Advent Calender 2015

 Merry Christmas everyone.  Now that the urchins are a getting older, the Advent Activities have changed.

 The urchins offered suggestions, and this is what we are doing for December 2015.

Clean Out your toy boxes and donate to Red Cross or Habitat for Humanity

Family Movie Night

Make home made caramel corn

Make Origami ornaments for the Christmas tree

Put up and decorate the Christmas tree

Make a wreath together

Go out for ice cream, and have “fancy dress” for dinner

Make Christmas food

Let everyone choose a country and then use the internet to see how they celebrate Christmas.

Only use Christmas mugs for all of your drinks for the entire day

Go to Carols by Candlelight and watch Oscar play the ukulele.

Put up the outside Christmas lights

Have a picnic at the  Tree Trust

Smile at every person you pass today.

Be nice to family members today.

Make biscuit dough and just eat it.

Make some Christmas food

After dark, spread out some blankets out the back, and do some star gazing.

Have breakfast for dinner.

Wear PJs all day.  Eat Junk Food all day.

Watch a movie at Midnight

Celebrate the Longest Day – Summer Solstice

Go for a moon walk in your PJs.

Have a fondue night with Summer Fruit and chocolate

Christmas food Part 2

Gina was here this weekend, so we made some more Hail bark, but with Peppermint Candycanes on the left, and Fruit Candycanes on the right.  Gina also swirled in some white chocolate to see what would happen.

 

Putting up the Christmas Trees

The Tree that Quinn Built

 How many Christmas trees should a home have?  1, 2,...5 or more.  Slowly Christmas trees have been emerging within the house.  Quinn has one in his bedroom, there is one in the Dining room. Tighe wants a larger one in his bedroom, the one in the Lounge has dragonflies on it, and Quinn built one today.  Anneke wants one in her bedroom, and Oscar hasn't said.

The Tree in the Lounge

Dining Room Tree

Join 6 coat hangers together, and attach some budlights to the skeleton frame.  Using 12 metres of tinsel, wrap the tree, being careful of the lights.  Attach the decorations, turn the lights on - perfect for the courtyard.

The tree skeleton and bud lights

Attaching the tinsel

Putting on the decorations

Finished!

Food adventures

Christmas is a month away, so Tighe and I tried a new recipe, and made Christmas Bark, but the children want to rename it Hail Bark.
Easy as... just crush up some pepperment candy canes,  melt some yummy chocolate melts,  spread it out evenly, and sprinkle the crushed candycane over the top.  The bonus, Erik doesn't like peppermint, so all the more for us (but we do need to hide it from Gina, or it will not last the weekend).

Christmas 2010

 

Santa's mess

Ready for the lake

 

Santa was not able to control Rudolph, and left sleigh marks on the table, and reindeer poo all over the table and floor.  The presents were found in a sack near the ceiling.  After lunch, we all went to the lake at the base of the Rotomas.  Cool water, great fun for the children to try out all their new water toys.  Awesome Christmas day.

Lake Rotoma