I can't believe we've been doing Christmas countdowns for 10 years now! These always provide so much fun for our family, in big and small ways. I absolutely love this tradition!
Here is a picture (or a few) of each day's activities this year:
Day 1: We told the girls we were going to have an intercultural Christmas meal where we had an appetizer, entree, and dessert from a different place around the world. They were going to have to guess where the food was from, and then we'd talk about the traditions there. This was all a ruse though. Instead, we decorated our dining area in Hawaiian themed gear, grilled pork, chopped up some pineapple, made yeast rolls, and prepared sweet potatoes all to tell the girls that we're going to Hawaii next summer! While they were completely confused as this was nothing like what we'd said we were doing today, they were pretty excited once they realized there's a trip to Hawaii in the near future!
Day 2: The girls put up gel clings in their rooms. Mia put hers on the mirror while Lily chose one of her windows.
Day 3: We made an assembly line around our table to label, stuff, seal and stamp our Christmas cards. 123 of them were sent this year.
I always love receiving Christmas cards. We tape each one up on our kitchen windows which is a fun thing to see each day as we're coming and going.
Day 4: When Lily and I visited New York City over Fall Break, we went to Sugar Factory twice which was such a fun and delicious treat. As I told a friend about when we returned, he mentioned that there is one in Atlanta! We decided to surprise the girls with dinner here before going to the Botanical Gardens "Nights of Lights" event. We all loved it!
The gardens were beautiful and lots of fun this evening too!
Day 5: Frozen 2 at the movie theater.
Day 6: Avery and Danielle came home with the girls after play rehearsal on Friday afternoon. We made s'mores over the outdoor fire pit. So delicious!
Day 7: After an early lunch we visited the Episcopal Church of the Epiphany. Every year they put out over 300 nativity sets. They are from all around the world; they are different sizes and made with lots of different mediums. When we arrived, they told us they had actually just started a funeral service, so most of the areas were closed off. We were able to see about 50 of the sets. I hope to go back in a future year because was really cool.
After visiting the church, we went to Atlantic Station to see the Cirque du Soleil production called Volta. These shows are always spectacular.
Day 8: We enjoyed a morning at church which included getting to see our precious friend, Parker Henderson, baptized. What a wonderful way to start the day! After lunch, we drove to see our friend Danae St. Hill perform in her harp concert. It was lovely.
Day 9: Silly winter glasses making.
Day 10: Christmas Legos!
Day 11: We went shopping for some Christmas treats for Decker. He was quite curious to figure out what was in the bag when we got home!
Day 12: The girls each chose a project out of the Samaritan's Purse gift catalog to help someone around the world.
Day 13: An evening at The Battery to enjoy El Felix for dinner, and the light and music show out by the green.
Day 14: We drove over to Birmingham to have some time with our family there. We couldn't help but go by Samford to give Mr. Beeson a hug.
That evening we went ice skating with Kendall's family which was pretty fun. I think Mia and Caroline enjoyed it the most!
Day 15: The whole family went to Shades Mountain for church and then gathered at Kendall's for a Parkinson family Christmas. Bama is always thrilled to have all her grandkids together!
Day 16: Reindeer games at home! There were lots of giggles as we tried to throw little inflatable rings onto the horns.
Day 17: The Stonehaven Christmas program was beautiful. Mia sang several songs with her class. Lily sang a few songs with the middle school girls' chorus. She also played "What Child is This" on the piano as a solo piece. Both girls joined the school-wide singing as well. This is always such a special school event.
Day 18: The day after the program is always a late start morning at school which is definitely welcomed. We took the opportunity to have breakfast together at J. Christopher's first. Yum!
Day 19: Suspicion family board game.
Day 20: Ryan, Mia, and I went to the Big Air show at SunTrust Park while Lily went to a friend's birthday party. It was a little chilly outside but it was amazing to see this humongous ski jump set up on the field and a crazy amount of man-made snow! Some of the world's best snowboarders competed for the title here. This was so different than what we usually get to see in Atlanta; we loved it!
Day 21: We watched Elf and the Grinch at our home. We made it a technology free viewing, so I didn't take a picture. That's ok; we were just sitting in our chairs. 😁
Day 22: Meme's family Christmas party. We all gathered at Jodi's house to celebrate together.
Day 23: For Mother's Day this year, I received a gift subscription to Piquant Post and about every 6 weeks I get spices and recipes from around the world to make. This was a fabulous gift! The packet that game a couple of weeks ago was all about Scandinavia and included the recipe and spices for Gingerbread Brownies. We made them this evening instead of our traditional cookies.
Day 24: Johnny Wayne and Nancy came down from Tennessee this year which we appreciated. They came over to our house with Mom and Dad and joined in our traditional brunch. It was nice to catch up with them. They headed on back after we ate, but the rest of the family stayed around to visit and exchange gifts. It was a very nice morning.
Another successful countdown year!
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