Christmas is my favorite holiday! I love the MAGIC of it all! We do Santa here, and a version of Elf on the Shelf. I get more excited to track Santa on the NORAD tracker than the kids, I swear. I love the decorations, the smells, the shopping, the wrapping, and the feelings of love and good will everywhere. We don’t go over the top with presents…our focus is on making fun memories and traditions with our kids.

One tradition I started this year with M is a paper chain advent calendar. Instead of chocolates, each paper chain is a service project for him (us) to do. He came up with many of the service projects. Some are simple, like picking up his toys without being asked, drawing a picture for his aunts or uncles, or giving someone a hug. Others take some more planning. We’ve gotten a little behind, so yesterday we accomplished 3.

After breakfast, M, J, and I went to the library to drop off some new toys for Toys for Tots. Then, we got to baking. First we baked cookies for our town’s firemen. M drew a couple of pictures of a “fireman fighting fire” and “a fireman and firewoman saving the world” to include with the cookies. Then, we made cupcakes for all of our neighbors. Those we delivered after Mark got home, and it was so fun! We got to catch up with a neighbor we haven’t seen in awhile, and meet some neighbors a few houses down that we hadn’t chatted with before. We’ll have to bake for the neighbors more often! 🙂

What are some things you’re doing to get ready for the holidays?