Christmas Countdown, December 2nd

I just finished Day #2 and it's not even 11pm yet!
Ha -- and some of you doubted me.

We had just gotten a bunch of plastic cups on clearance that I thought would work perfectly for a homemade advent calendar. I figured that I could put some seasonal tissue paper over the top, candy and/or activities in them, and then tape them to the wall for festive decoration and a dose of holiday cheer on a daily basis. They turned out cute and the kids love punching them out, but I have learned a couple of things during my first advent experiment.

Lesson #1 -- The calendar as it is falling off the wall. The tape couldn't even hold the cups, let alone treats inside. So, make sure to think of HOW you're going to hang your calendar. Better ideas might be found here or here. Envelopes would be super easy, and the cones you could make out of any paper and they would be perfect if you wanted to include treats on some days (I didn't have any clothes pins or I might have gone this route). Let's just say that Q snickered the entire evening as you could hear soft thudding of each one plopping to the floor.

This is now what Q lovingly refers to as our "Advent Pile" stacked on top of the curio cabinet. The kids can't reach them, but it doesn't have quite the look and feel I was hoping for.

Lesson #2 - Another suggestion would be to have your December calendar out in front of you, decide what you will be doing each day (correlating it to the day of the week and already planned festivities), AND THEN put them all inside and seal them up. I thought I could do it while watching the Amazing Race on Monday night, but after repeatedly untying and switching things around because they wouldn't work on a given day or we had to plan around a ward party, etc...


Advent Activities:
Day 1 - Decorate the mailbox and porch (I'm sure the neighbors loved us out on the porch at 7pm with the kids singing and ringing their Christmas bells with intense enthusiasm.)
Day 2 - Go through toys and select some to donate to the local community center (This actually went well. I didn't expect that L would be willing to part with much, but we got rid of a good amount of never-played-with toys. Then, after nap/quiet time, I pulled out a gift my sister had sent a while back and they enjoyed it for the rest of the day.)
Day 3 - I'd tell you, but both of us will have to wait to see what they punch out tomorrow (Hopefully it doesn't need a lot of preparation. Like I said earlier -- map them out on a calendar so that you get the appropriate activity in the right cup AND so you have a reference for what is going to happen each day).

No, all posts will not be this long. I think it will be more enjoyable for all of us.