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Advent Activities Day 9– Shop for a Family in Need

To continue growing a spirit of giving and deepen Isla’s understanding of all we are fortunate to have, we have been looking for opportunities to support others. We had her pick a tag from the Angel Tree at our local mall so that we could buy gifts for a child in need. She chose a tag for a girl, aged 3 to 5. After sharing a list of suggested gift items from the tag, Isla set to work looking for the perfect gift. After much deliberation, she chose a metal toy cooking set, a sweet book, and super soft flannel jammies. She was absolutely beaming when she placed her gift in the donation bin!

I’m already thinking of ways we can do more gifting to those in need next year. Do you have any favorite organizations to donate through?

Posted in Celebrations, Christmas, Christmas Advent Activities, Connecting as a Family, Holidays, Traditions

Advent Activities Day 8– Snow Day!

We surprised the kiddos with a trip up to Mt. Hood to play in the snow! And to make this experience even more fun, our good friends, the Biblers, joined us! It was a gorgeous wind-free day, and while the snow was rather icy, the kids had a blast playing all morning! We stopped off at Timberline Lodge for lunch and cocoa before heading home— Christmas music blasting the whole way, of course!

Isla was just a little excited to learn our advent activity was a snow day!
Love how looks at her with SO MUCH love in his eyes!
Cole fell in love with the hat we gave Isla this year and has sort of adopted it, calling it his “hohoho.”
This girl is happiest in the snow.
Posted in Celebrations, Christmas, Christmas Advent Activities, Connecting as a Family, Holidays, North America, Oregon, Traditions

Advent Activities Day 7– Open the Christmas Craft Box!

I love putting together a collection of seasonal craft supplies for the kiddos to enjoy and create with during the holidays.


Inside this year’s craft box:

  • Wooden ornaments and signs (to paint)
  • Stickers
  • Glitter
  • Santa notebook and pen
  • Popsicle sticks and clothespins
  • Sparkly pom poms
  • Blank shirts (just wait until you see what we make!)
  • Christmas pencils
  • Cookie cutters (for birdseed ornaments)
  • Ricrac
  • Tinsel Ribbon
  • Snowflake decorations
  • Jingle Bells


My 3 top tips for creating a Christmas Craft Box:
1. Choose a few crafts you know your kids will enjoy (Pinterest has countless ideas!) and buy products for those crafts. It can be helpful to print pictures of the crafts and tuck them into the box for reference. Our kiddos usually make a few of the planned crafts and also create their own!
2. Check your local dollar store for supplies. Almost all of my supplies came from the Dollar Tree OR from an after season sale last year. It is possible to make the craft box a very economical gift.
3. Reuse supplies year after year. If something doesn’t get used up, keep it in the box.

Is the Christmas Craft Box an activity your kiddos would love for the holiday season? They’re truly so much fun to put together and enjoy as a family!

Posted in Celebrations, Christmas, Christmas Advent Activities, Connecting as a Family, Crafting with Kids, Holidays, Live Creatively, Traditions

Advent Activities Day 6- Jingle Bell Bracelets

This was such a warm and cozy evening with our good friends! We ordered take out, made jingle bell bracelets, sang Christmas carols (it’s super helpful if your friend is a whiz on the piano!), had cocoa for the kids and bubbly for the parents, and consumed far too many holiday m&m’s— it was the perfect blend of relaxation and holiday fun!

To make these festive bracelets all you need is a little stretchy jewelry cording and some jingle bells! (Get your jingle bells from the Dollar Tree!)

This simple and tidy project takes about 5-10 minutes and is great practice for your children’s fine motor skills. Place a piece of tape around one end of the cord so that your children can string the bells on without them falling off the end. When they’re done stringing, remove the tape, tie the ends together with a knot, and the bracelets are ready to wear and shake! Don’t forgot to pack them away with your holiday decor at the end of the season so they are ready for next year!

Posted in Celebrations, Christmas, Christmas Advent Activities, Connecting as a Family, Crafting with Kids, Holidays, Live Creatively, Traditions

Advent Activities Day 5- Decorate the Kids’ Rooms

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas! We love decking the halls— and the kids’ rooms— and referencing Christmas song titles, apparently! Ha! To kick off this favorite advent activity we surprised Isla and Cole with a few new ornaments for their little trees and some new decorations for their rooms. They were so excited! Then we set to work hanging strings of lights, putting up garlands, decorating their little trees, and adding festive details everywhere we could.

This is the first year Cole decorated his tree all by himself! He even managed to hang some of the ornaments on the branches, rather than just shoving them into open spaces, as he has done in the past.
Kicking back to admire his Christmas tree with his bear and a well-earned baba. Cole took his decorating duties very seriously this year!
Isla also decorated her tree all by herself and was so proud with how it turned out!

Throughout the month the kids continued to admire, rearrange ornaments, and add decorations to their rooms and trees.

Nana made Cole an impromptu Santa beard from the non-stick stuff you put under rugs and he was obsessed! He kept walking around his tree shouting, “Ho! Ho! Ho!”
Not sure if Isla or Charlie loved the tree more…

It was SO heartwarming to see how excited the kids were to have their own decorations displayed in their rooms. Our favorite festive items include:

  • The kids’ seasonal artwork/crafts
  • Garlands
  • Pillows
  • Blankets
  • Stuffed animals
  • Seasonal string lights
  • Little Christmas tree

Do you decorate your children’s rooms for the holidays?

Posted in Celebrations, Christmas, Christmas Advent Activities, Connecting as a Family, Holidays, Traditions