a peek inside the fishbowl

19 Dec, 2009

25 days of Christmas: days 13 – 19

Posted by andrea tomkins in: Easy ways to make kids happy|Ottawa

santa's knee

Ha. Look what I found!

I can’t believe I’m writing about a week’s worth of activities in one post. It’s been a busy week my friends. And Christmas is NEXT WEEK. Why does it sneak up on me every year?

Day 13 – “Decorate the tree.” The tree we bought at Ikea was tightly bound, they always are, so you never know what you’re getting. But we’ve been buying our trees here since our “old” Christmas tree lot (run by the Kiwanis) went under and we’ve never been disappointed. I think this year’s tree is the best one yet. He’s short and chubby.

Day 14 – I baked these easy bars (subbing almonds for pecans because I was out) for “Dessert before Dinner.”

Day 15 – “Visit Santa at the mall.”  Surprisingly we didn’t have to stand in a long line up. The family in front of us had a little boy who would not crack a smile, at least, not until he got a candy cane and a parting gift, but by that time the pressure was off. Ha! So cute!

Day 16 – I had an event I had to attend in the evening so Mark and the girls had a their own “game night” around the tree. They played Operation, Connect Four, and Trouble (I love that game) and ate popcorn, of course.

Day 17 – “Paper snowflakes to decorate the windows.” I wasn’t sure if the girls would be into this, but it kept them occupied for a solid hour while I made dinner (although I made a snowflake too… how I could I not?) Now if we could only find the scotch tape… hmm. I think I’m going to need it at some point.

Taffy Lane, OrleansDay 18 – We were invited to an afterschool cookie decorating party. The kids decorated and ate piles of cookies and then retired to watch a movie while the grownups drank wine, ate meatballs and cheese, and chatted. Wow. Did I have fun. Afterwards we drove to Taffy Lane in Orleans to check out the Christmas lights. (Taffy Lane is a regular residential street – albeit with a sweet name – whose residents go crazy with the Christmas decorations.) It was great, a real hoot. The kids loved it, but now they want us to decorate our house like that too. Ha! Go ask your dad.

I didn’t bring my camera (because if I did I’d have no choice but to bring my tripod and all of my gear and I really wasn’t up to that) so the pictures here are shot-with-the-phone-from-out-of-a-moving-car pictures. It will have to do!

Taffy Lane, OrleansAfter two turns around Taffy Lane, we drove downtown and past Parliament Hill to see the lights there too. (Too cold to get out of the car though!) They were nice, but not nearly as fun as Taffy Lane. :)

Day 19 (today) – UNPLANNED and so far, activity free. It’s too cold (for me) to do anything outdoors. I need to think of something, stat.


5 Responses to "25 days of Christmas: days 13 – 19"

1 | Mom On The Go

December 19th, 2009 at 10:44 am

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How about weeding through toys and books to find some to pass along? I was looking for our Rudolph book this morning and did a little intervention to get myself to pull some off for kids small enough to be delighted with some of the stories.

2 | betsy mae

December 19th, 2009 at 12:45 pm

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i’ve been sick with a cold/flu (who knows?) so one of my kids got foot and hand rubs one day this past week and loved it. i had some vicks vaporub (the baby one which is gentler than the regular) and i rubbed the girls feet with it and put warm sock on them. they loved it.

3 | BeachMama

December 19th, 2009 at 4:04 pm

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Look at you with Santa! Now I see your girls in that photo for sure.

We have been terribly busy and I am not sure we have been following our list properly, but we have definitely been doing something Christmasy every day.

4 | Loukia

December 21st, 2009 at 10:15 pm

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Nice! I love Taffy Lane… can’t believe Christmas is almost here!

5 | Natalie @YMCbuzz

December 22nd, 2009 at 2:08 pm

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Aww! I wish WE had a Taffy Lane around here! We do have a National Lampoon’s Christmas house, which the kids love to visit every year :)

Natalie @YMCbuzz
YummyMummyClub.ca

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