Thursday 2 December 2010

.I finished in the nick of time!.

Literally...I was packing up my sewing stuff at 11:57pm on 30th November!  And I am glad it is done - definitley won't be cutting and sewing 25 little stockings any time soon.  If that wasn't enough, I had this bright (not!) idea of using a freezer paper stencil to paint the numbers on each stocking.  Oh, seriously, what was I thinking?  It was all going well until I realised that it was going to take me longer to cut each number out with a craft knife than it took me to sew all of the stockings!!  I persevered though, Elissa from Kelani Fabric called me when I was in the middle of it and not feeling very impressed with my bright idea and reminded me that it was worth it because maybe this advent would end up being a family heirloom in time, passed on through the family.  They better look after it and use it EVERY...SINGLE...YEAR!!!
Sorry about the dodgy photos - really difficult to photograph with light streaming in through the windows behind...I'm sure you get the gist of it though.  I should have taken photos before hanging, but we ended up putting nails right through the hanging strip so it is too much effort to take down now!
The children were VERY excited when they woke up in the morning and found a lolly pop and activity in #1.  We have a "no treat before breakfast" rule and they are so good at eating their breakfast straight away and really fast!
So, if you are wondering what activities we have in store this year...instead of filling up the stockings all at once, I pop a treat and activity in before I go to bed each night.  I have a master list of activities to choose from and decide what we are going to do the next day each night.  Here is the master list:
  • Paint toenails in Christmas colours
  • Make Christmas cards for friends
  • Write a letter to Santa
  • Bake treats for teachers
  • Make Christmas ornaments
  • Make gingerbread men
  • Make gingerbread houses
  • Put a present under the Kmart Giving Tree
  • Picnic for dinner at the beach/park
  • Family disco
  • Games night
  • Watch a Christmas movie with popcorn
  • Go out for dinner
  • Have Cold Rock for dessert
  • Play backyard cricket/footy
  • Have a bubble bath
  • Go strawberry picking
  • Go out for a milkshake
  • Go to the pool
  • Make rocky road
  • See Christmas lights
  • Play at the beach
  • Read Christmas stories under the tree
  • Make reindeer food
  • Go to the Playgroup Christmas party
If you haven't got a fancy advent calendar, don't let that stop you from doing something similar with your kids - mine love the activities each day and I love the excitement that it adds to Christmas.
If you have any other activity ideas, I'd love to hear them!

20 comments:

Toni said...

This is wonderful, it will so satisfying bringing out each year, all the hard work is done. I may do something similar next year, for now its just the ala chocolate cardboard calendar this year.

Nel Dekker said...

You are such a wonderful, loving and creative Mummy, Toni!!
Enjoy each and every day of this festive season....

sewtara said...

I totally had this on my TO DO list but I didn't get it TO DONE at all :/
I might still make one, my kids are little they won't mind :)

Sandra :) said...

It's gorgeous! I would have loved having something like that when my kids were little :)

You could make cornstarch clay ornaments with them one day ... or even applesauce cinnamon ornaments - I did those many times with mine and they were a big hit!

Clares Place said...

I saw these decorating so many stores in Melb. (and had planned on making up some) They look great and so much fun!

Nancy said...

This is soooo wonderful. I think all your hard work paid off. I really want to do an advent for the kids (next year). This is a definite possibility. And what a great decoration too!

Bec said...

Oh Toni... They are so so cute!!! Xx I love em!! Thanks for the activity list... What fun!!!! Xx

Bec said...

Oh and DEFINATELY worth every bit of effort!!

Corrie said...

totally worth it Toni! wow!

corrie:)

Knicky Knacks said...

I'm exhausted reading that list. I love your advent stockings. They are gorgeous and something your kids will always remember. Wow. You've set the benchmark high!

tini-uk said...

It was worth all the hard work, it is adorable. I love your ideas much better than just chocolate.

Katrin said...

The calendar is adorable... And I know how it feels when you have to put in lots of extra effort to make relality look lika the vision in your head, but usually it is so worth it! Good job!

Jacey said...

It looks fantastic, what lucky children you have, definitely worth all that hard work, well done.x

Kate said...

They look fantastic! Thanks for all the great ideas for activities :) Good job getting it all done on time. I probably would have just hung up one stocking each day as I finished them.

Deb @ PaperTurtle said...

This is just so cute! I love the look of the rustic fabric with the bright colors on top of the stockings. Love this!

randi said...

fantastic! i just love this and the ideas are so fun!

mommy Orkid Belle said...

Those are just so cute!

Bek said...

Wow they look fantastic! I copied your idea from last years advent calendar coz i didnt want to go with the lollies or the little toys and my kids are absolutely loving the activities! Thanks for inspiring me...again!

Unknown said...

We do an activity advent every year too - many of our are the same as your activites.... one that we love is 'having breakfast for dinner' - so last night Dad cooked bacon and eggs on the BBQ! Yum!
I must admit though, my actual calendar is not finished yet... I made the teeny envelopes on the afternoon of the 1st (late already!) and haven't got any further yet..... oh well at least we're doing the activities.... maybe this will motivate me to print them out and hang it up somewhere!!

Unknown said...

What a great idea! I am thinking that if I start now I may get an advent for next year!

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