Oct. 25, 2009 - Thinking Christmas....
Today I've been doing web searches with a Christmas-y mindset. First I have been looking at things to make for gifts. I always find way more ideas than I have time to make. But it's such fun looking at them all.
Then I started looking for a way to make a cute advent calender to count down for the children. I have seen this one at Keepsake Quilting, but I don't have the money to order it even though it isn't that pricey. So, I've been on the search to find something cute I can make for not so much money.
Here is what I have found so far:
- This is a cute one made of felt with a template. It has pockets that are strung up and filled. Very cute!
- Here are links to various other advent countdown ideas, including a toilet paper tube tree to count down.
- This link is for a Christmas tree pocket countdown calendar. This is a fabric calendar and is a really cute idea!
- This one is made out of felt and is very cute.
- This is a cute idea for a garland style countdown.
- This one is a banner style and very cute. A very simple design, it could be made really cute if the children help embellish it.
- Here is a scrapbooking version of an advent calendar.
- This one is super cute, little stockings to hang :)
- This is quite an elegant one.
- This site has a more meaningful design. I really like it.
- Here is a simple design that is a long skinny banner type. This one is not meant to be reusable.
- This link has the search results for advent at family fun magazine's website.
• 0 Comments • Post A Comment! • Permanent Link
Dec. 23, 2007 - Ahhhh....
The painting is finished. All of the viewable rooms are tidy. The Christmas get together/gift exchange is finished. Everything is finished. Ahhhhh.......rest. How lovely rest is and what a wonderful gift from the Lord.
Yesterday was our family gift exchange party. It was lots of fun. Noisy, crowded, and chaotic, all that a family get together should be, lol. I hope those that came had a good time. We did. My husband is looking forward to doing it again next year, he even is trying to come up with a way to make it more special for those attending next year. Wonderful. And I get to enjoy the fruits of my labor to prepare the house. The walls are shiny, the floors are glossy, which is such a motivation for me to keep my house clean. I think I found the equivalent of flylady's "shiny sink" for my own home. If my floors are shiny and picked up, it really motivates me to keep things picked up. I'm lovin' it 
Here is something funny about yesterday, nobody knew exactly what time it started, lol. My sister thought it started at 11:00, my mother thought it was 2:00, and I said it was 1:00, lol. We kind of have a joke going in our family because we are so absentminded. We can be having a conversation and if we are distracted at all, none of us can recall what we have been talking about, lol. We figured that extended into the remembering the time of the party, lol. Next year I will be sure to actually send invites, lol.
Well, today I am cleaning my bedroom up. It became the dump room as I cleaned all the other areas of the house. But I want it and my bathroom clean before Christmas. You know that song, "All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth...."? Well, all I want for Christmas is a nice clean house, a nice clean house..... Might you be able to relate to that?
Well, I probably won't blog again until after Christmas, so everyong have a very Merry CHRISTmas!
• 0 Comments • Post A Comment! • Permanent Link
Dec. 2, 2007 - I am almost finished!
I am almost finished with my Christmas preparations. I have a few things left to make. I will post pictures of them as I finish them. And I need to wrap all the gifts. I'm behind on that because last year I wrapped early and my kitties were kind enough to unwrap the gifts. So, I had to wrap twice. I am not doing that again, lol. I have some Santa hats to loom still, 4 toothbrush/toothpaste caddies, a hat or two, and I have to sew up the bunkbed caddies I have cut out. I have to assemble all the gift baskets I'm giving. That will be a huge job. But these are all fun jobs.
And I have to get the house painted. Fun, fun, fun.
Last night I loomed a hat using a new pattern. It looks great right now, but I still have to get it off the loom. I used a pattern in this book, it was very easy.
Well, I had better get my devotions done before the house gets too active. Have a wonderful day everyone!
• 4 Comments • Post A Comment! • Permanent Link
Dec. 13, 2006 - Making Christmas Cookies
Yesterday, the girls and I mixed up three basic types of cookie dough and then froze them so they are ready to use. We made, chocolate chip dough frozen in plops. I have also frozen it flattened in a ziploc bag and then I just cut it in squares to bake. The cookies come out square-ish, so its fun for a change. We also made peanut butter dough, frozen as flattened plops. And lastly sugar cookie dough, frozen flat inside large ziploc bags, ready to cut out. Tonight I will bake some of each and arrange on a tray for our homeschool co-op Christmas party.
Normally every year, I make more than just these basic cookies. I add fudge, lemon bars, snicker's fudge, chocolate caramel cookies......but this year, finances won't allow any fancy ingredients. And that works out perfectly for this year, since I don't want to put on another ten pounds eating all those yummy treats. I was kidding around with my dh yesterday about how Christmas cookies just aren't worth it. They are a lot of work, just to add a few more inches to my waistline. But it makes it more homey and special for the children. And if I didn't have to worry about my waistline, I'd be all for it, even with all the extra work. So, next year hopefully I will be able to make more of the special cookies and treats for the children.
The children are really excited about the party. We don't attend the co-op a whole lot because of scheduling conflicts. But we were asked to come so even though I feel a little funny and awkward, we are going.
I can't believe it is so close to Christmas already! I am so thankful I am finished with all my projects and I am not working until Christmas Eve like last year. Last year was crazy. I would lock myself away in the wee hours of the morning and at night when dh was home to finish the things for the children. I think I learned my lesson though, lol. Now everything is finished, purchased and wrapped, and I don't know what to do to keep myself busy. Now I just have a child-like anticipation and excitement, wondering if those recieving the gifts made and purchased will like them. Isn't it fun the wondering?
We are reading a book aloud in the evenings by Bodie and Brock Thoene called Why a Manger?. Its a good little book to help us bring our focus back to Jesus this season. It's not very expensive, I really recommend it. We are planning on reading it aloud every year to the children.
Well, the day's chores are calling. Have a truly blessed day.
• 2 Comments • Post A Comment! • Permanent Link
Sep. 9, 2006 - It's time for holiday planning
It's that wonderful time of the year when we need to start planning and thinking of the upcoming holidays. I have actually been thinking and planning since July and I'm making a little progress. I love this time of year, but it can be very stressful if you aren't prepared, and sometimes even if you are.
Right now I'm taking all of my lists and notes that I have jotted down in my planner and transferring the information onto actual organized forms. I want to track my spending, and gift ideas etc. I did this last year and it made a big difference.
Considering this, I think it's time to get my holiday notebook up and running. My first step is where to put the pages. I have decided to put all the pages right inside my current planner. If I were planning parties, and many different events I would create a whole separate binder just for holiday planning. But since we keep our holiday celebrations pretty low key, I will just add the pages to my current planner.
A wonderful website for organizing your holidays is OrganizedChristmas.com . They have a whole 6 week plan to walk you through the holidays, its pretty neat. I think it starts October 22. But being the free spirit that I am, I design my own pages and follow my own schedule. I take my ideas for pages from there though. The first pages I will create are pages for gift giving. I will make a master gift list to write out all the gifts I want to give and check them off as I buy/make them. The second page I will make is one for Christmas projects I will make, listing supplies needed, notes and an estimated cost. After making those pages, I will move forward with our holiday menus and I will print out the recipes, shopping list etc and add them. These will be my first steps for my holiday planner.
Perhaps my first step should be figuring out my holiday budget, lol. But that will be my next step. I will eliminate things I've written on my list and substitute others that will fit my budget easier. But for me, writing my gift idea list first allows my creativity to flow. Writing my budget first, seems to stunt my creativity, lol.
