Merry Christmas!

Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas!

Nothing like sledding at 8:30am on Christmas morning.  Life can't get much better than this!

Day 24 - Put Milk & Cookies out for Santa

Day 23 - Go to Christmas Candylane at Hershey Park

So Day 22 was supposed to be go out for a Christmas treat, however it was cold & windy when I got home from work, so we decided to just stay in where it was warm.  We made the kids sundaes and watched a movie (and once again I forgot to take pictures).

Day 23 we went to Hershey Park with my sister and my one year old niece.  We had such a great time!

Pinterest Inspired Crafts

I will admit it - I have an addiction to Pinterest.  I am excited that I was actually able to make some of the things that I have pinned.  I have also tried several of the recipes that I pinned.  I had high hopes of making most of my Christmas presents this year, but somehow Christmas snuck up on me too fast and I didn't get most of them done (or even started).   Oh, well, there's always next year!

cupcakes I made for Brie's birthday

Tray made from peppermints

The trays were really fragile and broke so the kids tried to eat one

coasters made from tiles and scrapbook paper

Day 21 - Watch a Christmas Movie & Eat Popcorn

I know I skipped a day.  Day 20 was go to a Christmas Party, which we did however I forgot to take pictures.

On Day 21, we watched A Muppet's Christmas Carol.

Day 19 - Make a Treat for a Friend

Very much like the activity for yesterday, but I was running out of ideas.  We made peanut crunch to give to our friends in our small group.  I found this recipe many years ago on a blog I follow, www.justalittlesomethingforyou.blogspot.com.

In a large, microwave safe bowl, combine 1 bag peanut butter chips, 1 bag white chocolate chips & 1 Tbsp. peanut butter.  Microwave 2 minutes.  Stir until smooth.  Add 1 cup dry-roasted peanuts and 1 1/2 cups slightly crushed pretzels.  Stir together & pour onto wax paper lined cookie sheet.  Smooth out into a thin layer.  Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.  Remove from fridge & break into many pieces.  Store in an airtight container in the fridge.

Day 18 - Bake Cookies and Give to a Neighbor

Tonight we baked Red Velvet Crinkle Cookies & "Grinch" Cookies to give to a few of our neighbors and for Brie's class party tomorrow. 

Hopefully we will be able to deliver our cookies tomorrow. 

Day 17 - Color a Christmas Picture

Not a very exciting activity for today, but it was nice to have something simple for the kids to do among all the craziness!

Day 16 - Take a Christmas Photo

Day 15 - Read the Story of the Birth of Jesus

Today we had the Shreiner family Christmas gathering and Brie was kind enough to read the story of Jesus' birth to us.  Uncle Nate was right there to help with all those big words that are in the Bible.

Day 14 - Drive Around to Look at Christmas Lights

Day 13 - Make Cookie Cutter Mini Pizzas

These didn't turn out quite as nice as I had hoped, but the kids still loved them!

Brie's plate - they are supposed to be a Santa head & a snowman

Brady's plate

Day 12 - Open a Surprise Present

I actually had something else planned for today, however with the week turning out to be so busy I came up with a different plan last night when I was at Target.  So I picked up a new shirt for each of them and wrapped them up.  The kids were pretty surprised to actually be receiving a gift today.

Day 11 - Make the House Smell Like Christmas

I found this "recipe" on Pinterest.  It really did make the house smell good.  And the best part is I can let it sit on my stove and just heat it up again whenever I want the house to smell good again.

1 orange
1/2 cup cranberries
1 Tablespoon whole cloves
2 cinnamon sticks
sprinkle of nutmeg

Add water and simmer on stove.

Day 10 - Drink Hot Chocolate & Stir with Candy Canes

I sure was glad that today's activity was an easy one!

Day 9 (Plan B) - Deocrate a Gingerbread House

Our plan for today had to be changed due to the rainy weather, so this morning we headed out to ACMoore to purchase a gingerbread house kit so the kids would have an activity for today. 

Day 8 - Christmas Tree Lighting in Manheim

This was our first experience at the tree lighting ceremony.  Thanks Valdez family for allowing us to tag along! 

Day 7 (a day late) - Read a Christmas Book

So Day 7 didn't go quite as planned.  My mom called around 1:00 and said they wanted to take the kids to see Jonah at Sight & Sound.  So we left as soon as Brie got off the bus and they didn't get home until 10pm.  Needless to say the book did not get read last night, so they read it this morning instead.

We are headed out shortly for our activity for today.  Hopefully I will be able to post pictures later.

Day 6 - Go Shopping to buy each other a Gift

Every year Brady picks out a gift to give Brie and vice versa.   So that is what we did tonight.  Brie & I headed to Outback Toys where we found something for Brady in no time.  Steve & Brady didn't have as much luck.  They went to a couple stores before deciding on something at Target. 

Shh...don't tell them what they bought each other! 

Day 5 - Write a Letter to Santa

I made the kids limit their list to the top 5 things they wanted for Christmas.  I was afraid that if I didn't set a limit, the letter would go on for many pages.

Day 4 - Donate a toy to Toys for Tots

I felt a little silly taking their picture, but I want to document each day of our activities.

Day 3 - Make a New Christmas Ornament

So we technically didn't make these ornaments, but the kids painted them, so I say that counts!