FaithWorks: Christmas Decorations

Saturday, December 3, 2011

Christmas Decorations

The last two Christmases were so crummy with one or the other of my parents feeling sick with chemo and cancer. So this year, even though we are not yet fully cancer-free, I have decided to go all-out with my decorations and really enjoy the fact that both my parents are still with us and both feeling great.

I had the kids unpack all the boxes and set up a Christmas "store" from which I could select decorations.

We attempted to string popcorn for the first time. In real life, it looked like: Isaac eating popcorn, even though it was unsalted; Abby handing Daddy pieces of popcorn; Daddy doing all the work.

The kids also decorated some ornaments for our "craft" tree.

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Kid Quotables

Abby (age 7.5) being forced to eat a vegetable she didn't like: "If only I had a tongue cover."
Daisy has a bad habit of, um, "humping" the pillows that are left on the floor. Isaac asked me what she was doing and I told him that doing that was a way that dogs try to dominate one another (which is partially true, right?!). Well, now the kids cheer for Daisy any time they see her "dominating" the pillow. Sheesh.
Isaac (age 8.5): You need to learn your Pokemon, Mom. (really, Son?)
Isaac (Age 8.5) leaving the ice cream shop where you can pick your own toppings: "The more junk you have, the bigger your chances of getting sick. But I'm willing to take that chance."

Family Night Ideas

#38 Write a story together. Have the kids illustrate the different pages and staple it all together to make your own book.
#37 Gather a pile of favorite books and read together for longer than usual.
#36 Build a masterpiece out of marshmallows and toothpicks. Build the tallest tower you can.
#35 In a dark room, use a flashlight to make shadow puppets on the wall. Have everyone choose a shadow puppet character and make up a story together.
#34 Prepare a giant, family-sized ice cream sundae in one big bowl. You can guess what to do with it.
#33 Airplane fun. Park near an airport and watch the planes take off and land. At home, construct your own paper airplanes and have a flying contest.
#32 Bubble Mania. If your kids are old enough to know not to run in the street, take a walk around the block while blowing bubbles so they can run behind and pop them. The backyard works just fine too.
#31 Backwards Day! Everyone put on your clothes backwards. Take a backwards walk around the block. Eat dessert first, then dinner.
#30 Bake cookies together from scratch. Let the kids help measure and mix. Enjoy them warm out of the oven with a glass of milk.
#29 Give everyone a flashlight and turn off the lights for a game of flashlight tag or an imaginative adventure.
#28 Give everyone a dollar and pair up. Go to the dollar store together and pick out a special gift or treat for your partner...keep it a secret until you get home.
#27 Make pizzas together and watch a favorite childhood movie together (we just showed the kids "The Dark Crystal." They were a little scared but they loved it.)
#26 Get on the computer together (pair up if you have more than one computer) and play some educational games on pbskids.org.
#25 Safety Night. Have the kids count your smoke detectors. Make and practice a fire evacuation plan. Go over emergency phone numbers and procedures.
#24 Help your kids create a map of your house, When it's finished, make it more fun by hiding a "treasure" and using the map to help find it.
#23 Have a breakfast for dinner night, jammies required.
#22 Teach the kids to play basic charades by printing out some clip art pictures of things for them to act out (various animals, vehicles, jobs...). Maybe start by allowing them to act with sounds and then play round 2 without sounds. Parents have to act too!
#21 Have a family slumber party: everyone in their jammies, yummy after-dinner treats, pillow fights, story-telling and all.
#20 Wash the dog in the backyard with the hose. Let the kids do all the hosing and sudsing.
#19 Pull out all the puzzles and have a puzzle-mania night.
#18 Make playdough together. (For a great recipe, see my March 9 entry.) Spend some time playing with your creation as a family.
#17 Garden together: plant new flowers, pull weeds, teach the kids to help make your yard look pretty.
#16 On a pretty evening, spread out a blanket for a picnic in the backyard.
#15 Look through family photo albums together.
#14 Dig out the craft supplies and make cards or Valentines together.
#13 Mad Scientist Night! Find some simple science experiments to do with the kids (see my Feb 5th, 2010 entry for some ideas).
#12 Teach your kids to play with their food. Give each child an apple, some toothpicks for arms and legs, and marshmellows and chocolate chips for facial features. Put some peanut butter in a small ziplock bag and cut the tip of one corner off to create a frosting-tube to use as a "glue" for the marshmallows and choc. chips. Play with them and be creatvie before you enjoy your tasty snack.
#11 Serve a dinner that's a lesson in taste (I got this idea from Robin). Pick foods and arrange them on plates (salty plate, sweet plate, sour plate, and bitter plate). Have everyone try the foods on each plate and guess the category. Then have everyone share what was their favorite item from each plate.
#10 Snuggle up and make up stories together. Older kids can take turns adding a sentence to the story. Younger kids can fill in the blanks: "Once upon a time, there was a ______ and his name was _______."
#9 Treasure Hunt. Team up, hide a special treasure with your partner, and give clues to help the other team find it. Take turns keeping it going until you're treasured out.
#8 Sit down together and build a giant city out of Legos or blocks. Play some fun music while you build.
#7 Bundle everyone up and go on a walking tour of your neighborhood Christmas lights. Finish the night with hot chocolate.
#6 Go on a scavenger hunt for a particular color (things that are blue...) or letter (things that start with 'M'...).
#5 Play board games or card games together.
#4 Bring home a favorite meal, light a candle at the dinner table, put on some soft music, and enjoy each other's company.
#3 Pick up garbage on the beach while taking a long walk.
#2 Build a fort out of pillows and blankets. Make hot chocolate and snuggle up together to read some favorite books.
#1 Attend Chick Fil-A's family night together.