The first tradition that we love is our advent/ countdown penguin. He's a big wooden penguin with doors numbered 1-25. Of course, the idea is to open one little door each day to find a treat and countdown to Christmas. I bought him years ago, before we even had kids and Hubby and I used to open him up and enjoy a piece of candy each day. But now that we have kids, I stick something else behind the doors. I cut up pieces of red and green construction paper into little strips and write Christmasy things to do on each. Every morning, we open up the tiny door and pull out the paper. Most of the activities are simple things like "Do a Christmas craft" or "dance to Christmas music." Others, like picking out a tree or visiting Santa, have to be planned ahead. Either way, it's a lot of fun and not only does it help us countdown to Christmas but it also keeps up in the Christmas spirit with fun traditions!
Another tradition that we start tomorrow is our book countdown. Each night, right up until Christmas, the kids will get to unwrap a new Christmas themed book each night. Their daddy usually reads them a bedtime story every night anyways, but the Christmas books just add to the fun! Most of the books we reuse from year to year but we do try to add new ones to the selection each year. This year, we've added some fun books that I know everyone is going to love and I can't wait!
And, of course, another tradition is Elf on the Shelf. I know the Elf gets a lot of hate, but we love him. Yes, he can be a bit creepy at times, but he's lots of fun. Now, our Elf, Bell, isn't a naughty or messy elf. I have two kids that make enough messes with a stuffed elf causing more for me to clean up. Instead, Bell finds fun, creative places to hang out and, when the kids have been good, he brings little treats and gifts from the North Pole. We received a special package in the mail today from Bell. It contained a little note from him as well as his book so we could be prepared for his return tomorrow. I honestly have a ton of fun coming up with ideas for our Elf and most of the things I do with him are fairly simple. You can check out what Bell did last year by checking out my post from last year.
So, the Christmas season is upon us and I couldn't be happier! I love Christmas and all the traditions it brings! I will try to update with a new post every day (most simple and to the point) so everyone can share in our fun traditions and Elf adventures. I will at least post a couple pictures to Instagram each day. (You can follow me on Instagram under @adlewis09 or @mylifeasasahmom or search for one of the following hashtags to find our adventures: #mylifeasasahmom #sahmomChristmasFun #adventuresofbell2015.)
Happy Christmasing!
