In order to mix things up a bit, Christmas Catherine planned a few more activities that the kids found to be very fun. Given that they were exclusively doing "virtual learning," there was not the usual rush in the morning to get off to school and that made some of these things even better.
One morning, there was a Holiday Hunt where the kids had to work as a team and find gold coins scattered throughout the dining room and the living room. Some of the coins were chocolate and different denominations and others were
real $1 coins.
The tricky part of it was that they needed to then divide out the coins so that everyone ended up with exactly 5 coins: one real $1 coin and the other 4 coins totaling $1.50 in chocolate. Also, they needed to leave two chocolate coins for C.C. to take back with her to the North Pole totaling $1.00.
This activity was SO MUCH FUN because the coins took a bit of time to find and the math problem involved both of the girls working together to solve it.
Still in pajamas with the Holiday Hunt complete!
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Later that same day, with Christmas Catherine overlooking the scene, Jack helped me string together some garland for the fireplace mantle.
Jack is very detailed-oriented and this was the perfect afternoon project for him while his little brother was napping.
Another fun set-up that Christmas Catherine devised was a "Make Your Own S'Mores" station. She personally delivered a portable s'mores maker and had all of the supplies set out for it. This will be a fun device to pull out during a party and have it set up on a table for guests to roast their own marshmallows inside.
The kids were pretty excited about it and managed to make a least 3 s'mores apiece that day!
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Our traditional holiday Reindeer Food has now become a special activity that Christmas Catherine assists with. The kids don't know which day it will be, but they know to expect a table with all of the "fixings" ready to go. Oatmeal, powdered sugar, marshmallows, chocolate chips ... and of course, glitter! Notice that C.C. wasn't too far away -- in the plant -- to observe the excitement.
And, if you have a Rudolph Hat handy that you just made in school, it is imperative that you wear it.
There is no set recipe -- a little of this and a little of that.
Total concentration while Rudolph plays on the speakers in the background. What can I say? We take our holiday traditions very seriously around here.
The magic of Santa's reindeer may have worn off for the 12-year old, but she is a great sport for her younger siblings (and her momma, who yearns to keep the spirit alive for as long as possible).
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I have a confession to make: I don't enjoy putting gingerbread houses together. Now don't get me wrong: I LOVE to decorate them. But, it is the engineering that is a struggle for me. In fact, I have been known to HOT GLUE them together before. It's true.
For that reason, any gingerbread houses that we decorate in this house are purchased "pre-assembled." The best part is that the kids don't mind because the decorating is their most favorite part too.
This year, I bought 2 houses and split the kids up one night (brown-eyed kids vs. blue-eyed kids) and let them decorate until their hearts were content.
They took turns with the frosting and the candies and bounced ideas off one another freely.
Of course, I did notice that a few of the candies ended up in their mouths ... but that is part of the fun!
Sophia frosted and Jimmy observed and added candy appropriately. They are a pretty good team.
Jack always sticks his tongue out when he is concentrating; Jimmy bites his lower lip.
This picture makes me smile because I can see Christmas Catherine hanging out in the background in her "hot air balloon basket."
They turned out great and I am so happy that there was no assembly required! Ha!
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Another fun Christmas tradition -- Christmas cookie making and decorating.
I like to wait until the week of Christmas for this because then the cookies are fresh for Santa. We usually cut the cookies and bake them on one day and then decorate them the next day.
This year, we had to make some adjustments to our schedule because Sam was babysitting so we baked and decorated all in one day.
We started with sugar cookies and lots of cookie cutters.
And I am happy to report that the kids now understand the importance of
maximizing their real estate when cutting shapes out of the dough.
Later, when the boys tired of the activity, the girls worked on gingerbread boys/girls. Geez, I'm not sure why I have SO MANY gingerbread cookie cutters, but we were able to make several
families out of the various sizes.
By the time that we were able to decorate the cookies, it was after dinner and dark outside. But ... I loved that! We turned up the Christmas music, gathered around the table and managed to get covered in frosting and sprinkles -- just in time for showers and pajamas.
Small bowls of colored frosting, knives, plastic trays, a disposable table cloth and lots of creativity. We were all set. (And I am pretty sure that Jack was sticking out his tongue in concentration here).
Sophia opted to go rogue and frost some of the gingerbread cookies too.
Sam spent a lot of time with her "piping bag" adding details, like eyes on her emoji cookie.
Jimmy has come a long way in the last year, as he now knows how to use a knife properly and be cautious with the frosting. "Less is more!"
We all joined in at one point, including Steve; making this one of the best cookie decorating parties ever!
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