week 3 activities

we did well this week! only missed one activity. here is a recap:

1. pick out and decorate christmas tree!

2. drink eggnog

3. make gingerbread cookies

4. visit festival of lights (local drive-thru christmas light display)
5. make a christmas ornament

and if we can fit it in...as you can see i like the option of more events without actually committing to them :)

6. christmas movie night

pick out and decorate christmas tree: we broke the tradition this year due to a shortage of acceptable frasier firs available at lowe's, but it turned out well! growing up we pretty much always got a frasier fir because of the smell and i just continued that, but this year we had to pick something new. turns out the noble fir is a perfect substitute. fluffy and full (i always LOVE short, full trees) and soft needles so it is much more comfortable to decorate. i put lights on the tree while the boys napped so they woke up to a lighted tree and then they helped decorate at night. miles really just wanted to throw the plastic balls around (though he tried putting an ornament on the little tree we have in the foyer), but ethan helped hang a few of the ornaments. i really had a great time decorating the tree this year with the boys and loved seeing how excited they were to see it.

drink eggnog: well apparently i am the only one that thought this was fun. ethan took one sip and declared he had had enough and i don't think miles even finished his first sip. guess we'll have to stick to hot chocolate for the boys.

make gingerbread cookies: at lance's request i attempted gingerbread cookies for the first time. i don't know why i have been scared of them since i love to do sugar cookies. for some reason gingerbread cookies always scared me. i found a recipe to try from good things catered and it turned out delicious. while i made some that were gingerbread man shaped, i ended up doing more that were snowflakes with sanding sugar on top - no extra decorating - and they look really pretty! i think these will end up being a cookie i make every year.

drive through festival of lights: didn't happen this week, so we are going to try this out on sunday.

make a christmas ornament: i found this adorable martha stewart felt christmas ornament kit that i thought would be fun to try, especially since there was a train ornament. well, it was even more perfect than i thought! no glueing, no cutting, perfect for a toddler! all of the pieces came with adhesive on them and you just had to peel and stick. ethan loved the train one and also the stocking since he thought it came with a candy cane in it just like in the picture on the kit. after he made his two ornaments, he put them on the tree.

watch a christmas movie: thanks to a new thomas dvd, we spent friday night snuggling on the couch watching the trains of sodor get ready for the holidays.