1. Make paper snowflakes and decorate the windows.
2. Visit the A Christmas Story house.
3. Make crystal snowflakes.
4. Pick out a really nice Christmas tree (but don’t squish any elves that may be hiding in the branches!).
5. Decorate the tree and drink hot chocolate.
6. Is the sky clear? Get out the telescope for some star gazing, if not, go for a nighttime walk with homemade lanterns.
7. Write letters to Santa.
8. Make popcorn strands for the tree.
9. Make color ice blocks. Add salt. Build things.
10. Visit Snowdrop's Adventure Game (a local event for kids to play a giant-sized board game about a white deer).
11. Make dough ornaments for the tree.
12. Wear fancy dress for dinnertime.
13. Enjoy a candlelit bubble bath.
14. Listen to holiday music and set up a nature table for the season.
15. Make homemade playdough.
16. Let’s go ice skating today!
17. Have breakfast for dinner.
18. Have breakfast with Santa.
19. Build a Gingerbread house.
20. Bake a batch of Christmas cookies.
21. Buy a gift for a family in need via Heifer International.
22. Visit Baba.
23. Go see the lights at Clifton Mill.
24. Christmas Eve: Unwrap one present after dinner (Mama & Papa get to pick which one).
25. It’s Christmas Day! Enjoy your time with friends and family, food and fun!
I also started list-making for the rest of the holiday season: things to buy, things to make, the thinking up of things to make and buy, and so on and so forth. Already, there seems like not enough time to get everything done. I'm relieved I decided against NaNoWriMo!
See December 2008 archives for last year's complete countdown adventure.
8 comments:
Thanks for sharing this Anna! I like some of the additions you made. After I read your posts last night, I got to work too, figuring what might be our 25 things. I was searching for holiday crafts, as well, and I came up with a few, but yours look really good. I am also trying to coordinate it with the weekends, knowing what we want to do with Martin, when we can do big outings, when we want small outings, when we want crafts and activities... And I think I've learned a bit from your posts from last year...that I will make myself an advance copy of what is happening each day so I can be prepared for making homemade marshmallows, etc. :) It would be sort of fun to open them and be surprised each day, but knowing that they might want to make the craft immediately, I'd rather know for sure I have the stuff for each thing gathered in time to do it. I'll post mine too, when I get it together. I'm so glad you posted this already! It's making me really excited for the season, knowing that I might actually be somewhat prepared this year (of course, I'll probably still procrastinate on everything and end up scrambling around, as usual). :)
Take me with you to Clifton Mill! My grandmother lives in Chillicothe Oh, and would send me post cards of the Mill at Christmas time! It looks amazing! I'm taking your advice about making the master list.. I've got a couple things in my head already, and I think I will get everything prepared over my Thanksgiving break! It's nice to read your posts about all this!
I like for the crafts to be either seasonal (like popcorn stringing for the tree) or something we haven't done before (like playdough - all my years of staying at home and somehow I've never made playdough, go figure).
I also was careful to know when I'd want to stay home and do nothing and when we have other stuff going on so Papa could handle it. I printed everything out and got the big desk calendar out (plus my planner, plus checked online for Jon's end-of-semester date) and cut the list up and moved it all around so I'd know. Plus we made decisions we never make this early - like when we're going to visit Jon's grandmother. I also had to book the Santa breakfast today.
Kate - my family lives near Dayton, so it's sort of nearby. The last time we tried to go it was a mad house and the traffic was too much, so we gave up. This time I know better! Hopefully I manage to keep my shit together! I'm really terrible at time management. I sit all day and do almost nothing at all, I swear.
Anna, saw your comments over at The Wonderful Happens and followed you to your blog!
I love love love the Christmas Count Down list. I tend to do something similar each Christmas, too, but I don't think I ever hit 25 items. As much as I love lists, I get all over itchy if I feel too obligated.
I think I'll go make one now -- might as well as I seem to already be playing Christmas tunes. . .
seriously considering the Christmas countdown list....thanks for posting your ideas as i'm an unabashed idea-stealer....
and i agree...it's all feeling rather festive -- but in a good way -- maybe this will help me to avoid turning into the Grinch this year....:)
If this is what your life looks like when you sit and do almost nothing all day, I'm kind of amazed to think of you "in action." And actually, it's making me feel a bit hopeless, since I feel like a whirring buzz of activity most of the time, and still, it seems like very little is accomplished. ;) Maybe that's the thing: more sitting, less whirring.
Ha ha! Rachel, all I did was make a list. See me try to actually accomplish everything on it - ooh boy. I dunno. We might be skipping a few things here and there. And I'd better not get sick!
I may have overdone it this year, come to think of it. Last year we had "decorate the house" and "decorate outside" as totally separate things, so who knows if we'll get around to all that. Can we do that November 30th?
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