Tuesday, December 14, 2010

25 Days Christmas Countdown (15th - 21st December)

15th December - Make paperchains!

16th December - Make a handprint wreath!

17th December - Movie night with dad (Polar Express!) with snacks and hot chocolate with marshmallows.

18th December - Cut out the shapes that make up both a snowman and a Christmas tree and put them together as if they were a jigsaw, talking about each shape as you go.

19th December - Make cinnamon scented playdoh!

20th December - Bake Christmas Cookies!


21st December - Make thank you cards in advance, to give out after Christmas.

25 Days Christmas Countdown Update (8th - 14th December)

Our second week of Christmas activities went really well.  We had a bunch of Christmassy fun!


8th December - Start special bedtime tradition of reading only Christmas stories from this date! (we have a Christmas treasury, Santa's Letters and The Polar Express book!


We have been reading Letters to Santa (not pictured), The Polar Express and everything in The Christmas Treasury (The Nutcracker, A Christmas Carol etc).  It's lovely.  It's getting us totally in the mood for Christmas.

9th December - We are going to get the Christmas Express and go and see Santa!  So excited about this because this year Ollie really knows who Santa is and he ADORES trains.  It is taking place in W5 which is a science museum and they have a whole exhibition area set up as a winter wonderland which you go through by miniature train to get to Santa's Grotto!

Aaaagh amazing! This was so cool and the fact we got to go for free (because we have a season pass).... it was just fabulous.


Ollie and his friend Ivy, waiting in the waiting room!  A station master was beside us and warned the 4 of us to stand back as the train was approaching!


There was real fake snow (fake snow but it was icy cold!) falling and we passed a wonderland full of trees and then entered into a snowy icy cave complete with a penguin and a polar bear!



Around Santa's village.... Santa was waiting for us beside his grotto.  He was waving at us when we got round the corner.  Ollie screamed "Saaantaaaaaa" as soon as he saw him.


How good is the Santa here?  He was soooooo lovely and Ollie was super happy to sit on his knee.  The only downside of our visit was that the train ride was too short and Ollie got upset he couldn't get back on the train for another go.... there were other people waiting for a ride hehe!

10th December - Christmas Party at baby group!


Now quite as good a Santa as the previous one, but Ollie couldn't tell the difference and seemed to like this one a little bit more.  They gave him a great gift at baby group.... he got a little penguim soft toy, but he has a wheaty bag (and lavendar too) that you remove and pop in the microwave for a minute before putting it back inside the toy!  A warm penguin.  He loves it.

11th December - We need to make some more Rudolph cards as we only have 5 so far.... we need to make about 20!

We succeeded in making nearly 20!  

12th December -  Use cookie cutters and paint (stickers) and glitter to make a Christmas picture.



13th December -  Make snowflakes out of paper and glitter.  Hang them all up when they are dry!

I cut the snowflakes and Ollie gittered the cd that is behind them.  They really do look soooooo much better in real life!!  Ollie was impressed when I hang them up.  He kept talking about them sparkling!



14th December - Make a big snowman picture with cotton wool balls and black paint, buttons and anything else we might have.

Unfortunately we do not have buttons (they are in our house in Dublin... Ollie and I are currently in Belfast)... but we had a lovely time sticking the cotton wool balls to the snowman's body.... and Ollie saying "pat pat pat" to stick them down.  We also talked about all of the shapes used to make the snowman.


Saturday, December 11, 2010

25 Days Christmas Countdown (8th December - 14th December)

I am carrying over a few things from last week that we didn't get to do!


Week 2

8th December - Start special bedtime tradition of reading only Christmas stories from this date! (we have a Christmas treasury, Santa's Letters and The Polar Express book!

9th December - We are going to get the Christmas Express and go and see Santa!  So excited about this because this year Ollie really knows who Santa is and he ADORES trains.  It is taking place in W5 which is a science museum and they have a whole exhibition area set up as a winter wonderland which you go through by miniature train to get to Santa's Grotto!

10th December - Christmas Party at baby group!

11th December - We need to make some more Rudolph cards as we only have 5 so far.... we need to make about 20!

12th December -  Use cookie cutters and paint and glitter to make Christmas pictures

13th December -  Make snowflakes out of paper and glitter.  Hang them all up when they are dry!

14th December - Make a big snowman picture with cotton wool balls and black paint, buttons and anything else we might have.


25 Days Christmas Countdown Update (1st December - 7th December)

Our first week of Christmas activities went well! Although we didn't stick to the plan entirely! We have some things we will be carrying over to next week.

This is how our week went:

1st December - Start the advent calendar (we have a chocolate Thomas one this year!) and listen to Christmas music all morning!



He loved getting to open a door on the Thomas calendar and eat a chocolate sneakily before breakfast, but didn't quite understand why he was only allowed one!  He kind of gets it now though!

2nd December - Write a letter to Santa and decorate with Christmas stickers. Put the letter under the sofa and wait for it to be collected! (This is hubbys tradition. He said he and his sisters always used to keep checking until it was gone!)


Ollie and I wrote a letter to Santa together and told Santa what Ollie was doing to be a good boy and what presents he would like this year.  We also told Santa what refreshments we would be leaving out for him on Christmas Eve!  We put it under the sofa and when Ollie went to check in the morning it was gone!

3rd December - Make a big snowman picture with cotton wool balls and black paint, buttons and anything else we might have.





We made these tree decorations instead of making the snowman picture as we were out of cotton wool balls.  We will do the snowman picture next week instead!  I love how these turned out and Ollie was so proud of himself to see them on the tree!


4th December - Christmas movie night (with snacks!).


He loved this activity.  It was the fact that we weren't just watching a movie, but we were in our pyjamas with a cosy blanket, with snacks and hot chocolate and the movies we watched were Christmas ones!  We watched The Snowman and then Father Christmas.

5th December - Make snowflakes out of paper and glitter. Hang them all up when they are dry!

Instead of starting snowflakes, we made our salt dough decorations early!  I knew it would take a couple of days to get them dried and painted etc. We made them with our friends Bex and Ivy!




See how some of the little tiny stars have fingerprints on?  Were going to give one to all the grandparents :)


6th December - Make salt dough decorations, paint and decorate.

We actually painted them on the second day!



7th December - Use cookie cutters and paint and glitter to make Christmas pictures.

Instead of the above task, we made our Christmas cards today because we really need to get them sent out soon!  We are handmaking most of our cards this year.... or just as many as Ollie is happy to keep doing!  We used his handprint and then his thumbprint to make Rudolph cards!



How CUUUUTE is that?