The Countdown Is On

Last month I purchased a really cute Advent Calendar. I'm kicking myself because I totally could have made one, and I really should have, but I couldn't forsee having the time to do it. I saw this one at the store and thought it was perfect. I admit I'm a little against the cardboard chocolate filled advents you see everywhere because I don't give my kids junkfood too often, so a treat everyday was outrageous to me...even small ones. As an alternative to treats I typed out activities on a piece of paper, cut them out and slipped one into each pocket. Each day when Vaeh wakes up, she moves the candy cane into it's new pocket and pulls out the paper. She rushes over to me and excitedly waits for me to read it out loud. I've kept it a secret from her as to what the activities are :) I've thrown in a little torture element as well, where we don't do the chosen activity until the evening when I'm done working. The anticipation of the pending activity drives her nuts all day! Among our activities we have made snowflakes, attended a tree lighting festival and played charades, just to name a few. I think one of the best things about being a parent is that you can totally geek out and do fun things like this and you don't get funny looks. Well, most of the time anyway. To me this is what Christmas is really about; the excitement and togetherness of family time and of doing fun things together. Everyday of the year should be this fun.