a peek inside the fishbowl

04 Dec, 2012

Family Advent Days 1-3 (and a wee giveaway)

Posted by andrea tomkins in: Easy ways to make kids happy|Giveaways and product reviews

Surely one of the most welcome gifts this time of year is a gift card to a grocery store. Just yesterday I was picking up groceries at Sobeys and I could practically FEEL my wallet breathing a sigh of relief as I handed one over. That’s why I’m pleased to tell you about a new giveaway over at the Sobeys website.  It’s very easy to enter, and you can win $100 gift card! And if you don’t win, at the very least you may find a way to make holiday entertaining a little easier! You can read more about it here.

So we’re in the throes of Family Advent. The first few days have gone off without a hitch:

Day one: gingerbread construction. I think this one is self-explanatory.

December 1 #FamilyAdvent

Day two: charitable giving – This goes back to their allowance (which you can read about in more detail here) but to summarize, a percentage of their allowance is earmarked for a donation to a charity of their choice. Emma chose to give to WWF-Canada (specifically, she’s putting her money towards the Spirit Bear) and Sarah decided to invest in someone’s small business with a micro loan given via Kiva.

Here’s Josephine! It goes without saying we’d love to see her get closer to her goal! :)

December 2 #familyadvent - Today was about charity

Day three: make paper snowflakes – I wasn’t sure how well this one was going to go over with an 11 and 13 year old (er, and a 50-year old), but we all had a lot of fun.

#FamilyAdvent day 3 -  making snowflakes, because we don't have any real ones yet

Day 3: Making snowflakes

Now on to Day four! And totally unrelated, I am in the middle of drafting another giveaway. It’s a really good one… and the timing couldn’t be better! Stay tuned!

This post is part of our 2012 Family Advent, a.k.a. 25 Days of Christmas. You can read more about that here. Looking for some Christmas-related activities to try out yourself? Check out my Pinterest board.


5 Responses to "Family Advent Days 1-3 (and a wee giveaway)"

1 | Brenda A.

December 5th, 2012 at 10:02 am

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That snowflake is beautiful! As is the charitable donation :)

2 | Wanda

December 5th, 2012 at 12:05 pm

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What a fun Family Advent Project!

So awesome to hear the word is getting out on the Kermode Bear! I grew up in a town in N.B.C. where the Bear is found and have seen them many times during my younger years. They are beautiful animals! The Spirit Bear Youth Coalition is a great website to follow the plight of the bear! http://www.spiritbearyouth.org/

3 | Sheila Durno

December 5th, 2012 at 9:55 pm

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Could you provide pattern for that fabulous snowflake!

4 | andrea

December 6th, 2012 at 8:58 am

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My eldest showed me how… but I found a good tutorial here: http://www.ellinee.com/blog/freebie-friday-paper-snowflake-templates/ It’s incredibly easy and the results are gorgeous.

5 | Valerie

December 7th, 2012 at 11:50 am

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we’re totally failing with our daily activities this year, but I love what your children have chosen for their charitable givings! And the snowflakes are lovely, too.

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The Obligatory Blurb

My name is Andrea and I live in Ottawa with my husband Mark and our dog Sunny who is kind of a big deal on Instagram. During the day I work as a freelance writer. I am a longtime Ottawa blogger and I've occupied this little corner of the WWW since 1999. The Fishbowl is my whiteboard, water cooler, and journal, all rolled into one. I'm passionate about healthy living, arts and culture, travel, great gear, good food, and sharing the best of Ottawa. I also love vegetables, photography, gadgets, and great design.

If you're so inclined, you can read more about me here.

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