Christmas Countdown

For the third year, we enjoyed our Christmas countdown starting on December 1.  I absolutely love this tradition.  The girls looked forward to seeing our activity each day as well.  Some days were low key and some took a little more effort, but each day held something fun for our family.  Here's a snapshot from each day.

 

Day 1: We had front row seats to see the newest Cirque show: Totem.  We all loved the Cirque show in Orlando, but I think we all liked this one even more.  Most of the costumes were made to look like animals, so the girls thought that was awesome.  Mia still talks about "the frogs" and how much she enjoyed them.  If you have the chance to see this show, please do; it's awesome.

 Day 2: We went to see Beauty and the Beast at The Fox Theatre.  I love any opportunity to go to the Fox, and I couldn't wait to take the girls since this would be their first time to go.  What we didn't know is that the show is almost 3 hours long...whoops.  That was asking a lot.  Lily did great and loved the whole show.  Mia did awesome in the first half; her eyes were glued to the stage and she sat on the edge of her seat.  She was pretty antsy and tired for the second half though, so she was moving around a lot.  In the end, she said she enjoyed it though.  They both loved that Ryan bought them a rose like the Beast has in his castle!

 Day 3: The girls and I had lunch at Swan House with my mom.  We all love this restaurant!

 Day 4: Foam gingerbread houses!  After last year's debacle with making a gingerbread house, we took the easy route this year.

 Day 5: A visit to the Pink Pig and Santa is always a fun tradition.

 Day 6: Sticker nativity scenes; very cute.

 Day 7: We wrote the North Pole Express and met Santa on the train.

 Day 8: A morning at the Children's Museum in Chattanooga was tons of fun.  We also loved our afternoon and evening with our friends, the Sepulveda and Graffius.

 Day 9: We always love a play date with the Hendersons.

 Day 10: New books!  Hark the Harold Angels Sing for Lily and Silent Night for Mia.  Both play the song as you read.

Day 11:  Since Lily's school had their Christmas program the night before, they had a late start time this morning.  We had planned on "a special breakfast" meaning either a trip to J Christopher's or homemade pancakes.  However, we were the ones surprised when we got up and Lily had made us a special breakfast without even knowing that was the day's activity!  She set up a restaurant in our living room, and then prepared the breakfast pictured below for each of us: a banana, yogurt and peanut butter crackers.  What a fun treat!

 Day 12: This was a charity day.  We plan to expand this day when the kids are older, but for now, it means picking out a couple of items from the World Vision Christmas catalog.  Lily wanted to order a calf while Mia selected ordering a piglet to help those in need around the world.

 Day 13: Ryan took the girls on a daddy-daughter date to Stevie B's and Sub Zero.  I think they all enjoyed this time together.

 Day 14: The girls received Christmas paint books.

 Day 15: The girls decorated these huge snowmen cookies.

 Day 16: The girls made Christmas cards for their grandparents and great-grandparents.

 Day 17: Coloring Christmas velvet posters.

 Day 18: S'mores!

 Day 19: Movie Theatre day which the girls always love.  We went to see Monsters Inc which has just been re-released.  We didn't see it in 3D even though this sign advertised it that way.

 Day 20: Another gingerbread house.  I had forgotten that I had the foam gingerbread house kit when I bought this sticker kit.  They didn't seem to mind though.

 Day 21: Movie night at home.  We watched Arthur Christmas, enjoyed breakfast for dinner and then some yummy apple cider.

 Day 22: Meme's Christmas Party which was lots of fun.

 Day 23: We made Christmas cookies.  Mia and I made the peanut butter cookies, and then Lily, Mia and I decorated them to look like reindeer.  They were super cute!

 Day 24: Christmas Eve!  Our main item today was delivering cookies to our local fire station.  We appreciate the public servants who work on the holidays, and this is just a small way to say thank you.

 The girls always like getting new pajamas on Christmas Eve.

 The girls put out reindeer food mix, carrots and water so Rudolph and his friends would have a snack.

 Of course, we had to leave out milk and a cookie for Santa!

 We decided to let the girls camp out in our room for the evening.  They have a habit of getting up really early, and we didn't want them sneaking into the living room before we were awake on Christmas morning!  By 6:30, they were dressed and begging to go to bed, so we let them set up camp and watch How To Train Your Dragon on tv which they love.  When it was over at 8, they spread out and fell asleep quickly.

The presents were put under the tree.

 At some point, Santa came and delivered his gifts for the girls.  They will receive a new table and chair set for their playroom which is badly needed.  Lily will receive a butterfly dream lite that she has been asking for since last Christmas, and Mia will receive a dog dream lite that she has been wanting.  Santa didn't know Mia would receive a butterfly one at Meme's party a few days prior.  He was pretty sure she wouldn't mind having two!  Each girl also received a book.  Since Santa couldn't quite deliver on their main requests (a thing-a-ma-jigger for Mia and a baby Rainbow Dash My Little Pony that eats and walks for Lily), he brought books about both of those things.  He was sure they would be excited!

 Santa also took some time to stuff the stockings before moving to the next house. 

 Bring on Christmas morning!