Usually by this time they're all done and the overseas ones are posted off.
HAHAHAHA - at this rate they'll be Christmas-Valentines.
I also don't have a list of gifts.
Although in procrastinating the filing on Saturday night, I started the two teachers' gifts and I've just had an idea for the teachers' assistants ones - should be able to do those 4 this week.
With the switch to feedly when my beloved Google Reader was no more, I took the opportunity to unsubscribe from most of the crafty blogs.
The truth is, I really only like making things with paper and washi tape!
Maybe that's the reason I haven't seen too much this year of advent calendars? Or are people also too busy?
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| photo taken on 12 Jan this year, while on a photowalk in the CBD with Louisa and Jeanette. I just love the randomness of this little decoration in the middle of nowhere (literally) |
I decided tonight, at about 8:15 that maybe I'll just do a scaled-down version of the calendar. Same as last year but even lazier :) I made a list of all the things we need to do anyway - all the socials, buy gifts for each other, wrap those gifts, movies and popcorn, etc. Easy-easy. For the weekly ones, I made a list of things they normally do - colour in, glue, stickers, and it will all get done but with a Christmas theme. I still had a few sets of colouring in pages from last year, so bonus!
There's a cute idea going around the internets of having 25 books individually wrapped for Christmas.
Maybe I'm being Scroogey but there are a few things I don't get:
- do people really
wasteuse wrapping paper for 25 individual books? - people do this? buy 25 books for Christmas?
- do people's kids comply with those books? (mine will tell us, "no thanks, I don't want to read that tonight - I want ______ (whatever the current favourite is)" :)
Do you do the 25 books?
PS D said "what happened to the cheap box of advent chocolates?" and I said "Pinterest!"
We do the advent calendars! This year we are doing a 50/50 - lazy/creative - D's mom bought the cheapy ones for us until we go to CT and then we will use the big one my mom made - small stuff goes in but the actual calendar is beautiful!
ReplyDeleteI like the book idea - do the kids have to read them that day? I would wrap everything if I could - this year though our budget is almost non-existant so I am using brown paper and washi tape :))
I like the book idea a lot, but honestly I do not have the money for 25 books and honestly not the energy too. Am doing our usual "Big Jim box" advent calender.
ReplyDeleteI do it the lazy way :) I buy the cheap ones with chocolates in them
ReplyDeleteI used to do it the lazy way, then i found the MOST DIVINE advent calendar wooden house (see a pic on my FB page), a couple of years ago. So now we use that. I just buy a bag of quality street, plus some other goodies, and pop two in a day for my two. they love it. And I love it too because I get to buy an additional bag of quality street just for me & Dean :)
ReplyDeleteI did one, but it was pretty simple. Paper bags, washi tape, a stamp and a pen..... And a trip to the Crazy store.
ReplyDeleteI did a combo of stuff. Bubbles in 2 of the bags, photocopied colouring in pages in some of the others. Chocolate Father Christmas in 5 of them and small puzzles in the others. At the Crazy store you get 4 puzzles in one box that you need to colour in. I seperated everything out and put one in each bag. Very easy and quite cheap - and LIttle OL is only 3 so a picture of a Fairy to colour in causes some excitement....
I just posted a Christmas update. No advent calendars here – It’s been a busy, BUSY couple of weeks and I’m really trying my best to get through it one day at a time. I simply don’t have the time or energy for it. Kids don’t even care! They’ll survive it. I suppose I could still do an advent wreath? Yes. I have a wreath and I have candles.
ReplyDeleteAlso. I realised yesterday (it came to me when we were chatting about the phone covers) that I actually hate excess – I’m busy writing up a post about it and the overwhelm and anxiety and clutter that it creates for me. Our living space is already cramped and more often than not, less is more. Therefore there is simply NO WAY that I would buy 25 books for ANY kid – advent or not! I suppose it’s a nice idea if you’ve decluttered your bookshelf and now have space for more books?
On December 2 I realized we were already behind and decided not to bother. So far no one has noticed. This December will be busy enough.
ReplyDeleteThis year I have literally had ZERO time to even think about it. My tree isn't even up yet. Must pull finger out bum and sort myself out!!
ReplyDeletexxx
We don't do an advent calendar. We tried a cheap chocolate one last year but half the time we forgot to.open them.and had to catch up again a few days later. *shrug* It's just not our thing I guess? ;-)
ReplyDeleteOh Heavens, I forgot about the advent calendars altogether this year! And actually, I just buy the Woolies chocolate one!! Our Christmas cards are at least posted. But we only did 6 this year. Grandparents and special aunties and uncles. It was such a mission.. you know I am not artsy craftsy and making these with the kids was exhausting. Liam's new found passion for actually being able to write means it takes like half an hour to write a few words. TIRING!!!! So I stopped that craft SHORT! shame!!
ReplyDeleteNope, no advent calendar here either.
ReplyDeletewe do an advent, but i'm a little non-traditional about it all. yesterday's door was opened to reveal two small chocolates and a note to go through our winter coats and select ones to donate. today's was "watch a movie" so we went to the library and checked out the muppets. we have things like: drink hot chocolate, donate toys, draw pictures for the grandparents, blow bubbles, visit friends, drive around and look at christmas lights, take a snowy walk through the neighborhood....you get the idea. they may or may not get a "gift". this year i went to our dollar store and got some festive socks for the day that we will walk through the neighborhood. i also got toothbrushes to give them along with some chocolate. most of the days there is nothing but a note. the kids love going to our real calendar and seeing what the day is (today is the mitten tree day) and then going to the advent calendar to find the corresponding number. i think that is most of the fun for them. :)
ReplyDeletewe only purchase two books for the kids each year now (the whole "something they want, something they need, something to wear, something to read" thing). otherwise, we take a weekly trip to the library and check out books. i find that it is helpful for all of us to have variety and we love going to the library. to purchase 25 books each year seems a little excessive to me...but i'm pretty frugal. :)
i've missed checking in with your blog!! hoping that this weekend i might get a little more time! :)