I know that thanksgiving deservers a little respect when it comes to holidays, and believe me, this week I will totally be respecting the turkey, mashed potatoes, pie and all the other goodies that will be served.
I will also be respecting a 4 day weekend (omg, so excited about having 4 days without “work”)
But! BUUUUUUT! Christmas is coming! And if you didn’t know the age of 3.5 is even MORE exciting for celebrations than the age of 2.5. Gianna is excited for Christmas already, she’s been circling toys in the toy catalogs and talking about all kinds of Christmas stuff already.
Because she is super excited, & super aware o the upcoming festivities, and because this is our last holiday season as a family o’ 3, I really want to make this year that much more special for all of us.
We did elf on the shelf last year (I can’t remember how much I talked about Krista on here, but she was a big hit) on a very mild level. We would hide her doing silly things and G would look for her in the mornings, that’s about it. There were no consequences or talk about how Krista was “watching” her. This year, we may be using that to our advantage. Or not.
One thing that we WILL be doing is having Krista be our messenger for Christmas fun. Sort of like a countdown to Christmas-ish (except, you know, we won’t really be counting anything…. but you get the point).
Some of our holiday activities and special treats include:
- taking Gianna on a mommy date to see the Nutcracker Ballet
- A hot chocolate party with her friends
- a few little Christmas crafts, stickers, coloring books, etc.
- wrapping up all of the holiday books we already for her
- a night to go look at Christmas lights
- a trip to buy small Christmas gifts for her grandparents/aunts/uncles/cousin
- making Christmas ornaments (no idea on this years variety, help?)
- baking cookies (probably sugar, but open to other suggestions here!)
- a girls only holiday slumber party (with my mom, sisters, and our friends)
- possibly going to tuba Christmas
- watching Christmas movies (a’ la Frosty, Rudolph, Miracle on 34th Street)
I am really excited because I think she is totally going to love doing some of these things. And of course, making new memories and starting new traditions is always awesome.
I’m also hoping that incorporating all these little things into Krista’s antics will help me not get so bored with her before Christmas arrives!
We are starting off our Christmas celebration a little bit early though, because today we are going to the local Christmas tree festival. My apologizes to thanksgiving, but I promise to make it up to you on Thursday. Bring on the turkey.
What are you doing this holiday season? any extra awesome plans or ideas?
I am also excited about this Christmas, because I am expecting hilarity from (2) 4.5s and a 3! I started my Advent Activity list, although now I am thinking that maybe I need to simplify it a bit so as to not feel overwhelmed by the time Christmas itself gets here. Ornament ideas: I just ordered 2 kits from Oriental Trading company that I'm excited for: the button wreaths and the tri-bead candy canes. Hopefully they're within our crafting skill level. That is sometimes difficult to judge based on one of me and three of them. I try to avoid things like glue. :)
ReplyDeleteHappy Early Thanksgiving to you!