Prepping for Christmas

I have an unbelievably unwell child today, so I'm taking the opportunity of not being able to go too far from him (vomiting bug) to get myself organised for Christmas. 

For the last few years I have done an advent calendar for the boys.  I refuse to buy those chocolate filled ones, but rather make my own and include fun things to do.  So that is the list I have made today........

1. Put up Christmas tree
2. Make a Christmas craft
3. Make and decorate cookies
4. Movie night
5. Choose a special treat (usually a trip to $2 store)
6. Out for dinner (guarantee it will be McD's!)
7. Fish & Chips at the beach
8. Make a gift for the teachers
9. Make a snowglobe
10. Write Christmas cards
11. Decorate a gingerbread house (wondering if I attempt to bake the house?!?!?!)
12. Camp out
13. Make presents for neighbours
14. Visit the Christmas light
15. Wrap Christmas gifts
16. Lolly scramble
17. Treasure hunt
18. Choose and plant a new plant
19. Colourful bubble bath
20. Picnic dinner
21. New toy
22. Christmas carol jam session (Christmas carols are cranked up high and we drum away on Tupperware containers or play air guitars)

At the moment I can only think of 22 so the other 2 might just be lollies in a bag.  Then on Christmas day their activity is to jump into bed with us to read the Christmas story with milky milos.

Some of the things are pretty basic, but they are all things our kids love doing.  They are always excited to open their envelopes.

Crumbs now I am super excited.

Super

School holiday magic

For the first time in my kids kindy/school lives I nearly cried when I dropped them off on their first day back this term.  It was hideous!

O.k. so I think I was in the throws of a mid-mid-thirties crisis at the time, but we had also just enjoyed 2 weeks holiday - no routine, movie days, new activities and Mr W took pretty much the whole second week off work!

I struggle big time, to understand parents who moan about the holidays, or break out in a cold sweat.  If I'm organised I love them.  To be organised I plan a list of things to do.

Here's what we did this time round;

Catch up with Crazy 1's kindy friends
Family fun at Nan and Pops farm with the cuzzies
Library books (including Crazy 1's first chapter book - he was pretty stoked!)
Movie day
Mum in bed for 2 days with Laryngitis - O.k. for me this wasn't fun, but the boys thought it was great as I couldn't yell at them!!
Stone throwing at the beach
Playgrounds
Picnic lunches
Changing rooms
Visiting more cuzzies and getting 'WAY COOL' soccer shirts
Fishing off the wharf
Two nights at Nan and Pops

So stoked

Great Grandad passing on his fishing wisdom

Being towed around the farm

Figuring out better ways to sleep