Christmas on my mind

Christmas is six weeks away and I can't wait! I've already been planning, thinking, and praying about ways to make this year special and wanted to share a few of the things I've found.


-The new Veggie Tales Christmas movie arrived at our house this week. We have watched "Saint Nicholas" twice and we all really enjoyed it. It's funny, engaging and reinforces the things that we are trying to teach Haven about Christmas and even about who St.Nick was. We own a few other Veggie Tales Christmas movies that I'm not a huge fan of. But "Saint Nicholas" is a great movie and I'm sure we'll be watching it a lot before Christmas finally rolls around!


-For the last few years I have received bi-weekly emails from Kids Craft Weekly. There are always great, easy ideas for me to do with Haven. Last year they rolled out a special Christmas ebook and I didn't buy it. But this year I planned to not make the same mistake! Six dollars well spent on this twenty page booklet full of fun ideas for holiday crafts. I can't wait to get crafting with Haven! And maybe Mati, too!
-One of Haven's absolute favorite things to do at Christmas is act out the nativity story with her Fisher Price Nativity set. I have no doubt it will be even more fun this year as we retell the story over and over to Mati. But I thought it would be neat for us to have another medium to use to tell the story and was thrilled when I found this set by H.A. Rey. Rey is the author and illustrator of the beloved Curious George series; he's a huge hit around here! This book has vintage style paper dolls that you punch out and fold. The interior of the book is a backdrop of the stable, complete with pockets to hold all the pieces. While we haven't yet tried this out, I know Haven's going to love it. And I am certainly already smitten with its vintage charm!

-I mentioned this book last year, but it bears repeating. "Come thou Long Expected Jesus" is a fantastic devotional to keep your mind and heart focused on The One we celebrate this time of year. I enjoyed it so much last year and am truly looking forward to reading it again.

-And last but not least, it's Operation Christmas Child collection time! We love being part of this ministry every year. Haven's been talking about it for weeks and coloring pictures to put in each of our boxes. A new feature this year is the chance to track your box and actually find out where it goes. You better believe we'll be tracking ours! Go here to find out what to put in the boxes and where to drop them off!

Happy preparations!