We went to the Festival of Trees in Orderville this year. The older kids were excited to meet Santa, but James was not impressed. Marion wasn’t really that interested either. But she did go hang out sort of near Santa so we could take a picture.
There were some fun activities for kids this year. They got to decorate picture frames and make Christmas trees out of ice cream cones, frosting, and candy. After the kids got all sugared up, Grandpa bought a peach pie from a vendor and we went to Grandma and Grandpa’s house for pie.
Daddy went to Austria in late November and brought back a chocolate ski for the kids. They had to be really good to get a piece every day. They were super excited, especially because it was almost as tall as James.
We have an advent calendar with little Christmas activities we do every day in December. One night we learned a new Christmas song – Christmas Bells are Ringing. Oliver was so excited that he got out his violin to accompany us while the rest of us played the bells.
Chris reading The Night Before Christmas to all the kids.
James learned how to blow out candles this month. Every time we light candles he puckers up his little lips to blow them out. The other kids are so excited about James’ new trick.
Every year we make candy for our siblings for Christmas – we went a little overboard this year on the candy making I think! We tried several new kinds and they turned out really well.
It got really cold this December so we have been packing in a lot of wood. James E Boo likes to be a helper. And for some reason this is all the other kids’ favorite chores too. They like to throw pieces of wood in the wood box and yell “Buster Bombs!” Oliver made the game up and I have no idea what it means, but it is nice that there is at least one chore the kids enjoy.
James has been sick with different things for most of December. He doesn’t like to go to bed at night when he doesn’t feel good, so this has become a common sight in our house this month. We hope he starts feeling better in the new year!
