bell in the bag (no significance to the bells...just had a large stash of them...and they made a fun jingling sound whenever someone ran into the bags).

And a few other advents hanging around the house...

The stockings were filled with daily activities...we used a paper chain for this when I was a kid (decorate a gingerbread house, make cookies, have hot chocolate, watch a Christmas movie, do a Christmas craft, see a light display, etc).

 

We burned down these candles one notch each night (something else we did when I was a kid) until I left them on the stove when I was baking something and they completely melted all over.

 

The kids always have fun unwrapping a Christmas book every night (some from our collection, some from the library).

 

gravelly point.

We picked up Ben from the airport last week and made a quick stop at Gravelly Point to watch the airplanes land. It was too loud for Elsa (she takes after her Grandpa Bob) but Oliver was fascinated.

gingerbread + sprinkles

We decorated a gingerbread house one night. Oliver shoved candy in his mouth as fast as he could while his sisters screamed in horror/anger.

We had some friends over one night to make sugar cookies which was super fun. Sprinklemania!! I loved watching the kids cover every last bit of frosting with piles of sprinkles. Clearly the best way to decorate a cookie. Oliver loved shoveling sprinkles into his mouth straight from the container. I need to remember not to get the tiny bead sprinkles next time. Those things bounce and roll everywhere. I'm still finding them when I sweep.

candy cane playdough

The girls (and camel) had fun making playdough for friends a few weeks ago. We made half the batch red (turned out pink because I ran out of red food color) and kept half of it white. Then rolled each and twisted them together for the candy cane look. We also added peppermint flavor to the playdough so it would smell like a candy cane. Then packaged them up in jars and attached some cookie cutters and a candy cane.

Fabric, twine, and gift tags from Ikea.

festive rooms at the DAR

We finished our trip downtown with a stop at the DAR Museum. We had never been before and it turned out to be a really interesting and fun place to visit. They have 30 rooms that are decorated and furnished from different periods. During Christmas they decorate 10 of them with Christmas decorations from that time period. It was really interesting to see the different decor from the various time periods and states. There were only a few other people there which was also nice. I was surprised by how much Amelia and Elsa loved running from room to room to see what was inside. They especially loved the large dollhouses on each floor.

I would say we'll make it a new annual Christmas tradition but we may be banned from the DAR after Oliver broke a piece of the porcelain tea set in the children's play area (and by the way, a porcelain tea set in a children's play area is a super good idea).

 They have a really neat library. Amelia and Elsa loved hiding in the stacks. 

 The children's attic was my favorite. So many beautiful old toys.

We were sad to see my mom leave the next day. Oliver loved snuggling with Grandma and the girls loved the extra attention. Grandma also showed Oliver countless robot videos on YouTube which he won't stop talking about. Shortly after she left, Ben headed out again for another week of travel, back to North Carolina. While there, his company flew him to the home office in Texas for a day to attend a dinner where he was presented with an award (Project Manager of the Year!). Just commuting to Baltimore and dealing with Johns Hopkins doctors for a year was enough to deserve an award. But he also completed the company's biggest job successfully. He spent this past week in Michigan and now he's home. For a few weeks anyway.