'Just' a Mom: Our CHRISTMAS COUNTDOWN 2022

Christmas is the best time of the year. Also, I miss my little baby boy 😢

When do you start celebrating Christmas?

I am in "camp start Christmas the day after Halloween" and Ben is in "camp start Christmas on December 1", so we compromise. I try my best to wait until Thanksgiving is over to officially start Christmas and he tries to support my crazy amount of Christmas activities.

It can be hard to wait for Christmas ... In the meantime, though, I can plan what we're going to do for Christmas 😁

One of my favorite traditions (that encompasses most of our other traditions) is our Book Advent. This is a tradition we have where the girls unwrap one Christmas picture book a day from after Thanksgiving to Christmas. We read the book and do an activity together (often, the book goes with book, other times, it doesn't). It's a countdown we have in addition to their countdown chains, and we all have so much fun with it.

Friday, November 25
Activity: Kids make gifts

The day after Thanksgiving is usually when I get out all our decorations, but this year, I want it to be more of a break after all the Thanksgiving prep. I thought we could have it be a day where the girls and I just hang out and do crafts, beginning to work on the presents that they like to make for extended family. This year, they want to make origami bookmarks.

Book to unwrap: The Gift of a Magi

The Gift of the Magi is a classic for a reason. It is such a beautiful and touching story of love and sacrifice for those we love. I love this version of the book, as it has the original wording and such beautiful illustrations.

Saturday, November 26
Activity: Decorate for Christmas!

I love decorating for Christmas! My favorite part is the peace of white Christmas lights, but I also love candles, stockings, and presents under the tree.

Book to unwrap: Why Christmas Trees Aren't Perfect

This is a darling book from the perspective of a tree, Small Pine. It is about inward beauty and charity towards others, even at the sacrifice of our own desires.

Sunday, November 27
Activity: Put a piece of hay in our manger

A few years ago, my father-in-law helped me make a wooden manger. Each year, we do acts of service for each other and each time we do, we get to put a "straw" in the manger (we use felt straw to help with the mess while we have young kids). Today is the day we'll get out the manger and each find one act of service to do so we can all put our first piece of straw in.

On Christmas Eve, we use the manger as we act out the nativity, so we want to put lots of straw in to make the bed nice and soft for baby Jesus.

Book to unwrap: The Last Straw

This is a story about a family who, each time they perform an act of service, they put a piece of hay in the manger. They try to fill it by Christmas Eve. My family had a similar tradition growing up and I love that I can pass it on to my kids.

Monday, November 28
Activity: A Nativity Stick Puppet Craft

This is an activity I found on Pinterest with a free printable. My kids always love playing with the nativities, so I thought they could each make their own to have for the season.

Book to unwrap: The Mismatched Nativity

I love the Mismatched Nativity book! It has a really cute story about showing Christlike love and service and is one the children can relate to.

Tuesday, November 29
Activity: Decorate the kids' mini tree

We have a mini tree that the girls put up in their room. Each year, they can decorate it with some fun ornaments that we don't put on our big tree and make paper ornaments for it.

Book to unwrap: Little Blue Truck's Christmas

This is one of my favorite Christmas board books! It's a cute story about Little Blue Truck delivering Christmas trees to his friends, and the lights on the tree on the last page light up.

Wednesday, November 30
Activity: Make paper countdown chains

We always make a countdown chain out of paper for each child the day before December starts. They love taking off a chain each night before bed and it's a great visual to help them understand how long until Christmas.

Book to unwrap: C is for Christmas

C is for Christmas is a beautiful, poetic book full of gorgeous illustrations. It has some of my absolute favorite Christmas pictures in it!

Thursday, December 1
Activity: Write to Santa

One year, we wrote to Santa later in the month and Parker surprised me with what she told Santa she wanted. He pulled through and brought her last-minute gift, but I learned that it is better to write to Santa earlier rather than later.

Book to unwrap: Corduroy's Christmas Surprise

This is a book I've had since Ashtyn was a baby. It's never been my absolute favorite, but the girls always love it, and it has a cute message. Since Corduroy writing to Santa is a main part of the story, it works well for the day we write to Santa.

Friday, December 2
Activity: Hot Chocolate Pajama Party

We love to have a party to watch The Polar Express. We give out tickets that we hole punch, wear our pajamas, and make hot chocolate. This year, we also got giant candy canes that we're going to cover in chocolate and dip in our hot chocolate cups.

Book to unwrap: The Polar Express

The Polar Express book is one of my favorite Christmas books. I don't love the movie, but I don't mind it either and we both read and watch it every year.

Saturday, December 3
Activity: Decorate the Christmas Tree

Even with the craziness that four kids add, I love the tradition of decorating the tree. We wait to do it on a weekend, so that Ben can join in.

Book to unwrap: The Year of the Perfect Christmas Tree

This is a really touching story of hope, that really shows how Christmas love and sacrifice.

Because it's about a tree, I love to read it when we're decorating our own tree.

Sunday, December 4
Activity: Decorate Gingerbread Houses

Each Sunday evening, we meet with family for a treat. Last year, we did gingerbread houses as the "treat" and it was super fun! I want to do it again this year. We always use graham crackers to keep it simple and Ben is my architect. We have a frosting recipe that is strong as glue to keep the houses together, and then the kids use store bought frosting to put their candy on. They always have a blast.

Book to unwrap: Mortimer's Christmas Manger

This is a cute story of a mouse who learns the story of the first Christmas and at the same time, finds a place for himself to live (in a gingerbread house, making it perfect for this day!).

Monday, December 5
Activity: Ninja Elves

A few years ago, Ben's family decided to not get each other any gifts and instead use that money to help a struggling family here in Vernal. We get a gift basket and put together an envelope of money for someone, and the kids become ninja elves to doorbell ditch it to the family. It is my favorite tradition.

Book to unwrap: A Christmas Dress for Ellen

If I had to pick one favorite Christmas book, this would be it. I love the illustrations and the story always brings the spirit of Christmas into my heart. The story is about a family in need and the way that they are served. Because Christmas is all about Christ, I really feel that a big focus should be on serving others for Him. I love reading this for this activity because it really helps the girls have a better appreciation of helping another family, and I let them decide if they want to donate any of their own money from their piggy banks to the envelope.

Tuesday, December 6
Activity: Christmas Around the World

Learning about other countries and cultures is something that I want to make a bigger part of our homeschool. One way I want to do that is by spending a day at Christmastime learning how other cultures spend the holiday.
Book to unwrap: Christmas from Heaven
This is a story about the Berlin Candy Bomber. We got it last year and I really liked it.

Wednesday, December 7
Activity: Make gingerbread cookies and color giant gingerbread men

We make gingerbread cookies every year because the kids love them, and I have a really good recipe. I don't love eating them, but I do love giving some away. I also saw an idea online to have the kids trace their bodies on paper and decorate them as a giant gingerbread person. We did that earlier this year with scarecrows and the kids had a lot of fun with it, I think they'll love doing it with gingerbread men.

Book to unwrap: The Gingerbread Doll

This is a new book that we're trying from the library. I'm not sure what it is even about, but I love the cover and even though the Gingerbread Man is about a gingerbread cookie, it just doesn't feel "Christmas-y" to me, so I'm excited to have an alternative.

Thursday, December 8
Activity: Snow Day!

While I can't plan when it's going to snow, I can do "snow" activities with the kids. We love to make fake snow out of hair conditioner, make paper snowflakes to hang on the roof of their bedroom, spell their names with snowmen, and build paper snowmen.

Book to unwrap: Harold at the North Pole and Snowmen at Christmas

We have two Christmas books that are about snow, so the kids get to open both of them on this day. I like both of these. Even though they are spinoffs, they both are really cute.

Friday, December 9
Activity: Candy Cane Party

I always love to do a little candy cane party with the girls. We eat candy canes while learning the history of the candy canes, make paper candy canes, go on a candy cane hunt, do a science experiment with candy canes, and measure candy canes.

Book to unwrap: The Legend of the Candy Cane

The Legend of the Candy Cane book is a beautiful one. It tells the story of how the first candy cane was made and connects the candy cane with the symbolism of Christ.

Saturday, December 10
Activity: Make ornaments as a family

When Ben and I were first married, we barely had money for presents, much less ornaments and other Christmas stuff. My mom gave me our family's homemade ornaments and we each made a new ornament to add to our little tree. It's a tradition we've kept alive with our own kids, and we have a lot of fun with it each year.

Book to unwrap: The Broken Ornament

The Broken Ornament is a story about a boy who learns that there is more to Christmas than "bigger and better" decorations and presents. It's a great one to pair with our family tradition of making ornaments.

Sunday, December 11
Activity: A birthday party for Jesus!

When I was growing up, we always did a birthday party for Jesus on Christmas Eve. It was just our little family, but my mom made a special dinner and I made a menu. We all dressed up fancy, ate by candlelight, and did a whole program centered on Jesus. It was such a beautiful, peaceful time for us all.

Ben and I have new family traditions on Christmas Eve (some of which are similar to what I had growing up), but I wanted to keep the birthday party for Jesus and the focus on Christ. We keep it simple, since we do it before Christmas Eve. We each get an envelope to put a special gift (something we will sacrifice or change) for Jesus in. We have a dessert and sing happy birthday to him. Then we watch videos about His birth and seal out envelopes.

Book to unwrap: A Birthday Party for Jesus

This is a cute book about animals who are having a party for Jesus at Christmas. One of the animals doesn't know what to get as a present and spends the book trying to figure it out.

Monday, December 12
Activity: Visit Santa

There are always a lot of places in Vernal that host a Santa visit for the kids. We like doing it at the library or the city, but we'll see what the schedules are like this year. I'm also excited to get a picture of Oliver with Santa, although I'm 99% sure that he will cry the whole time.
Book to unwrap: The Christmas Wish
The Christmas Wish is one of my favorite stories! It's about a little girl who is trying to get to Santa to be his helper for Christmas and meets different animal friends along the way who help her on her journey. The story is heartwarming and magical, and the artwork is beautiful.

Tuesday, December 13
Activity: Make Christmas cards and crafts

The girls and I love doing holiday crafts. We also make a Christmas card each year that we give out with our neighbor gifts.

Book to unwrap: How the Grinch Stole Christmas

Another favorite Christmas book! I love this and the cartoon. I also like the movie The Grinch, though I'm not a fan of the life action movie. This is also Rylee's favorite Christmas book and movie.

Wednesday, December 14
Activity: Gingerbread Playdoh

I have a homemade playdoh that I am going to use to make gingerbread playdoh, then give the girls some googly eyes, buttons, and cookie cutters so they can use the playdoh to make gingerbread men if they want.

Book to unwrap: Room for a Little One

This is a new book we're trying this year. I'm excited because it looks like a cute book with an emphasis on Christ.

Thursday, December 15
Activity: Make cookies for neighbor gifts

I love to make Christmas cookies, so I always make a bunch to give out as neighbor gifts. I like to do it near the end of the week, so I can spend the weekend delivering them. The kids like to help me some, but they also get to watch a lot of Christmas movies while I make the cookies.

Book to unwrap: Mouse's Christmas Gift

This is a darling little book about a small mouse who feels like he can't make a difference, but then is able to bring a community together for Christmas.

Friday, December 16
Activity: Look at Christmas Lights

I love looking at Christmas lights! We'll look at lights and, at the same time, drop off some things to people who don't live on our street. Then we can stop for an ice cream treat somewhere before coming home.

Book to unwrap: An Orange for Frankie

A beautiful book that reminds us how blessed we are and of the beauty of giving at Christmas.

Saturday, December 17
Activity: Make sibling gifts

A tradition we have is for the kids to make a gift for each other. I help them find a homemade gift they can make and then wrap it up. It can get tricky to make them without letting the person it's for see, since we're all home together all the time, but we manage it.

Book to unwrap: Christmas Day in the Morning

I remember hearing this story in Primary when I was a kid and I have loved it ever since. I really love the message that we can give of ourselves to our families through love and service.

Sunday, December 18
Activity: Sing Christmas Carols

In past years, we've simply sung carols together as a family, while meeting for the treat. This year, Ashtyn wants to go caroling because we got carolers at our house last year. We'll see if I can talk Ben into it.

Book to unwrap: The Little Drummer Boy

This is pretty different from the little cartoon, but I like the book as well. I'm sure there are different versions of the story out there.

Monday, December 19
Activity: Jingle Bells Magnet Science

I found a few different magnet activities I could do with the girls involving jingle bells. I think they'll have fun playing around with it.

Book to unwrap: Away in a Manger

This version of Away in a Manger is simply the song put to beautiful paintings. This is one of my favorite Christmas songs and the paintings are really beautiful.

Tuesday, December 20
Activity: Make 5 Senses of Christmas book and Roll a Story

These are just some more homeschool activities I'd like to do with the girls that I found on Pinterest. Homeschool can be really fun at the holidays!

Book to unwrap: The Nutcracker

This is the story of the ballet, but in book form. We got this when Parker loved all things Nutcracker, and it's a beautiful book.

Wednesday, December 21
Activity: Santa's Beard Bubbles

This is a fun little science experiment I want to do with the girls. Now that Oliver is getting older and I am not in survival mode, I've been trying to do more science experiments with them. They love it a lot and a "Santa" one should be fun.

Book to unwrap: Dasher

This is another new book we're trying this year. I don't know a lot about it, except that it's about one of Santa's reindeer. I think it will be one that the girls will like.

Thursday, December 22
Activity: Engineer with gumdrops and toothpicks

I wanted to do this activity last year, but I couldn't ever find gumdrops anywhere. I ended up doing a similar activity with marshmallows (and had them "build snowmen"). I am hoping to get gumdrops this year. I already know the girls will love this activity (and eating the gumdrops afterwards).

Book to unwrap: Bear Stays up for Christmas

I love all these books because they are adorable and this one is no exception. I love this one for Christmas!

Friday, December 23
Activity: Make Sugar Cookies for Santa

We always leave sugar cookies out for Santa. Because I like to leave Christmas Eve morning open for all the prep I have to do for the evening, I like to make the cookies the day before (it's a big job, especially with kids). It's always really fun for them to decorate the cookies and we love to give some away to neighbors.

Book to unwrap: Christmas Cookie Day

This is a simple but cute board book about the mom and son bear making sugar cookies together. Which makes it the perfect read for the day we make sugar cookies.

Saturday, December 24
Activity: Christmas Coloring Pages

Because I'm always doing last minute prep things for Christmas Eve and also relaxing some, we just take it easy, and I have the kids do coloring pages and watch Christmas movies in the morning. We always end the night by reading Twas the Night Before Christmas before bed, so that's the book they get to open.

Book to unwrap: Twas the Night Before Christmas

I really like this edition of the book. The artwork is beautiful and a classic.

I have some other Christmas books that I will get out after Thanksgiving, but not wrap. I have a lot of children's books (and have borrowed some from the library), but we love books and Christmas, so I'm okay with 😁

I also wanted to share our list of Christmas movies that we love to watch. Because we homeschool, we have time each day to watch a movie if we want (and when it's cold outside, we do watch more movies).

Movies I love to watch:

Miracle on 34th Street (I love both versions)
Christmas in Connecticut
White Christmas
The Ultimate Gift
While You Were Sleeping
Hallmark Christmas movies

Movies we love to watch as a family:

Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer
Frosty the Snowman
Santa Claus is Coming to Town
The Little Drummer Boy
Olaf's Frozen Adventure
The Year Without a Santa Claus
Arthur's Perfect Christmas
Belle's Enchanted Christmas
Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas
Mickey's Twice Upon a Christmas
Pluto's Christmas Tree
Mickey's Christmas Carol
A Muppet Christmas Carol
A Charlie Brown Christmas
The Grinch
How the Grinch Stole Christmas (cartoon)
Klaus
Spirit of Christmas (Spirit Riding Free)
Llama Llama Christmas
The Nativity
The Christ Child
The Gingerbread Man (on YouTube)
Elf
The Santa Clause
Home Alone
Franklin's Magical Christmas Special
The Nutcracker Ballet
Barbie's Nutcracker
Barbie's Christmas Carol
Barbie's Perfect Christmas
If You Give a Mouse a Christmas Cookie
A Very Merry Pooh Year
A Tom and Jerry Nutcracker
Swan Princess Christmas
Muppet Christmas
The Polar Express
Prep and Landing
Narnia
Annie

Movies we want to try:

The Nutcracker and the Four Realms
The Small One
Scrooge: A Christmas Carol
That Christmas

'Just' a Mom

Monday, November 7, 2022

Our CHRISTMAS COUNTDOWN 2022 - A Picture Book Advent!