thankful jar

i have seen several ideas floating around this year. it seems the theme of thanksgiving has been permeating the thoughts and souls of many, many people. i, too, have decided to cultivate a thankful heart, both in myself and in my family. we have added our own thanksgiving jar to our family traditions we plan to keep from year to year. there are many versions of this. some people have started a thanksgiving journal. others are incorporating writing spaces in their homes where they can post their daily declarations of thankfulness. i loved this idea. as my family finds something they are thankful for, they write it on a slip of paper and put it in the jar. at the end of 2014, we'll take the papers out and look back on all the things we've been thankful for over the last year. the art of finding things to be thankful for even on the worst days is revolutionizing our minds and hearts as we approach this new year. if a jar doesn't sound appealing to you, find another way to chronicle the things you are thankful for. i guarantee, it will make your life better.

i started with an extra large bell jar. i purchased some chalk stickers and some ribbon and decorated the jar in a way that would make me happy as it stares at me for the next year (and maybe the years after as well).

i know myself (and my family members). if the task of writing becomes too difficult, the moments of thankfulness will never make it onto a piece of paper. so, i prepared a second jar. this jar is full of pre-cut papers and a couple of little sharpie markers (my personal favorite). i left the lid off of the jar for easy access. now any of my family members can find a moment of thankfulness and easily write it down to put in our jar.

what about you? do you have ways to cultivate a thankful heart in your families and in yourself? what an amazing transformation happens when we first strive, even on the toughest days, to be thankful. 

filling the advent calendar

i love the idea of advent calendars. i love the anticipate they build and the chance we have to celebrate each and every day leading up to christmas. i do struggle, however, with the thought of giving little gifts on each day of the month. i feel like kids get enough gifts during december. even if the calendars are only filled with little pieces of chocolate, i still feel like it can be too much. that combined with the fact that i have five children (and no little box or space for any day of the month is going to fit five pieces of anything) left me wanting to try something new this year.

i tried to think about what we love most about christmas. i thought about our family traditions and how we try to give back during the holiday season. after spending quite a bit of time brainstorming, i was able to come up with 24 activities to do or special moments to share with our kids during advent.

i spent time writing each item down on a calendar and then i typed out each day's event with a number at the top. here are some of the advent days i used...

after printing out the days on christmas scrapbooking paper, i cut out each day's activity, folded it up and sealed it with a sticker. each activity fit (with some convincing) in our little advent snowman.

now we have a month of doing things together, giving back as a family, and remembering what christmas is all about.

if you haven't started an advent calendar tradition, it's not too late! how can your advent calendar compliment your holiday season?

easter traditions

we lived in south america for five years. our latin american friends know how to do easter right. with their catholic roots, they have an entire week to celebrate "semana santa" or "holy week" and we very easily fell into their traditions. here are some things that we still try to do to make easter last a little longer and to share the meaning of easter with our children.

thursday: this day is called maundy thursday. it is celebrated as the day of the last supper. if you want to learn more about the day, you can read up on it here. we have the tradition of making bread together as a family. we then will take some time during the day to explain the last supper to our kids and eat the bread together.

friday: this day is good friday. we typically will do a craft that has a cross in it. there are tons of great ones on oriental trading that are very cheap. you could also easily make some crafts of your own. my kids are pretty young to grasp all that good friday means but we can share some of the story while they are busy making their crafts.

saturday: this day doesn't have the significance in holy week that the other days do. we use this day to embrace some of the traditions from the u.s. we dye easter eggs and get the easter baskets ready for sunday morning. i also have the kids help to decorate our table for the easter meal. they can decorate easter placemats and put out all of the easter decorations for sunday afternoon. not only will this give them something special to do in preparation for easter but it will also give you one less thing to do if you head off to church on easter morning. if you make a special breakfast for easter morning, it is also great to have some recipes you can make the day before and this can be a great activity to let the kids help to prepare.

sunday: we head to church for easter sunday morning. after our lunch and the quests for easter eggs, we pull our our set of "resurrection eggs" to share the easter story with the kids. these eggs are one of our kids' favorite things to do on easter sunday. check back tomorrow for an easy "how to" to make some of your own.

we hope you have a fantastic easter any way you choose to celebrate it.

Christmas traditions continued...

last week we posted some of our favorite Christmas traditions. this truly is our favorite time of the year and we are thrilled to share a few more activities that get us into the holiday spirit. if you have any other amazing ideas, please share them with us. we'd love to spread great ideas on with others. here are a few more of our favorites.

advent calendars - there are so many cute advent calendars out there. i love the ones you can fill with your own special treats each year. i love the idea of not just filling the little boxes up with candy but also adding personal and meaningful touches for each day. one friend of mine shared the idea of putting little coupons in some of the days. she does a coupon for a hot chocolate night, a Christmas movie night, a cookie baking day and other fun activities for your children to enjoy. as you are doing these in advance, you could also include fun day or night trips that you typically do at Christmas time to coincide with the perfect day for the planned activity. another friend put little nativity ornaments in certain days with the baby Jesus arriving on Christmas eve. as the ornaments are pulled from the calendar, they can be placed on the Christmas tree and then reused the following year. regardless of what you put in the calendar, this activity can build excitement for the holiday the whole month through.

advent calendars

Christmas train - wherever you live, chances are that somewhere, somewhat nearby there is a santa train. for our family, this has been a great opportunity to spend some time together as a family and enjoy a moment with santa as well. we are big "polar express" fans so this brings out the excitement in the youngest and oldest kids alike. search for a santa train in your area and made a new tradition out of it. most tickets can be purchased in advance and you'll love adding another magical outing with your kids at Christmastime.

Christmas cards - this is one activity that i alone take part in but where we all reap the benefits of. taking pictures for a family Christmas card can be exhausting and enough to pull anyone out of the Christmas spirit. still, every year we force ourselves to get some pictures together and make a card. the printing of the cards can be an added Christmas expense and the stamps can about push you over the edge but we have made giving Christmas cards a priority and we haven't been sorry. having lived in many different locations since we've been married, we have friends literally sprinkled across the globe. this is our one chance each year to let all of our friends know that, regardless of where they might be, they are not forgotten. that is worth every penny. when we receive cards in return, the kids love to see all the faces of people they once knew and to hear the stories about how we know our friends, near and far. it's a way to bring everyone a little bit closer during the holiday season and we will forever be thankful for that.

Christmas cards

Christmas movies - i grew up watching Christmas movies from november on. i love to sit and watch them still and some of the classics are my all time favorites. my all time favorite movie that tells the Biblical Christmas story is "the very first noel." this sweet little movie with the entire nativity story set to rhyme is perfect for kids from toddlers on. it never ceases to make me tear up. there are so many other great holiday films from "elf" to "miracle on 34th street" that you can literally watch an new movie every night and not run out of options. make december a month of family movie nights and let the festivities begin!

the very first noel

Christmas lights - we are fortunate to live in an area where there is a small (and i do mean very tiny) town nearby that is completely dedicated to decorating with Christmas lights. this place is magical and is definitely worth sitting in traffic for a half of an hour or more to get through. if you have any place nearby that goes "all out" with the Christmas lights, make the trip. there is nothing like seeing the wonder in the eyes of kids as they are exposed to the sparkle of millions of little lights. you can't help but get wrapped up in the beauty of it all.

Christmas lights/Christmas tree lanes

now it's your turn to share. what do you do to celebrate with your family during this festive time of year?

christmas traditions

december first is tomorrow and already we've started moving into the holiday season. i don't know about you, but i grew up in a house where each holiday was celebrated with gusto. we had green cookies for st. patrick's day, made ridiculous amounts of valentines for valentine's day and christmas, well, there was no comparison.

having kids of my own, i wanted to start some traditions that would become a part of their christmas celebrations. here are five we've adopted over the years. we'll continue sharing our ideas (and some we've borrowed from friends of ours) over then next couple of weeks. if you have amazing christmas traditions you would love to share, let us know. we'd love to do another post featuring your best ideas.

the elf on the shelf: this little wonder is pure genius. he "hides" all over the house and watches little boys and girls to report back to santa. i only wish he could stick around all year long!

the elf on the shelf

christmas cookies: my kids and i make a ton of christmas treats and cookies over a weekend in december and then deliver them to friends and neighbors nearby. my kids love to be a part of this process and it teaches them a bit about giving during this holiday season. check out our mmmmm, mondays this month for some great christmas treats.

sibling gift giving: along the same lines as the christmas cookies, my kids are a part of shopping for christmas. i didn't like how christmas had become a day all about "i want" lists. so, they are now fully a part of the shopping process. each of the kids gets one special present from their siblings. the kids have to help pick out the present, help wrap it and usually work on a card for their sibling. surprisingly, the kids are usually more excited about seeing their brother or sister open their gift to them than they are about opening some of the presents of their own.

gifts for parents: this same principle continues as they shop for their parents. each child gets a $10.00 budget to buy something for their each of their parents. the hope is that at some point, they will use their own money to purchase these gifts. mind you, these gifts may be pretty random and you'll have to put on your best academy award winning performances come christmas morning but the kids love to be a part of the shopping for christmas gifts for their mom and dad. it's also pretty amazing to see them get excited about something besides receiving.

operation christmas child/angel trees/other charity: we as a family do something for those less fortunate each christmas. we love operation christmas child and the kids are always a part of putting together the shoe boxes to send to needy kids in foreign countries. operation christmas child has online shipping payments as well where you can register your christmas box and then follow it on it's journey to another country. this is an amazing opportunity to show your children how fortunate they are and to put things in perspective. there's nothing like packing up a bar of soap and a toothbrush to give your children some perspective. angel trees can be found in various locations and you can adopt a family member or just purchase a gift for someone in your own community who has some extra needs this holiday season. regardless, check these charities out.

operation christmas child

angel tree

happy christmas preparations. we know this time of the year can be crazy and full of activity. we hope this gives you some ideas for making the season memorable for you and your family.

friday fun finds: advent/countdown calendars

can you believe that it is already almost december? one of my favorite traditions growing up was the advent calendar---there is something magical about counting down to christmas day. here are some of my favorite advent calendars of the season. if you don't already have one, get one before the 1st so you don't miss a day. enjoy!

snowman advent calendar

handmade felt advent calendar

santa advent calendar

christmas countdown calendar

crafty countdown calendar

all shapes and sizes countdown calendar

lego "star wars" 2011 advent calendar

stocking advent calendar

"christmas post office" advent calendar by playmobil

printable advent calendar mittens

first day of school traditions

today is the first day of school here in my little southern town. moms everywhere are filled with a mix of sadness and elation. we're not sure whether to cry because they are growing up so fast or throw a party because we actually survived the summer and will at some point possibly have five minutes to ourselves. first days are a huge deal no matter the grade level your children are entering. here are some ideas from mommy friends of mine as well as some i've used for my own kids. with my second starting kindergarten today, i'm pulling out all the stops.

• make their lunch something special. use cookie cutters to cut their sandwich into a special shape. put in a special 1st day dessert treat. most importantly, write something special on their napkin. a little note from mommy or daddy will mean the world to your child when they are away at school all day.
• if you have a kindergartener or a child with a bit of anxiety when leaving for the first day, cut out some paper hearts and put them into a secret pocket of their backpack. my daughter knows that if she needs an extra hug or a kiss during the day, her backpack holds several of each for her any time she needs them.
• try taking a dry run of the getting ready and going to school process the day before school starts. get the kids up early, get them dressed an out the door, even make the trip to the school car line. this will give your kids a little extra confidence on the first day. after the dry run, go out to a fun "last day of summer" family breakfast.
• get up with your kids and have breakfast together before they head out the door. remind them of who they are and how much you love them. we pray with out kids before they head out to school. investing a little bit into their self-esteem and into them as people can only help them as they have to spend a day with their peers.
• if it's possible, take them to school that first day. they may be fourth graders but they are still little. moms and dads are still important and taking the time to get them to school safely that first day translates into an extra bit of love...even for a 9 year old boy.
• stick an extra little something in their backpack for the first day. this could be as simple as a cute pencil for your little girl or boy or a new book for reading time. something small lets them know you are thinking of them, even in the middle of a crazy first day.
• let your kids pick out a special dinner for the night of their first day. a special dinner will let them continue the momentum of the day and it will also give the family a chance to hear all about how much fun the kids had at school.
• most of all, take lots of pictures. pose with your children before they leave for school. take pictures of them in their classroom, them with their backpacks, them with their friends. they may look at you like you are the most embarrassing person on the planet but you'll be glad you have them. whether they admit it or not, your kids will feel special as you commemorate each passing year in this way.

i'm sure there are some amazing, creative people out there with even more outstanding ideas to share. please, let us know what has worked for you. we're all in this together...and first days can't be avoided, no matter how much we'd love to keep our babies small.

pancake saturday

tomorrow is "pancake saturday" in our home.

mr. a wakes up early and makes pancakes for breakfast with the kiddos....and mommy gets to wake up when they are ready (ah, to sleep until 7am....it's the little things, really).

what are your family traditions? do you have a weekly "event" in your home?