It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas!!

I know it's only Thanksgiving, but as I've gotten older (not OLD...oldER), I've realized how fast time flies. And Christmas time is my favorite time of year, so I want to enjoy it! Please don't rush it! I need to enjoy it more! So, we put up our tree on Monday...today Superman studded our house with adorable white lights...ah, I can smell the Christmas-ness in the air...

My dear friend Amber, who has an incredible blog posted this wonderful idea of Hot Chocolate on a Stick. She was kind enough to give us a sampling, and a few nights ago, our kiddos tried it out. N decided that eating the chocolate straight off the stick was the best way to go...my kinda gal!

Every year from Dec. 1st - 24th, the "Advent Angel" comes to our house. It's a little tradition I started when our boys were 2. Every night the "angel" leaves a note in the box that gives a clue of where to go...i.e., "Go to where your daddy poops." When they get to the location, there is a little trinket waiting for them. I usually hit up Wishing Well and buy a bunch of those 5-or-10-cent things and stash them away. They work really well. But this year, I think I'm going to avoid the cheap trinkets and do something a bit different...each day, the angel will tell the kids what activity we'll be doing that night...watch a Christmas movie together, read a Christmas story together, play a game in the dark, do kind things for other people, etc. On the 25th (Christmas), the kids leave something for the Advent Angel; thank-you notes, drawings, cookies, etc. It has become a much-looked-forward-to event in our home.

I just love having the Christmas tree up. There's something about having all the lights off in the house, and the tree lit...

Here's N admiring the ornaments...

She and G looked at the tree for a good 1/2 hour after it was put up.

Every year after Christmas, I wait until all the Christmas stuff is 75% off at Target. Then I stock up for the following year! Such fun. Last year I bought these mini-trees and mini-ornaments for less than $10 for 6 trees and 4 boxes of ornaments. The kids had a blast each decorating their own trees, and it kept them occupied for, oh, at least 30 minutes...which is like an eternity around here.

So many fun Christmas traditions...we also do the 12 days of Christmas and do an act of service for someone...make cookies for the police station and fire station, rake someone's leaves, etc. Oh, and one of my personal favorites, we give out an award each year to the family that has the best decorations (in our opinions). We usually bake cookies and make a poster, but this year I may go official and get a REAL plaque made! I'm stoked about that one. I'm sure I'll be posting more. What are some of yours?