Christmas Festivities

Christmas is sneaking up on us and with a combination of no snow and the kids not getting out of school until the 23rd, we have had a hard time really believing that Christmas is only 6 days away.  Here are some of the things we have been doing to try to catch the Christmas spirit...

Neighbor/ Teacher gifts!  Last year I made these for Ashlyn and Tanner's school teachers and they turned out so cute, I decided to do them for all of my neighbors this year.  The tag says, "May your holiday season be filled with Peace, Love, and Soap."  I got the inspiration off of The Idea Room, you can go HERE to see the directions.

The soap bottles had the families monograms...

And a bottle of hand sanitizer had a cute "hands" saying. 

Zac kept saying over and over, "You are giving our neighbors soap?  Really?"  But I was thrilled with the prospect of a practical gift that they could use all year long rather than something that would be consumed or tossed within 30 minutes of delivery.  The only downside to this gift was because it is so personalized, there is no stockpiling of "generic" gifts that you can hurry and give to that wonderful friend (who wasn't on your list) who is standing at your door with a surprise gift.

For family home evening Ian chose for us to make and decorate gingerbread men.  Charlotte thought this was wonderful and loved every minute of it!

Ian got very detailed with his gingerbread boys and it was hard for him to eat them when the time came.

Tanner with his creation.

And Ashlyn ALWAYS enjoys "snafting" (snack crafting), so it was a fun night for all.  This recipe had butterscotch pudding instead of molasses and the cookies tasted delicious!

After the cookie decorating we headed over to the Museum of Idaho to check out the display of gingerbread houses and nativities (free admission during Christmas if you are interested).

Charlotte has been dying to play outside and is always begging for her coat and shoes so she could head out.  One night, she found a sled in the garage and took it to Zac.  So Zac started to bundle up in his snow stuff so he could take her for a sled ride.  I said, "You don't have to do that, she doesn't even know what a sled is for."

And he said, "You wanna bet!"  She definately knew what a sled was for and had a giggle fest as her daddy pulled her around and around the one patch of snow on our porch!

Last night Zac's mom invited us out for a festive Christmas dinner and the kids were able to put on the annual nativity.  Charlotte was the star of the show and loved the attention!

Ian made the most adorable Joseph I have ever seen and cousin Meg was Mary.

Ashlyn was type cast as an angel.

And Tanner was likewise type-cast as a wiseman!

At the end, Grandma surprised all of the grandkids with coordinating Gap fleece jackets and at least for now, the kids think it is pretty dang awesome matching with their siblings and cousins.

Thanks Grandma for a wonderful party and for adding to our Christmas cheer!

Now bring on the main event!