Christmas Book Countdown!

Instead of counting down with an advent calendar, the kids and I gather up all of our Christmas books at the beginning of December and get wrapping - an idea that my best friend, Diana, shared with me a couple of years ago...

 (Christmas book stash from 2009 - I didn't realize I had so many!)

Then each night before bed, the kids take turns unwrapping one book for us to read together. Even two years later, getting to pick and unwrap the book is a BIG deal! Now that Abby and Noah are a little older, we've swapped out a few of the younger books for some new ones like The Grinch Who Stole Christmas, The Legend of the Candy Cane, The Elf on the Shelf, and an extra surprise for Christmas night - The Twelve Days of Christmas!


This has become a tradition that the kids really enjoy, and it gives me a great excuse to keep buying Christmas books!

Sundaes on Sunday!

In an effort to make Sundays more "exciting" to my 5-year-old son, who hates to get dressed up in his church clothes and proclaims that "Sundays are BORING!", we've started a new weekend tradition in our house -

 

No whipped cream, cherries, chocolate syrup, or brownies are always necessary (although always welcome), but you've got to have SPRINKLES! My kids are all about the sprinkles. They really like these fun ice cream dishes and matching spoons too. I picked up a couple of three packs (blue, green, and pink) at the dollar store awhile back - best two bucks I've ever spent! And even though Noah still doesn't like putting on his shirt and tie, he sure does love making sundaes on Sunday! 

*Any Sunday tips to share? I am all ears!