December Daily 1

Today was the first day of the December Daily journey.  A photo a day in order to document the good, the bad, the memories and the mundane all together which encapsulates a month in my home.  The challenge -- I love it!

Today I switched out our Advent Calendar activity cards (much to the chagrin of two eager boys) because I added a few more "make it more meaningful" activities for them to partake in and new family traditions.  I'm quite excited about those.

Would you like to see what we are doing in the Driggers family?  Here is a copy of my cute little Advent Cards.  It has an action, a movie and the first 12 the tie-ins for the song the 12 Days of Christmas and they also have (bottom right hand corner) the order of the alphabet for the little book we do. Sweet, simple.  Happy!

Grab a copy for your very own here, and here.

ADVENT Bonus Printable

I wrote a little poem to go with each letter of the alphabet.  Print this.  You can roll up each day like a little scroll and tie it with some Christmas ribbon and then place it in their advent envelope or you could simply work on them all month long.  But, if you start today, you should be able to finish by Christmas and have an amazing little keepsake at the end.

Get your own clean printable copy here.  

Basically what happens is that you print the booklet, You can either cut the pages in half and give them one a day but you'll read the little rhyming word on the bottom and then draw a photo to correspond.  The real treat in these is when you can star when they're young and see how their skills grow as they age.

Day Five - ADVENTure of Christmas

Yep, I'm here with my fifth installment on how to get your December off to a grand start of memories and fun! Today we're talking about CHRISTMAS MUSIC!

So, as a recap, 

1. Grab a December calendar online or make one or find one at home
2. Plug in the dates you already have plans for (school plays, sports, special gatherings)
3. Jot down the events that happen in your area that you hold an interest in participating in (Santa visits, tree lightings, parades, etc.)
4. Find your favorite Christmas books and have those ready
5. Gather your collection or set your DVR for your favorite Christmas movies
6. Decide what activities you want to include.
7. Tie in your faith to your fun!

Remember, each day you will PLAN to view a movie, complete an activity together, read a book, focus on a letter of the alphabet (for those with little ones like me), and address part of the 12 days of Christmas as it parallels to the Bible. The important thing here is to PLAN. You can always deviate from the plan but at least HAVE a plan.

So, as I stated, today we are compiling those playlists!  Nothing can set the mood like good music!  Christmastime is no different!  So what are your favorites?  Do you  need a list to download?  Want to remember your all-time favorites to be sure you buy on your iTunes list?

Here are some of my all time favorite Christmas songs that just make my holiday better!  I will, however, start with the end-all-be-all Christmas song for me.  **swoon**

• Elvis Presley, "Blue Christmas"
• Elton John, "Step Into Christmas"
• Michael Buble, "Winter Wonderland"
• Bing Crosby, "White Christmas" (Otis Redding does a soulful job too!)
• Mariah Carey, "All I Want For Christmas"
• Jackson 5, "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town"
• Harry Connick Jr., "Sleigh Ride"
• Alan Jackson, "Let It Be Christmas"
• The Beach Boys, "Little St. Nick"
• Casting Crowns, "I Heard The Bells On Christmas Day"
• Martina McBride, "O Holy Night" (Celine Dion does a beautiful job too)
• Bing Crosby, "It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas"
• Gene Autrey, "Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer"
• Bobby Helms, "Jingle Bell Rock"
• Frank Sinatra, "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" (Martina's version is stellar!)
• James Taylor and Natalie Cole, "Baby It's Cold Outside"
• Carrie Underwood, "Do You Hear What I Hear?"
• Brenda Lee, "Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree"
• Bruce Springsteen, "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town"
• Andy Williams, "It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year"
• Rascal Flatts, "I'll Be Home For Christmas"
• Band Aid,"Do They Know It's Christmas"
• Madonna, "Santa Baby"
• Dean Martin, "Let It Snow, Let It Snow"
• The Beach Boys, "Merry Christmas Baby"
• Thurl Ravenscroft, "You're A Mean One Mr. Grinch"
• Mariah Carey, "Joy To The World" (I like that it gets upbeat and makes you wanna dance around!)
• Wham, "Last Christmas"
• Mormon Tabernacle Choir, "Carol of the Bells"
• Faith Hill, "Where Are You Christmas"
• Brian Setzer Orchestra, "Jingle Bells"
• MercyMe, "I Heard The Bells On Christmas Day"
• Natalie Cole and Nat King Cole, "The Christmas Song"
• Alabama, "Christmas In Dixie"
• The Ronettes, "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus"
• Charles Brown, "Please Come Home For Christmas"
• Martina McBride "Away In A Manger"
• Julie Andrew, "My Favorite Things"
• Bob Rivers, "12 Pains of Christmas" (this one ALWAYS makes me laugh)

Honorable Mentions

• Paul McCartney "A Wonderful Christmas Time" because frankly this song is just... weird.  I can't tell if I like it or if I am trying to figure out if he's on a complete acid trip through the whole thing.  I think it just reminds me of the really crappy music of his era.  The longer I listen to it, I realize he sucks the joy out of my day.  
• Elmo and Patsy, "Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer" because there's nothing like ruining everyone's Christmas and then blaming Santa and his crew.  

To be completely honest, there isn't much that Martina McBride, Michael Buble or Harry Connick Jr. could sing that is Christmas-themed that I won't listen to them.  They're just simply that good!

So, that's my list.  Now what are you going to put on YOURS?  Well, get moving!  Get that list loaded onto your hard drive, shared to your devices and keep the fa la la right in the middle of your every day!

Continually getting in the spirit! Yes, I am!

Day Four - ADVENTure of Christmas

As we prepare for the final stages of prepping for our ADVENTure, we can focus on faith. 

Many Christians across the world look for ways to make Christ the center of their Christmas advent activities in an effort to bring their faith to the forefront of their holiday season. Sounds hard, right? I mean, we are inundated daily by sales catalogs, flyers, commercials and the ever-constant bombardment of advertisements for the newest, latest and greatest. The solution? Find a Christmas song everyone knows, find some printables online to coincide with the focus, incorporate it into your daily advent so that while your kiddos are engaged in the coloring, you can have meaningful discussion as to the deeper connection between the symbolism in the song and your faith. It’s proven that while kids are engaged, their minds are more open to dialogue than if you’re just standing there preaching to them. This is a great way to start that dialogue.

To download a copy of the printable, click here.  There are two links at the end that will take you to two sources of an online printable coloring page for each of the 12 days of Christmas.  One is here.  The other can be found here.

Another way to tie in your faith is to create a Jesse Tree.  The Jesse Tree is basically an advent devotional calendar.  There are ways to really tie it into your advent activities and create a more Christ-centered Christmas for you and your family.  The story of the Jesse Tree can be found here.  That link has a downloadable schedule of devotionals as well as a printable paper ornament to coincide with each lesson.  The Feels Like Home Blog has a free downloadable e-book.  I think this one is BEAUTIFULLY done and the ornaments they use as a family are just awesome.  Another can be found here. And yet another blogger gave testimony of how the Jesse Tree directly impacted her family and how it really helped solidify the holiday to her children. What a blessing!  She included a printable on her blog too.  Find that here.

The Jesse Tree is definitely something that would require some planning if you really wanted to go all out for handmade ornaments and heirloom pieces that you could use year in and out.  

I hope you're enjoying the series and that your FA-LA-LA is in high gear!

Day Three - ADVENTure of Christmas

In an effort to streamline your ADVENTure activities, I have created some printables for you to use.  All you need to do is simply print, cut and use them how you wish on your ADVENTure!  

The first thing you need are some countdown numbers to attach to whatever you are using to count down your days!  I'm having technical difficulties on my laptop getting the new to save as a .jpg file so you can see the font, but the style and layout is the same as below.

Printable Advent Numbers can be downloaded here.

The next thing you'll need to do is figure out what you want to attach them to.  What I like to do is to purchase the SMALLEST plain kraft colored gift bags I can find at my local craft store.  They're usually 3/$1 at Hobby Lobby.  I simply glue the number to the front, insert the activity cards inside and enclose a sweet treat for the day.  Sometimes I buy a big box of mini candy canes and put one in there for each kiddo.  I have all of our bags placed beside our second Christmas tree. 

So, ideas for the advent presentation...I've seen some really cute ones, some elaborate ones and some that are just completely over the top.  Mine is so simple, doable in just a matter of minutes and voila. Complete.  Others are awesome but somewhat time/labor intensive.  However, if you're up for a crafty challenge, check out some of these:

I have no idea who to give credit for this (left) but I love the random, earthy feel of it.  Red, white and kraft colored display.  It's tied on a branch that looks like it's hung with baker's twine to two nails.  S-I-M-P-L-E and beautiful!  You can't beat that!









Parent's Magazine (below) posted this one that's a fun, easy andcolorful way to celebrate.  Cardboard, toilet paper tubes that have been halved, tissue paper and glue.  You supply the inserts, obviously, and probably some stickers for the numbers.  again, another one that is easy and fun!  Don't overthink these!


A Bubbly Life featured this advent calendar. I love how fun and whimiscal it is with the red pompom noses attached to the plastic animals that have all been painted white.  She gives step-by-step instructions on how to make this one.  Plain kraft boxes with stenciled numbers -- easy, yet impressive presentation.  Beautiful job. 



Another colorful way to use up some random colored envelopes means you're not only repurposing but also able to recycle when it's all over!  Stickers, envelopes, advent activity cards and a little painter's tape make this a quick and easy decoration for the wall -- always great when you're short on display space!  Find instructionshere.  (Featured above).









For those awesome people out there that can sew (I sadly am not one of them), Smile and Wave created this adorable felt advent calendar (featured right).  Instructions can be found here.

I have to admit I get a little jealous seeing things like this... that green-eyed mom-envy monster rears its ugly head because it's SO DAD-GUM cute!  Trillium Design created a tutorial for this bad boy.  



This one is absolutely adorable, doable and again, you're able to repurpose everyday items for an awesome experience.  Mindy Pitcher is the artist of this beautiful creation.  You can find it here. It looks like full sized toilet paper rolls that have been rolled in tissue paper and have the edges sealed after they were filled and then have a printed paper wrapped around and secured with a number attached.  This, too, doesn't take up a great deal of space.  Yay for that!

On the left is one of those advent calendars that would cause me to take major pause at the even remote idea that I could actually accomplish something so completely adorable.  Boxes, tags, stamps, texture and surprises!  It's a recipe for a winner!  Come check out Stampin Jill.com  To the right is another Pinworthy creation made by Honey We're Home (HWH) and you can find instructions here.  Truly adorable. 


I like the idea, too, of just a simple box to open as well.  I Can Teach My Childhas this awesome advent creative box delivery method.  It does help keep everything universal which allows you to realize your limitations for size and such.

So as you can see, the delivery can be as simple as colored envelops or as elaborate as you want to make it!  We did envelopes the first year and graduated to the little gift bags.  They're just fast, I can reuse them and they're functional.  I see no reason to fix what isn't broken.  

So now that you have your calendar printed, dates blocked off for engagement you've already made, as well as class and work parties; you've created a list of books and movies that you want to incorporate into each day as well.  Now it's time to start narrowing down your choices by day so that you can have full action activity cards.  

You need some of those, too?  Well, the list that I created in this post, I made some printable activity cards for.  So you need only print, cut and add them to whatever you are doing for your advent container.

You can get the full list here.  Print, cut, enjoy!

Day Two - ADVENTure of Christmas (Part 2)

Prepping for the ADVENTure of Christmas today features two parts -- part one was books and let us not forget the other media source that is definitely considered entertainment for the whole family -- MOVIES!!!!

I have an extensive Christmas movie collection because... well, I love Christmas movies! However, if you don't, have no fear!  Set your DVR to record any of your "must see" movies and you're ready to go!  Have NetFlix or Amazon Prime?  Many are available for instant streaming!  Don't have a DVR?  No problem!  Borrow the movies from the library, your friends, family or, hey -- go start your own collection RIGHT NOW!  And, if all else fails, visit this site and check out their schedule - ABC's Family 25 Days of Christmas -they showcase the classics every year!  In searching for their timeline, I did find this who provides a list of Christmas movies from a-z and it's SCARY long!  Some shows just shouldn't be made into Christmas movies -- Kung Fu Panda's Holiday Special?  Yeah, I'll pass!  

So, what movies do we watch?  When should we schedule them?  That's entirely up to you.  I have a tradition in my home, however, that we watch certain shows on certain days. But, like I've said, I'm ridiculously anal like that.  For instance, Christmas Eve -- every year -- we watch The Polar Express and we READ Twas the Night Before Christmas.  The shorter movies I try to schedule for the weekdays and the longer movies for Friday, Saturday or Sundays when we have more time.  

Here are the movies to add to your rotation and/or collection!  Our Christmas movies that have made the cut:

It's A Wonderful Life - This is probably one of my favorite movies of all time.  James Stewart and Donna Reed -- it doesn't get much better than that.  This movie is timeless, perfect and teaches so many life lessons.  And yes, I cry, every.single.time! It isn't officially Christmas season in my house until this one has played.  It has to be in black and white, too.  No remakes.  No colorized version.  The original is the only way to go!  James Stewart is just endearing as is his doting wife and children.  It's a story of family and forgiveness ad love and bring the Christmas spirit alive.  If this doesn't warm your heart, you may have no pulse.


Home Alone - You will have Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree stuck in your head for days after watching this! Everyone (including me) loves Macaulay Culkin and Joe Pesci in this movie.  My whole family still laugh at the antics of KEVIN (you have to say that as the mom when she realizes he's missing) as he defends his home when he is left... "Home Alone" -- see what I did there? Clever, no?  John Candy always cracks me up singing polka music and Kevin's mom just cracks me up as she proclaims she will sell her soul to the devil himself just to get back home to her son.  The lengths she goes through to get home is something any mother can relate to!  A definite on our play list.

National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation - I can't say enough about this movie other than... if you haven't seen it, I'm not sure we can be friends.  This personifies the angst of every Christmas!  The lights, the meal fails, the obligatory get together, the crazy relatives and... lest we forget -- Cousin Eddie!  I'm not always one for stupid humor (though, knowing I'm a fan of Dumb and Dumber might make you think otherwise), but this movie is just... epic!  If you tell me you haven't seen it, I'm going to ask you "You serious, Clark?"  


Dr. Seuss' How The Grinch Stole Christmas - Another timeless Christmas movie that brings the words of Dr. Seuss' book to life.  James Earl Jones' deep baritone provides the perfect narration of this seasonal favorite.  Everyone in our home just adores it.  "San-tee Clause, Why?  Why are you taking our Christmas tree, why?"  The lines will be forever tattooed to your soul... especially "Maybe Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store.  Maybe Christmas... perhaps... means a little bit more."  One of my favorite sayings.  


Elf - I have to preface this selection by stating that I am not a fan of Will Ferrell movies.  Like most other SNL cast members make it big -- for me, the schtick gets old.  Quick.  REEEEEALLY quick!  However, Elf.IS.EPIC!  I laugh my butt off EVERY.SINGLE.TIME!  I quote this movie over and over again!!  If you haven't seen it -- you just gotta OR again... I'm not sure we can be friends.  Elf.  Do it!  Now! (No excuse to miss, it's on ABC's list multiple times!)


A Christmas Story - Bunny suits, leg lamps, Red Ryder bb guns, bullies, over-zealous layering-for-the-snow mom, what's not to enjoy?  ALWAYS at the top of my list.  Ralphie just warms your heart with his plot to secure a bb gun for Christmas.  Not just any, bb gun, mind you.  He wants a Red Ryder Carbine Action 200 shot Range Model air rifle which everyone knows "you'll shoot your eye out" with.  If you haven't seen this one, I will pray for you because you've obviously had a really shitty life.  


Jingle All The Way - The typical workaholic procrastinating dad waiting until the last minute for the hottest toy in town means that all moms can totally relate to, and thus, get a real kick out of this. The multiple shenanigans that Arnold Swarzenegger (the dad) and Sinbad (a pissed off postal worker) get into on their no-holds-barred quest to secure the last of the hottest toy in town are hilarious.  I also enjoyed Phil Hartman's performance as the smarmy neighbor. 



Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas and Mickey's 
Twice Upon a Christmas - I love both of these movies because... well... I'm a Disney fanatic.  Both DVDs feature several small movies each. Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas has three small stories.  The first one has Mickey and Minnie reminiscing how each gave up what they treasured most for the sake of the other's happiness.  Selflessness in a way children can understand.  Then a story of Goofy and his son Max and how faith in something (even Santa) is important.  The last story is like a Groundhog Day of the worst Christmas for Donald until his nephews Huey, Dewey and Louie learn what the spirit of Christmas is really all about.  The second disk is equally awesome, has great animation and face it, if you're a Disney fan, you can't help but like it!  


Miracle on 34th Street - While the DVD image may be colorized, please note that I'm a true lover of black and white classics, so make no mistake that my movie is not the colorized version!  I love this tale of how an old man going by the name of Kris Kringle fills in the Macy's day parade because their Santa showed up drunk!  Kris gets hired as he is (obviously) perfect for the job.  Unfortunately, his sanity is called into play because (GASP!) he believes he IS "THE" Santa Claus and law suits ensue.  In the end he makes a believer out of everyone.  Treasure for your collection for sure!




Frosty the Snowman - We sing the songs and love the tale!  We read the books and exclaim "Happy Birthday!"  Frosty is a super cartoon classic of how a magician's hat brings a snowman to life and melts the hearts of everyone around.  It's Frosty!  How can he NOT be on your Christmas movie list?  Our DVD has the sequel as well.  It usually gets played immediately after.  


The Santa Clause Trilogy  - The moment I saw the first Santa Clause I was sold.  I'm a huge fan of Tim Allen.  The movie is about the clause you assume once you don the red suit.  The "clause" is that you BECOME "the" Claus.  It's also a great story of how the magic of the North Pole brings a father and son back together.  The second and third are sequels... they're obviously not as good as the first, but they each have a fun spin... and I do love Martin Short as Jack Frost.  

Santa Buddies - This really isn't my favorite movie, however, my boys have always loved it so we keep it in rotation.  Talking dogs -- what's not to like, right?  I have another dog movie in rotation that I enjoy so this one is generally one that the boys watch without me while I'm doing something equally as important as listening to talking dogs.



The Grinch - Yes, I realize that we already have Dr. Seuss's How The Grinch Stole Christmas in our list but Jim Carrey brings this character to life!  He is absolutely amazing.  I love and completely relate to Cindy Lou Who.  She doesn't buy into the whole idea of doing just as everyone says just because that's what they all do. She befriends The Grinch and... well, if you haven't see it, you just have to.  Christine Baranski is awesome as Martha May Whovier!  Molly Shannon is always fun to watch, too!  But, again, the real winner in this movie is Jim Carrey.  He completely steals the show!


12 Dogs of Christmas - I added this movie to our list because while it seems just like your standard run-of-the-mill Christmas special, it touched a special place in my heart.  You see, I love animals.  More specifically, I love dogs.  This is the story of a girl who uses dogs (which are actually banned in this specific town), to teach people about love and acceptance using a Christmas pageant featuring... what else.. canines.  



A Charlie Brown Christmas - If only we saw all of humanity as Charlie Brown saw his Christmas tree!  I have always loved this show and looked forward to watching it every year!  I would scope out the TV Guide and highlight the days when the Christmas shows came on so that we would NOT miss them! This was well before the days of DVRs and actually OWNING movies!  If you didn't catch it on tv, you didn't catch it at all!  Snoopy is awesome!  Lucy is obnoxious.  What's not to love?  This musically animated movie created for television in 1965 still (and always will) hold a place on our viewing list.  It touches on commercialism, secularism and then focuses on the real meaning of Christmas.  




The Year Without a Santa Claus - Another stop motion animation that I have loved since childhood.  My boys, obviously, don't "get it" but that doesn't mean it's not on our list!  Santa wakes up with a cold and decides to take the day off instead of delivering presents because he doesn't believe there really is much Christmas magic alive anymore.  In the end, he is proved wrong and Christmas comes to every town.  It makes me happy. I have to see it!  




Santa Claus Is Coming To Town:  Another stop motion animation classic from 1970 has been one of my favorites since childhood.  It's the story of how Santa originated as Kris Kringle fought to get toys in the hands of needy children at Christmastime.  And face it, who can not like a movie with a blue eyed mailman (Fred Astaire) singing Santa Claus is Coming To Town? His voice is truly swoon-worthy.  I never would have pegged Santa as a ginger, however, but ya know... whatever.




The Polar Express:  This has always been one of my most favorite books to share with my boys.  Having this movie brought to life -- I knew it was a not-to-be-missed feature on our list.  Tom Hanks is just AWESOME as the conductor.  The computer animation is out of this world beautiful and the story is... and yes, I realize I'm using the hell out of this word -- but it IS... TIMELESS!  This will be one that stays around for ever and ever and ever!


Prep & Landing - This is a new addition to our list but we enjoyed this movie so much when it initially aired, it was immediately purchased and added to the rotation. This is the story of Wayne, a Christmas elf, who has the job to prep millions of homes around the world for Santa's visit.  Wayne wants a promotion.  His trainee got it.  He is bummed.  He is given an new trainee but since he is still really butt-hurt about getting passed over (again) for the promotion, doesn't take his job seriously, lets his trainee take the lead which ultimately gets them both BUSTED by a kid!  Couple this with a snowstorm and Santa is about to cancel delivery at this house.  Wayne has to fix everything and save the day.  


The Muppet's Christmas Carol - What's not to love about Kermit playing Bob Cratchit?  Charles Dickens holiday classic tale as it's never been told before.  I mean, Miss Piggy???  Gonzo?  Fozzie Bear!  Come on!  It's THE MUPPETS!  If you don't know the Charles Dickens tale, it's a must read.  Go buy it now.  The ghosts of Christmas past, present and future help Ebenezer Scrooge see the errors of his ways in true Muppet fashion.  


These are the favorites on MY list.  There are ALWAYS others you may want to add to yours.... such as...

Jack Frost.  I don't watch it because it's about the boy's dad being dead and that isn't happy.  Fred Claus... because it just wasn't happy enough to make my cut.  Jim Carrey in A Christmas Carol because frankly, there were some rather "dark" times and it kind of creeped my kids out when they were younger.  Since my boys' ages vary, I'm not adding it to the cut because I want to keep it kind of light.  And, Santa Paws.  I haven't ever seen it but... it looks like it would be cute.
  





Honorary mentions





White Christmas - This one isn't on the list of my advent, but it's a favorite of mine that I watch alone.  I am the only one in my home that is a sucker for the old classic movies (The Bishop's Wife, Holiday Inn, etc.)  The movie itself is from 1954 and takes place in a lodge in Vermont where it is almost always a white Christmas.  I luff it.  It's awesome. End of story!

The Nightmare Before Christmas - Personally, we watch this one all year round because it's just AWESOME!  All the songs get stuck in my head.  "What's this? What's this? There's color everywhere!  What's this?  What's this?  There's white things in the air"

NEW THIS YEAR

Arthur Christmas - I actually just learned about this movie yesterday so this is going to be my new one to watch this year!  Synopsis is that it reveals the incredible, never-before seen answer to every child's question: 'So how does Santa deliver all those presents in one night?' The answer: Santa's exhilarating, ultra-high-tech operation hidden beneath the North Pole. But at the heart of the film is a story with the ingredients of a Christmas classic - a family in a state of comic dysfunction and an unlikely hero, Arthur, with an urgent mission that must be completed before Christmas morning dawns.




NEVER... IN ANY YEAR

Bad Santa - I'm just not a fan.  Sorry.  It's not for kids... bleh.  No thanks.


So, your job is to now go through and get your movies on your calendar!  Some are great for 30 minutes of dinner prep, others are great for family viewing.  Pick and choose what you want to watch when and get it on the calendar!  If you don't own them, find out when they're airing on the networks, schedule your DVR or find out if they have live streaming from Netflix or Amazon Prime!  Do it now!  

(Oh, and don't forget the popcorn!)

Getting in the spirit!  Yes, I am!