Wednesday, November 29, 2006

Plan December

We got back from our trip and I feel like I have blogger's block. I have nothing too interesting to write.

We had a relaxing trip to a beach that we love over by Cancun. I thought getting in the sun would instantly cure our dreaded illness, but it lasted to some degree for the entire trip. Our poor hotel-neighbors must have loved the symphony of coughs.

Here's a naughty turtle that someone made on the beach. He's smoking and drinking.



Here's my mom and Margarita kayaking. Check out how beautiful the water is:



It was really fun putting on a swimsuit each day with my ever growing belly and having my mom and sister there who are both toothpicks. I felt like quite the beached whale.

Anyway, on to Plan December.

December always seems to fly by; I always have great intentions of enjoying the season with my kids and things always end up so hectic that it seems like before I know it it's over. So, inspired by my good friend Grammy (o Grammy, where art thou??), I am going to try to come up with a plan (BEFORE DECEMBER. Yes, I know, that's Friday.). I want to have a simple Christmas-y activity planned to do with my kids each day.

So, I need some ideas! Do you have anything you enjoyed as a kid, or something you enjoy with kids now?

12 comments:

Code Yellow Mom said...

We make either sugar cookies or fudge - this year we're going to try my Grandma's caramel recipe for the first time.

We also always make or shop together for ornaments to remember the year by. (Calvin insisted on having a YELLOW one last year - you wouldn't believe how tricky it is to find yellow things at Christmas time. Gold just would not do it for him.)

My favorite resource is Family Fun Magazine - sweet and simple crafts, easy to gather supplies, and fun little ideas for traditions.

Would love to see your finished plan! I'm working on one myself, but am feeling a little ho hum...

The beach looks nice.:)

Nettie said...

I hope you share your finished plan, too!

And I've wondered about Grammy, too. YOU'D know if something were really wrong, though, wouldn't you?

Gabriela said...

CYM: I love Family Fun too. I let my subscription run out and I reordered a few weeks ago, but I don't think I'm going to get the Dec. issue.

Yellow? Hmmm. Yeah, I bet yellow ornaments would be hard to find. :)

Nettie: Thanks for the book idea, I am going to use that. I actually have talked to Grammy recently and she is fine, but I miss reading her blog.

Anonymous said...

I own ALOT of Christmas videos and we usually watch one of those a night.

Also, on the day that school gets out, I take my kids to the bookstore and let them buy one book they have to read over the break.

And, one night a week, we go out driving looking for fun Christmas lights. I let them tell me which direction to drive and they navigate through the streets. It is a ton of fun.

Super Happy Girl said...

Yay you are back!
While we were either freezing or getting rained on non-stop, you were at a beautiful beach, relaxing in the sun with Grandma AND taking pictures of naughty turtles.

We watch "A Christmas Story" while eating ridiculous amounts of food.
Wear our PJs at home.
I turn on all the Christmas lights before the kids go to school and as soon as they get home: it takes so long to put them up, and they are up for such a short time, I want to make sure we enjoy them as much as possible.

I’d love to read you Plan December :)

utmommy said...

I love Family Fun too!

We always make homemade candy. So fun and so yummy.

The beach looks so nice. I've always wanted to go to Cancun. Hopefully soon!

Gabriela said...

Janice J.: that's a great book idea. Around here though, English books are hard to come by and I thinkmy kids would stage a coup if I tried to get them to read Spanish books for fun! I am putting "Christmas Light Drive" on my calendar. Thanks!

NCS: A Christmas Story? Yep, it's already on the Calendar. I just love Ralphie.

UT Mommy: can you post a candy recipe? I have never made candy, except for fudge, before.

My goal is to post my Plan December on Friday!

Code Yellow Mom said...

Just thought of Mr. Krueger's Christmas. An oldie but goodie. Every year at least once. :) (I can even tolerate the BYU dancers in blue leotards just because the message is so sweet, and you can't go wrong with Jimmy Stewart.) Also, the church vid of Luke II. My favorite. Both work with little people's short attention spans and are great to watch together, drink some Abuelita (a la NCS) and snuggle.

Anonymous said...

That kayak picture looks so relaxing. Would have been the perfect timing to join you there when my husband was away! Oh well...Hope you feel better...

As kids, we'd always have hot cocoa with marshmallows and whipped cream while watching/reading Christmas movies/bedtime stories. Of course there's the letter writing which took quite a number of days. We also got to clean out our toy closet to give away (to make room for new ones).

Did you get my email? Hope you're feeling much better!

Millie said...

PLEASE share the finished plan. I need ideas too. I love the concept of a month of planned stuff just for the family.

Our friend put together a book to read aloud every night during December... there are 25 stories, scriptures and songs (one for each day). We're going to try to stick with it again this year. Something always happens. :) We'll get our tree Saturday and decorate it Sunday with cookies and cocoa. I love the Family Fun idea.

Grammy said...

Hi Gabs, Since you asked for it, here is the list of things we did with the kids when we still had any around. Most of the activities are things we would have done anyway, but it gave them something fun to look forward to on our calendar every day. Some days we did several.

- Church, school & work parties
- Movie night at Home
- Outdoor Activity Day
- Drive around to look at the lights
- Sleep around the Christmas tree
- Family Natvity Pageant
- Write to Santa
- Read the Christmas story from Luke
- Craft Day
- Go out for Dinner
- K & Mom's birthday celelbrations
- Christmas shopping
- 1st Presidency Devotional
- Game Night
- Light the Christmas candles for the 1st time and sing Carols
- Take Gifts to nieghbors
- Wrap gifts
- Surprise Activity
- Decorate the House
- Secret Santa Night (pixie drop)
- Go to a Play or Movie
- Christmas Story Reading Marathon
- Christmas Caroling (to neighbors)
- Have the Family Picture Taken
- Cooking or Baking (we had separate days for Nuts & Bolts,Cookies,Homemade Rootbeer, Egg-Nog,Carmels, Chocolates, Mints and the Birthday Cake for the Baby Jesus)
- Our neighborhood had an ornament exchange, so we added that
- Going to cut the Christmas tree
- Decorating the Christmas tree
- Mailing the Packages
- Writing the Christmas Letter (especially if everyone dictates their own part)
- Travel Day (if you are going away for the holidays)


Have fun!
Wishing you and your family a wonderful Christmas season!

utmommy said...

I'll post a recipe soon! I hope it works for you!