Thursday, December 27, 2012

Advent 2012: Week 4

Week 4 of Advent is very short this year!  Here's how we prepared in the couple of days before Christmas.

December 22: Originally, I planned to make marshmallows to have in hot chocolate, but after a playgroup friend gave us this snowman
 I decided not to make work for myself!  We went for a family walk around the 'park' area of our apartment complex and then came back and made minty hot chocolate.  I took the picture after I'd made the drinks so just in case you can't tell, his head contains tiny (hard) marshmallows, his middle contains hot chocolate powder, and his base contains peppermint candy which was heated with the milk.  (I couldn't be bothered crushing it, as instructed, but it seemed to infuse fine.)  J thought this was a fantastic treat.

December 23: We lit the fourth candle on our Advent wreath, symbolizing love.

December 24: Today we retold the Christmas story with a kid-friendly nativity.  In the afternoon we attended the Children's Christmas service at church.  Then in the evening we skyped with family in NZ, where it was already Christmas Day.  After both boys were finally in bed, we nestled presents under the tree since they'd been out of sight to avoid prodding and poking!
 December 25: Christmas Day!  Among our other activities for the day we lit the final candle at the centre of our Advent wreath: the Christ candle.  After all, Christ's coming is the reason we have the preparation time of Advent and the reason we celebrate Christmas in the first place.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Advent 2012: Week 3

Well, Christmas has arrived, but here's our update on Advent activities.  They have helped me focus more on the season of preparation this year.  I felt surprisingly calm and organised - I hope it lasts!  Here's what we got up to in Week 3...

December 15: Due to a short ban on DVDs for a young man, we postponed watching a Christmas movie until a few days later!  Instead we opened our piggy banks and helped him divvy up some money to give to the Salvation Army bell-ringer at Walmart.  He has been fascinated with the bell each time we shop there, so he was keen to give - even if it was more for the bell than the need we explained to him simply.  Near disaster - the bell-ringer wasn't in place as we entered the shop but (phew!) was cheerily ringing as we exited.

December 16: We lit the third candle on our Advent wreath.  J can now tell me as I light each candle during breakfast, "That's the hope candle. That's peace. That's joy!"  He likes trying to blow them out too.
December 17: This morning we hosted our playgroup friends.  Only a couple of families were able to make it but we still expended some energy!  We watched "Jacob's Gift" as our Christmas movie and some relaxation in the afternoon.  It is based on a book by Max Lucado of the same name, telling the Christmas story from the perspective of a carpenter's apprentice whose family runs the inn by the infamous stable.  It has a wonderful message about gift giving.  We have watched and read the book MULTIPLE times during the week since.
Source: Amazon.com
December 18: We bundled the boys up in pyjamas and drove over to Highland Park (a swanky Dallas suburb) to see the Christmas light displays.  Many have been installed by professionals and they can be spectacular. (Not that you can tell from my evidence!  The blurry photos don't do the displays justice.  Props to anyone who can identify what is shown in the third photo.)  J could identify snowmen, Santa Claus, trees and houses that looked like "gingerbread house[s]".  I was disappointed that (here in the Bible Belt) there were hardly any nativity scenes.  I think I only saw one in half an hour's driving!


December 19: We made an early start and made Peanut Butter Squares before we went to the local library's story time and shared Christmas stories and cookies.  This is one of the recipes my mum makes around Christmas time, and is the reason I love Reese's Peanut Butter Cups so much!  Apart from the essence, they are pretty alike.  The boys helped crush the graham crackers to smithereens (since wine biscuits are hard to come by here) and I was amazed they didn't even attempt to hit each other. :o)  I think the recipe was originally from an Alison Holst cookbook but I can't be sure.

December 20: Today we made gift tags for presents.  I traced some shapes onto paper (stars for J and circles for C) and wrote in the to/from details.  The boys went crazy with the crayons and I doctored them up afterward and cut them out.

December 21: The boys helped me wrap the presents they are giving to each other and Dad.  We made sure to stick on the gift tags. At the moment the presents are stashed away because little prying fingers have no mercy and I don't have shares in wrapping paper companies.  They'll come out under the tree closer to Christmas Day.

Thursday, December 20, 2012

Advent 2012: Week 2

This has been an unusual week.  A few days before this picture was taken we were still wearing shorts and getting too hot outside.  When we woke up on this day snow had fallen!  It's Texan snow, so it didn't stick around for long - but here's the proof it existed. :o)
We continued to enjoy our Advent activities this week.

December 8: We couldn't find any books about St Nicholas at the library so we watched a series of short clips on Youtube instead.  I'm not sure J understood it, but he sure listened.

December 9: We lit the second candle in our Advent wreath.

December 10: We made gingerbread men.  We didn't ice them, but J loved cutting out the smallest ones (about an inch tall) and C thought they tasted the best!  (He was only really interested in eating that size.)

December 11:  We made paper snowflakes since the overnight snow wasn't going to stick around.  At first I tried sticking them to the window with just water, but as they dried they peeled off, so eventually I used tape.  You can see them in the window in this picture.

December 12: We made 'gingerbread' houses out of graham crackers, some Halloween candy I had stashed, and some mints I bought last week (for their authenticity factor in gingerbread decorating).

They came together well.
J soon worked out he could eat more sweets than he stuck on!
It was cute hearing him count them as he stuck them on.
And here's C's one (well, that's what I'm telling J because he stripped his of its candy within 5 minutes of finishing!)

December 13: We had a cleaning day, to beautify the house for Christmas.  Now there is less dust, the nativity is out, Daddy's desk is orderly and some furniture has been moved.


December 14: We made some 'Chex mix'.  I ended up adapting the recipe on the back of the generic cereal I bought (see below).  It was dubbed our "treat snack mix" and doled out in small quantities.
The boys loved it, but it sure was 'melt on your face not in your hand'.
(Yes, for some reason J wanted to sit on the book to eat.  It wasn't worth a fight!)
Chocolate Peanut Butter Chex Mix

1/4 c butter or margarine
1/4 c peanut butter
1 c chocolate chips

3 c corn Chex (or corn squares cereal)
1 c Cheerios (we had multigrain)

1/2 c icing sugar
1/2 c mini marshmallows

Melt the butter, peanut butter and chocolate in the microwave 30 seconds.  Stir and continue to zap and stir in 10 second increments until melted.  Add the cereals.  (I also had the end of a bag of sliced almonds which I threw in too.)  Stir until evenly coated with the chocolate mixture.  Spread in a single layer on a lined tray and refrigerate 20 minutes or until set.  Break into small chunks and place in a sealable bag with the icing sugar.  Shake to evenly coat the cereal.  Add marshmallows (or any other treats - M&Ms would add colour) and shake to distribute.  Store in the fridge in the bag.

Saturday, December 15, 2012

Advent 2012: Week 1

So far the Advent season hasn't overwhelmed us!  My ambitious plans for an activity a day has actually come to fruition so far. :o)

Here's the lowdown:

December 1: We decorated the tree and started our bedtime stories from The Jesus Storybook Bible (continuing).
 It took me a couple of days to string the popcorn and cranberries.
The bottom of the tree is a bit bare because some-two keep rearranging the ornaments and I didn't bother threading more popcorn and cranberries when I found the boys eating the lowest strand halfway down the tree!

 We also started our Advent calendar.
J likes taking out the pieces from the pockets at the bottom and identifying each item.  The conversation goes something like this: J - "What's this?" Me - "An angel." J - "What's this?" Me - "Three Wise Men" J What's this?" Me - "I don't know.  What is it?" J - "It's a candy cane!  What's this?".... You get the picture.

December 2: We lit the first candle on the Advent Wreath.
December 3: We played all our Christmas CDs.  Some are better than others!

December 4: We sent some of our Christmas cards.  Some are still waiting for me to address the envelopes with the correct postcodes.  (Note to self: get on to that!)

December 5: We coloured a printable nativity set.
 J's is on his room.
 And C's (with a little help from Mum) is by the Advent calendar.
 Guess which one is still intact!

December 6: We made a treat for the birds.
 A wedge of apple strung on dental floss, covered with peanut butter, and then popcorn and sesame seeds.
 We hung it out for the birds.
 But the only nibbles I saw here were from this flightless "chick"!
It was hung around the other side of the apartment near J's window later that day!

December 7:  We made our Christmas cake.  For each stir J helped me ask God to bless someone we love!
I doubled the recipe (and cooked it longer - about 2 1/4 hours) and the fruit I used was raisins, currants and glace cherries.  Other times I've used chopped apricots, cranberries, dates... use your imagination.  It turned out very well!

Mum's Boiled Fruit Cake

Boil and cool: 1 lb dried fruit (chopped, if necessary)
                      1 - 2 tsp lemon zest
                      8 oz butter (2 sticks)
                      1 c water
Beat together: 3 eggs
                      1 c sugar
Add to eggs:  1 tsp vanilla essence
                     1/2 tsp orange essence
Sift and add:  2 - 2 1/2 c flour
                     1 tsp baking powder
Stir in cooled fruit.
Bake 1 1/4 - 2 hours at 275*F/150*C (until skewer comes out clean).  Cool in tin.