A "Crispix Adventure" and other Festive Activities

There are SO many different ways to take in the Christmas spirit in the city, not to mention the oodles of craft projects available (ah Pinterest!) this time of year. Last year, we didn't do much in the way of holiday activities - we were just thankful to have survived the month of December.  This year, I've been trying to slowly add back.  So far so good!   

On Saturday, we baked and decorated cookies -- boy was that stressful with three helpers! Adam was thankfully on hand to help manage use of the cookie cutters.  I am all about the store bought pre-made mixes when it comes to baking with the kids!  I bought two packages of sugar cookies, made one batch for adults, and let the kids make holiday shapes and decorate the others.  No adults should EVER be eating cookies baked/decorated by small kids!  Alex spent most of his time decorating eating sprinkles, directly out of the container.  Lukas was very happy playing/decorating with frosting, which was great to see, since he's usually the one to loose interest in arts & crafts projects first. Oliver took cookie decorating very seriously!  

Yesterday, we did a family Christmas outing in Center City, which went surprisingly well.  What's great about this age, is that the journey is as much fun as the destination.  Alex & Lukas delighted in taking the bus and everyone loves a good taxi ride.  Lukas can't say Christmas, he calls it "Crispix".  Alex misunderstood my talk of Doner and kept exclaiming "donut" so we joked our outing was "A Crispix Advenure for Donuts"-- A/L get very excited when anything is named "an adventure".

We took the bus to Center City (where Adam and I both work).  There is a nice German-inspired Christmas Market at LOVE Park - they have Gluhwein in little mugs, bratwurst and other German food, funnel cakes, a huge store that sells real German Christmas ornaments and lots of other (American) vendors.  We had Doner kebob for lunch and the boys had funnel cakes and a pretzel.  Then we saw the Christmas Show they show on the big screen/wall in the Comcast building lobby before taking a cab home. We didn't feel like navigating the double stroller in the crowds, so I took one kid in the Ergo sling and we had the other in the stroller.  

I couldn't fit us all in the shot!  Poor Alex is on my back

Here he is!

no one complained about funnel cakes for lunch

This weekend, we also tried to make these snowmen foam crafts that I had bought at Michael's that the kids got as an Advent present.  The containers said 8+ age, but even alone I was struggling to get everything to stay put.  Lukas had no interest in his and Alex lost interest half-assembled.  Oliver was determined to finish his - I was getting so frustrated, I had Adam step in and try to finish.  Impossible! Take a look at the final result -- Nailed it!  HA!

My big Christmas FAIL was an Advent basket as an alternative to "Elf on the Shelf".  I hated having to remember to hide that stupid elf (our was named "Ralphie", a nod to our favorite holiday moving, A Christmas Story) each night. Also, I wasn't convinced that the threat "Ralphie is going to tell Santa" was really going to carry any weight. Oliver is a dawdler in the morning, and it would take us forever to get out of the house last year, while he would search for Ralphie. This year, in a new, bigger house - that problem was going to be magnified.  

When we were young, Margit did an Advent basket for her college-aged kids -- each day they would get a small present to open (CD, socks, chocolate).  Nicole and I would always help wrap the presents when we were there for Thanksgiving.  I never got to have my own, but loved this idea and was excited to do it for the kids.  Jana made Oliver this very cool Advent calendar, which I had to hang very high, to keep the kids from playing with it - each day we would pull a name out of the calendar for who would get to open that day's present. Our advent basket included playdoh, holiday coloring page, stickers, Christmas mugs, santa ornaments, arts & crafts projects, candy canes, chocolate, and assorted stuff from the dollar bin at Target. I tried to coordinate the present with the day - so they opened the Santa ornaments on the day that we got the tree, and would open a craft project on a day that Lena had all three at home. 

Oliver was SO whiny by Day 3, I was ready to return everything. He would wake up whining about whose turn it was to open a present and would be made if his day was a candy-present. Miserable.  Just miserable.  One of the things they got were these window decals for their room.  They would fight over moving them and I finally had to put them all up high out of reach.  Advent Basket = Never. Again!