First some backstory for anyone that may be new to our little blog. For 4 years running now we have spent December doing what we refer to as "Christmas Advent Activities." These are basically just an activity a day related to the Christmas season that we do as a sort of countdown to the big day. We love traditions in this family and this is just one more that we have started up with our little family unit over the years. The activities are mostly the same year after year just rearranged to fit into our busy schedule. Every year we seem to add a new thing or two, but mostly we keep to a specific list as there are certain things we like to get done.
Then, for the last two years, we have had a helper. Kenny, our elf, was adopted two (or was it three?) years ago and the kids think he is hilarious. For the last couple of years, he brought the activities and "told" us what to do each day but we let the kids know that he passed the baton to us at the end of last season as it was just too much for him to worry about telling us what activity to do in addition to watching the kids all month. Additionally, it didn't allow us a lot of wiggle room as sometimes he would give us an activity and half way through the day, we might start to resent that particular choice on that day. Our new set up allows us to make changes (which we have already done just a few days in).
Our first day of our advent activities this year actually started on November 30 instead of December 1 but that was mainly just due to time constraints later in the month. It also meant that Kenny came one day early. It took the kids for-ev-er to find him that morning. They walked right passed him on the bar numerous times before I finally asked Kenzie to put something in her backpack which was right in front of him. She yelled, "The elf is back!!" when she saw him. I would say that he is a hit in this house, for sure. He showed up with a present or two for the kids. He brought them their annual Christmas shirts. These are the shirts they will wear throughout the month as we do fun Christmassy things. They both loved his choices. Kenzie was super excited about hers. Will loved that his had Santa on it. He also tried to bring the kids a snowman... but apparently Florida is too hot for a snowman. The kids thought this was hilarious. Kenzie understood it immediately. Will had to have an explanation, but they both thought it was funny. During the afternoon, Will made a grave mistake. He touched Kenny. Kenzie lost it. We quickly picked him up with tongs and put him in the fridge as I was told that this is how he regains his magic. We talked to Will about it. He knows he is not supposed to touch him but apparently he purposely touched him so that Kenny wouldn't leave us at night and could live in our house forever. Will wanted Kenny to sleep in his bed with him. My heart sort of broke for the little guy. He just wants that crazy elf to be with him because he "loves him so much." I told the kids we would leave him there and if he got his magic back, we would see him somewhere else in the morning. Not even 24 hours in the house and the elf gets touched.
Our activity for the day was to go pick out our annual Christmas ornaments. We were able to meet Daddy at the store to pick them out. The kids have been eyeing the displays of them in Hobby Lobby anytime we are in the store for months now, it seems so they were really excited to finally get to choose one. We immediately realized how much Kenzie has grown up in the last year. Will acted like she did last year. He touched them all, changed his mind numerous times, asked for more than one, couldn't make any decisions, etc. The normal preschooler aged things. Finally (after some coaxing) he settled on a robot. It was actually the first one he picked up and he kept coming back to it, so we encouraged him to choose it. Kenzie acted like a little adult. She took her time. She walked back and forth slowly checking them all out. Finally, she chose a gold angel that she said was "beautiful". Then, just to be sure it was what she wanted, she did one more pass and declared that she wanted the angel. It was so sweet to watch. She was very serious about the entire thing. Steven and I chose a simple ornament with a verse on it. Okay, I chose it... but Steven liked it too.
On Day 2, Kenny ended up getting his magic back and when he returned, he made stilts out of some wrapping paper and Daddy's boots. This was a huge hit with the kids too. Steven was trying to leave for work and they made him come back into the living room to see Kenny in his shoes. Thankfully, no one touched him on this particular day. I think Will learned his lesson.
For our activity of the day, we had to make some changes. Initially we planned to check out Magic Kingdom so we could see Elsa and Anna light up the castle but we realized that it was a planned night for the Christmas party so the park closed to non-ticket holders (for the event) at 6. Well, that didn't work. So we quickly rearranged a few days and ended up with going out to get our Christmas book for the year. Steven was able to leave work a few hours early thanks to working more than his normal hours during the week so he went with us to pick up Kenzie and we went immediately to Target to get a book. The kids tried to buy every book they sell, I think. Including non-Christmas ones. We had almost settled on two books as each kid usually chooses one and we have a specific amount of money we are willing to spend as a whole when we convinced them to pool their allotted funds together and get one book that was more expensive to share. I'm so glad too because I tried to convince them to do this last year for this particular book and I lost that argument. They chose a book about Santa coming to Florida. It is super cute. Disney has some pictures in it and Orlando is mentioned. Even Longwood and Pembroke Pines get shout outs. It's actually a really cute book.
While I'm on the subject of books, I want to mention another new thing we added this year. I can't actually claim this idea as I have quite a few friends that do it. I realized a few days before we started our activities that we own A LOT of Christmas books already. So, I pulled them all out and wrapped each one individually. Then, on pre-selected days leading up to Christmas (I didn't have enough to do every day and some days our activities prevent us from making sure we have time to read books before bed), the kids will alternate choosing a book, opening it like a gift, and reading it all together. They are loving this. It's like a present a day almost. Although they own all the books and have ready almost all of them before (there are 3 new ones we just ordered from Scholastic that came a couple days ago and the new one they chose), they think opening the books and reading them like this is amazing. It's like when you go to someone else's house and their toys are so much cooler even though they are the same ones you already own. Similar concept. It's just helping to get them more excited for Christmas though. Love it.
On Day 3, Kenny had all his magic intact thanks to not being touched so he must have made the easy trip to and from the North Pole then had time to set up a screening party with one of his lady friends. They did make a mess with the popcorn but he usually cleans up after himself. Also, Jack actually ate all the popcorn off the table while we weren't home.
Our activity for the day was Magic Kingdom after we had to make the switch. First though, we had a fun morning as Kenzie's Girl Scouts troop marched with the other GS in our area in the Mt. Dora Christmas Parade. She was so excited to do this. It was a lot of fun. But tiring. Thankfully we have super awesome parents and some of them walked with us so we were able to keep all 12 of our kindergarten and first graders in line. Others were along the parade route and were able to take great pictures. We have a great troop with super involved girls and parents which is amazing and we had 100% participation for the parade. Love it. The route was only about half a mile long but first we had to walk at least that far to get to the starting point and then had to walk back to meet Steven, Will, and Nana (along with our neighbors) to watch the rest of the parade. Then we had to walk all the way back to the car and we decided to then walk to lunch too. All in all, I had over 9,000 steps by noon. Kenzie did awesome though. Because she had even more than me more than likely. We had a great lunch with Nana at a pizza place in Mt. Dora that we have eaten at once before. Then Nana headed on her way and we went home to watch UCF play in the AAC championship game. We ended up leaving in the fourth quarter though to head down to Disney. We listened to the game in the car and it was intense. UCF pulled out a win and are now 12-0. Awesome! We heard they won right as we were getting on the tram at Magic Kingdom. Can I quickly mention how many new worlds are opened up when you don't use a stroller anymore? So. Much. Easier. However, sometimes we miss the stroller as Will complains about walking. Although I will say, the benefits seem to be outweighing the downfalls right now for us. We missed our first fast passes as we had remained at the house too long watching the UCF game. We made it inside right as they were starting the Move It, Shake It Dance Party. We danced for a while. Or rather, Will and I did. Kenzie was being a poor sport for some reason. I'm sure she was actually exhausted. We then headed over to make our FP for the speedway. Both kids wanted to ride with Daddy but I convinced Will to go with me. We tried to go over to the carousel after but the line was pretty long and we wanted to try to get a nice spot for the Frozen Wish show. We ended up finding a spot in front of the castle and settling down for dinner. We brought our dinner, as usual so we had a castle picnic basically. Then it was time for the show. It was the same as last year and amazing. I wish my video was better, but I was trying to hold Kenzie so she could see and hold my phone. The kids both LOVED the show. Of course. Who wouldn't? We then walked over to use our FP for Pirates which is always a hit with the entire family. We ended up riding the train back around from Frontierland to Main Street so we didn't have to walk back to the exit. We got a few more pics and then headed back to the car. We made it home with one sleeping kid and one awake. Surprisingly, Kenzie was still going. After we got them in bed, we threw caution to the wind... and bought tickets to the bowl game. Even though UCF didn't have a formal invite yet. We figured we could resell the tickets if something weird happened. And if they were chosen for the game, we would get a fun weekend in Atlanta with Julie, Eric, and Evie. It was a big day.
On Day 4, Kenny phoned it in a little. I guess he was as tired as we were because he set up a sleep over with some of the other guys that live in our house. The kids found it immediately and although it was one of the easiest to date, it might have been the biggest hit so far. It's all about the little things.
Our activity of the day was to go pick out Christmas outfits. We started by meeting Grandma at Steak n Shake after church. Steven was set to go shopping with her after lunch and since we had to go out for outfits anyway, we all met her for lunch. Then the kids and I headed over to Burlington. In the past, we have had great luck there. We found Kenzie's dress right away although she tried on a few. We looked and looked for Will though to no avail. Then we hit up a few other stores in the mall and finally Target. Still nothing. I was tired though and didn't want to shop anymore so I decided we would head home and Will and I would go out the next day to find something for him. We just need it by next week because we have plans to see Santa then. So, we have a bit of time. We'll make it work.
We have more fun things coming up this week. We love the Christmas season!
Then, for the last two years, we have had a helper. Kenny, our elf, was adopted two (or was it three?) years ago and the kids think he is hilarious. For the last couple of years, he brought the activities and "told" us what to do each day but we let the kids know that he passed the baton to us at the end of last season as it was just too much for him to worry about telling us what activity to do in addition to watching the kids all month. Additionally, it didn't allow us a lot of wiggle room as sometimes he would give us an activity and half way through the day, we might start to resent that particular choice on that day. Our new set up allows us to make changes (which we have already done just a few days in).
Our first day of our advent activities this year actually started on November 30 instead of December 1 but that was mainly just due to time constraints later in the month. It also meant that Kenny came one day early. It took the kids for-ev-er to find him that morning. They walked right passed him on the bar numerous times before I finally asked Kenzie to put something in her backpack which was right in front of him. She yelled, "The elf is back!!" when she saw him. I would say that he is a hit in this house, for sure. He showed up with a present or two for the kids. He brought them their annual Christmas shirts. These are the shirts they will wear throughout the month as we do fun Christmassy things. They both loved his choices. Kenzie was super excited about hers. Will loved that his had Santa on it. He also tried to bring the kids a snowman... but apparently Florida is too hot for a snowman. The kids thought this was hilarious. Kenzie understood it immediately. Will had to have an explanation, but they both thought it was funny. During the afternoon, Will made a grave mistake. He touched Kenny. Kenzie lost it. We quickly picked him up with tongs and put him in the fridge as I was told that this is how he regains his magic. We talked to Will about it. He knows he is not supposed to touch him but apparently he purposely touched him so that Kenny wouldn't leave us at night and could live in our house forever. Will wanted Kenny to sleep in his bed with him. My heart sort of broke for the little guy. He just wants that crazy elf to be with him because he "loves him so much." I told the kids we would leave him there and if he got his magic back, we would see him somewhere else in the morning. Not even 24 hours in the house and the elf gets touched.
Our activity for the day was to go pick out our annual Christmas ornaments. We were able to meet Daddy at the store to pick them out. The kids have been eyeing the displays of them in Hobby Lobby anytime we are in the store for months now, it seems so they were really excited to finally get to choose one. We immediately realized how much Kenzie has grown up in the last year. Will acted like she did last year. He touched them all, changed his mind numerous times, asked for more than one, couldn't make any decisions, etc. The normal preschooler aged things. Finally (after some coaxing) he settled on a robot. It was actually the first one he picked up and he kept coming back to it, so we encouraged him to choose it. Kenzie acted like a little adult. She took her time. She walked back and forth slowly checking them all out. Finally, she chose a gold angel that she said was "beautiful". Then, just to be sure it was what she wanted, she did one more pass and declared that she wanted the angel. It was so sweet to watch. She was very serious about the entire thing. Steven and I chose a simple ornament with a verse on it. Okay, I chose it... but Steven liked it too.
On Day 2, Kenny ended up getting his magic back and when he returned, he made stilts out of some wrapping paper and Daddy's boots. This was a huge hit with the kids too. Steven was trying to leave for work and they made him come back into the living room to see Kenny in his shoes. Thankfully, no one touched him on this particular day. I think Will learned his lesson.
For our activity of the day, we had to make some changes. Initially we planned to check out Magic Kingdom so we could see Elsa and Anna light up the castle but we realized that it was a planned night for the Christmas party so the park closed to non-ticket holders (for the event) at 6. Well, that didn't work. So we quickly rearranged a few days and ended up with going out to get our Christmas book for the year. Steven was able to leave work a few hours early thanks to working more than his normal hours during the week so he went with us to pick up Kenzie and we went immediately to Target to get a book. The kids tried to buy every book they sell, I think. Including non-Christmas ones. We had almost settled on two books as each kid usually chooses one and we have a specific amount of money we are willing to spend as a whole when we convinced them to pool their allotted funds together and get one book that was more expensive to share. I'm so glad too because I tried to convince them to do this last year for this particular book and I lost that argument. They chose a book about Santa coming to Florida. It is super cute. Disney has some pictures in it and Orlando is mentioned. Even Longwood and Pembroke Pines get shout outs. It's actually a really cute book.
While I'm on the subject of books, I want to mention another new thing we added this year. I can't actually claim this idea as I have quite a few friends that do it. I realized a few days before we started our activities that we own A LOT of Christmas books already. So, I pulled them all out and wrapped each one individually. Then, on pre-selected days leading up to Christmas (I didn't have enough to do every day and some days our activities prevent us from making sure we have time to read books before bed), the kids will alternate choosing a book, opening it like a gift, and reading it all together. They are loving this. It's like a present a day almost. Although they own all the books and have ready almost all of them before (there are 3 new ones we just ordered from Scholastic that came a couple days ago and the new one they chose), they think opening the books and reading them like this is amazing. It's like when you go to someone else's house and their toys are so much cooler even though they are the same ones you already own. Similar concept. It's just helping to get them more excited for Christmas though. Love it.
On Day 3, Kenny had all his magic intact thanks to not being touched so he must have made the easy trip to and from the North Pole then had time to set up a screening party with one of his lady friends. They did make a mess with the popcorn but he usually cleans up after himself. Also, Jack actually ate all the popcorn off the table while we weren't home.
Our activity for the day was Magic Kingdom after we had to make the switch. First though, we had a fun morning as Kenzie's Girl Scouts troop marched with the other GS in our area in the Mt. Dora Christmas Parade. She was so excited to do this. It was a lot of fun. But tiring. Thankfully we have super awesome parents and some of them walked with us so we were able to keep all 12 of our kindergarten and first graders in line. Others were along the parade route and were able to take great pictures. We have a great troop with super involved girls and parents which is amazing and we had 100% participation for the parade. Love it. The route was only about half a mile long but first we had to walk at least that far to get to the starting point and then had to walk back to meet Steven, Will, and Nana (along with our neighbors) to watch the rest of the parade. Then we had to walk all the way back to the car and we decided to then walk to lunch too. All in all, I had over 9,000 steps by noon. Kenzie did awesome though. Because she had even more than me more than likely. We had a great lunch with Nana at a pizza place in Mt. Dora that we have eaten at once before. Then Nana headed on her way and we went home to watch UCF play in the AAC championship game. We ended up leaving in the fourth quarter though to head down to Disney. We listened to the game in the car and it was intense. UCF pulled out a win and are now 12-0. Awesome! We heard they won right as we were getting on the tram at Magic Kingdom. Can I quickly mention how many new worlds are opened up when you don't use a stroller anymore? So. Much. Easier. However, sometimes we miss the stroller as Will complains about walking. Although I will say, the benefits seem to be outweighing the downfalls right now for us. We missed our first fast passes as we had remained at the house too long watching the UCF game. We made it inside right as they were starting the Move It, Shake It Dance Party. We danced for a while. Or rather, Will and I did. Kenzie was being a poor sport for some reason. I'm sure she was actually exhausted. We then headed over to make our FP for the speedway. Both kids wanted to ride with Daddy but I convinced Will to go with me. We tried to go over to the carousel after but the line was pretty long and we wanted to try to get a nice spot for the Frozen Wish show. We ended up finding a spot in front of the castle and settling down for dinner. We brought our dinner, as usual so we had a castle picnic basically. Then it was time for the show. It was the same as last year and amazing. I wish my video was better, but I was trying to hold Kenzie so she could see and hold my phone. The kids both LOVED the show. Of course. Who wouldn't? We then walked over to use our FP for Pirates which is always a hit with the entire family. We ended up riding the train back around from Frontierland to Main Street so we didn't have to walk back to the exit. We got a few more pics and then headed back to the car. We made it home with one sleeping kid and one awake. Surprisingly, Kenzie was still going. After we got them in bed, we threw caution to the wind... and bought tickets to the bowl game. Even though UCF didn't have a formal invite yet. We figured we could resell the tickets if something weird happened. And if they were chosen for the game, we would get a fun weekend in Atlanta with Julie, Eric, and Evie. It was a big day.
On Day 4, Kenny phoned it in a little. I guess he was as tired as we were because he set up a sleep over with some of the other guys that live in our house. The kids found it immediately and although it was one of the easiest to date, it might have been the biggest hit so far. It's all about the little things.
Our activity of the day was to go pick out Christmas outfits. We started by meeting Grandma at Steak n Shake after church. Steven was set to go shopping with her after lunch and since we had to go out for outfits anyway, we all met her for lunch. Then the kids and I headed over to Burlington. In the past, we have had great luck there. We found Kenzie's dress right away although she tried on a few. We looked and looked for Will though to no avail. Then we hit up a few other stores in the mall and finally Target. Still nothing. I was tired though and didn't want to shop anymore so I decided we would head home and Will and I would go out the next day to find something for him. We just need it by next week because we have plans to see Santa then. So, we have a bit of time. We'll make it work.
We have more fun things coming up this week. We love the Christmas season!
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