Christmas Traditions

Last night we took Callum to the land of Kringleville....a far away land very close to the Waterville Opera House. There, Callum met Santa Claus for the first time, and loved every minute of it. He did not cry. He did, however, study the heck out of his face and beard, even touching his beard a few times, The setup they have in Kringleville is very nice indeed....its like a little "cabin" that sits in a little park outside the opera house, and inside, Santa's lair is decorated beautifully, with trees, nutcrackers, gas log fireplaces, and one of the best looking Santa's I've ever seen! We bought copies of both of the pictures for five bucks each and, since we dont have a scanner, "took" pictures of the pictures to share with you. So, I'm sorry about the resolution....

What is Callum looking at???
Another one of our family's traditions is that of changing the Advent calendar. The Advent calendar counts down the season of Advent, starting with Dec 1, and ending on the 24th. Each "day" has a different door, and, usually, in each door is a piece of candy, etc. But THIS ONE, which Amanda bought last week (and which is pretty awesome!) contains, behind each door, a figure, animal, etc. to be stuck onto the magnetic board surrounding the Advent doors. By the end of Advent, the magnetic board will be full of wise men, lambs, donkeys, shepherds, and, ultimately, the baby Jesus.

We make it our morning ritual, trying to do it before we do anything else! It is so wonderful and magical starting these family traditions together!

And, after Callum carefully inspects each piece by putting it in his mouth, he helps stick it on the magnet board. He's getting really good at his manual dexterity!

This is Amanda, doing what she's been doing for the past week and a half--which is DECORATING! She does such an awesome job that even I, in my shroud of OCDedness, can't complain at the clutter, coziness, and crowdedness that IS our house--nutcrackers, candles, garland, trees, mangers, and a million other hanging things that have transformed our house into a true country Christmas home. Terrific job honey, the house looks amazing.

I will post some pictures of her wondrous decorating tomorrow.

Also, tonight was our annual Christmas party, a little different than last year due to the kids everyone keeps having! haha. But still a great time with great friends. More on this too!