Christmas Adam

It may be a little cheesy, but in my family we call December 23rd "Christmas Adam" because it is the day before "Christmas Eve". We love to gather tons of sleeping bags, pillows, and blankets and have a giant sleepover in the family room. Of course, we stay up as late as we can watching all the Christmas movies we still haven't seen. It is our last chance to sleep by the Christmas tree because obviously we can't sleep out when Santa comes :)

Caroling

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Bundle up and go caroling! It's a simple activity that will surely put you in the Christmas mood. For even more fun, dress up like old-fashioned carolers.

Gingerbread Houses

New Year's Traditions/Activities Wanted! Send an email to melking1@gmail.com

Making gingerbread houses was a tradition I always wanted to do, but I think the fact that my parents had 7 kids to shop for and the fact that we did so many other Christmas activities was why we never quite got around to making them.

But while I was a nanny in Germany, I spent Christmas with some relatives in Switzerland. And if I was ever deprived of making gingerbread houses, well, making them there made up for it. For you see, they don't just make graham cracker houses. They go all out--collecting different crackers, cookies, candies, and extra things to make the houses immaculate. We spent over 3 days working on them. I realize that I will probably never have the time again to spend 3 days on a gingerbread house, but this is what spending 3 days can do:

Isn't this one amazing? This was my aunt's. She is an artist. Can you tell? I put the Jones sign in the yard because I felt like I had to keep up with hers. Here is what mine turned out like:

Considering it was my first, I was pretty excited. I loved the bay window with a Christmas tree in it :)

However, back in reality making any gingerbread house is better than nothing. It is so fun to see what everyone comes up with. I love that my husband's family has a tradition to make gingerbread houses every year. We made them this last weekend and it was so fun! All we used was graham crackers and old candy. My mother-in-law made the perfect frosting to keep it all together and she was kind enough to share it:

Gingerbread House Frosting
2 egg whites
1/8 tsp. cream of tartar
2 tsp. water
3 cups of powdered sugar

Whip egg whites, cream of tartar and water together for a couple of minutes, until a little frothy. Add powdered sugar and beat until combined and fluffy.

Have fun! Let's see what you come up with!

Twas the Night Before Christmas

Among other Christmas Eve activities we did, we would do a 'Twas the Night Before Christmas' present exchange. My mom would buy $1 or less gifts and all of the kids would sit in a circle holding one of the wrapped gifts. She would read "The Night Before Christmas" to us, but as she did, every time we heard the word the we would pass the present to the right. Whichever gift we had at the end of the story was what we got to keep. This would also be fun for a White Elephant gift exchange at a Christmas party.

12 Days of Christmas Idea

Here is a fun 12 Days of Christmas idea. All of the gifts are common things you would able to find easily like hot cocoa, popcorn, rice krispy treats, Christmas story, etc. Click here for the complete list. There is even a cute little poem to go with each day.

Happy St. Nicholas Day

Today is St. Nicholas Day. This was yet another tradition I became familiar with in Europe. It is always celebrated on December 6th. The tradition is to put out your shoe on December 5th and then St. Nicholas will leave a SMALL gift or treat in your shoe.

There are many similarities between St. Nicholas and Santa. St. Nicholas brings gifts in the night, but unlike Santa who travels with reindeer, St. Nicholas travels on horse so the children may want to leave a carrot or apple in the shoe for his horse. He was also known for his secret gift giving and did many things for children. For more info about St. Nicholas click here

This is meant to be a simple celebration just to add some extra cheer during the season.

We left our shoes out on December 5th and woke up to this:

Countdown Chains

Last year we made chocolate countdown chains. They were so simple to make. You take a long piece of plastic wrap and equally place 24 pieces of chocolate (or other treats) on the plastic. Wrap up the ends of the saran wrap to cover the treats. Take pieces of ribbon to tie off each piece. Then each day you have a treat to count your way to Christmas with.

This year we decided to try something different. We made paper chains, but added a twist to it. We each took equal number of paper strips and wrote different Christmas oriented activities like drive to see lights, read a Christmas story, doorbell ditch a treat on someone's doorstep, shop for an ornament, etc. But neither of us could see what the other person wrote. Then we mixed them all up and put the chain together without looking to see what was on the inside of each strip.
Now, when we cut off the chain piece in the morning, we have a fun Christmas activity that we have to do sometime that day. We cut them off in the morning so we can arrange our schedules to fit it in.

Simple Christmas Activity

Grab your spouse, children, roommates, or significant other for a fun, but lo-key Christmas activity: driving to see the lights. Check out what the nearby neighborhoods have to offer.

If that isn't enough, check out local parks and centers for Christmas light displays.

This activity is perfect because it can take 10 minutes or 2 hours and you can enjoy festivities from your warm car.

Ornament Exchange

This cute lady in my neighborhood last year organized an ornament exchange. Each person was to bring 8 handmade ornaments. We had about a month to do it and then we got together on a Saturday afternoon and exchanged ornaments with each other. It was fun to get new ideas and to come home with 7 new ornaments. This could also be a fun idea to do with handmade Christmas cards.

Advent Wreath tradition

When I was a nanny in Germany, I was introduced to the Christmas tradition of the Advent Wreath. On each of the 4 Sundays before Christmas, you light a candle on the advent wreath (or 2 for the 2nd Sunday, etc) and do a Christmas thing. The wreath signifies eternal life and love and the candles signify the light of Christ. One of my favorite memories of Christmas in Germany was gathering in the living room and singing Christmas songs while the Advent candle was burning. I love that the purpose of celebrating it is to remember the true meaning of Christmas. I found an advent wreath at a thrift store, but you can buy them online or you can use candles for the same magical affect.

Favorite Christmas Movies

In no particular order, here are some of my favorite Christmas movies. Which ones am I missing?

-How the Grinch Stole Christmas
-White Christmas
-It's a Wonderful Life
-Miracle on 34th Street
-Charlie Brown's Christmas
-Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer
-Frosty and Frosty Returns
-I'll Be Home for Christmas
-Elf
-Prancer
-The Santa Claus
-One Magic Christmas
-Jingle All the Way
-A Christmas Carol
-The Polar Express
-Home Alone
-A Christmas Story