Christmas and Cornflakes

I had the big idea on December 9th, I think, to do an advent/tree/calendar.  In all honesty, it wasn't my idea.  I got it from friends/blogs, etc., and I got a bit of a late start.  I really had to stop myself halfway through this Christmas season to think . . . Why am I doing all of this?  Overwhelmed was an understatement between organizing class parties, buying gifts, attending Christmas parties, baking, and just general holiday madness.  One night we happened to be reading Little Guy's Bible (Jesus Storybook Bible) and the section we're on (we read a couple of pages a night) just happens to be the Christmas story - pretty neat! 

So, anyway, I was reading to them about how God would choose to show up as a baby and be born in the worst of conditions, with straw to sleep on, surrounded by smelly animals.  I was thinking about how painstakingly we picked out Little Guy's crib when we knew we were going to have a baby.  We wanted it to be beautiful and strong and the mattress to be soft and comfy.  Jesus had none of that, and He deserved it.  How little do Christmas parties and baking and organizing matter in light of God coming to Earth as a baby?

After that I wanted to focus on what matters, which is where the advent calendar comes back in.  Each day had a bit of the Christmas story and an activity for our family to do together.  I decided not to buy an advent calendar but to make something (so not me!).  So, I made snowflakes and glued the paper on the back and arranged it into a tree.  Here is the progression . . .

front of the snowflakes:

all the snowflakes:

our advent tree:

Just to assure you how non-crafty I am . . . When Little Guy first saw it, the first thing he said was, "Those don't look like snowflakes!  Snowflakes aren't black!"  Come on, Little Guy, use your imagination!!  It's been fun, and the activities have been everything from

coloring Christmas pages
driving around to look at Christmas lights
going to the zoo
making Christmas cards
making a gingerbread house, etc.

The first thing they want to do in the morning is to go down and see what the day's activity is.  Although, lesson learned for next year - they are wiped out from some of the things.  Since Little Guy's not in school this week, we've packed in the activities.  They crashed!  Oh, well, that's how memories are made, right?  Each night before bed, we read the bit of the Christmas story on the paper.

Sweet girl has snowflakes on her mind though.  I never buy Cornflakes, but I had them for a recipe, so the kids have been eating them for breakfast.  The other day, when Little Guy ran out, Sweet Girl said, "You want more snowflakes?"  I still can't get her to call them Cornflakes.

I will post more pictures of some of our activities soon!