Christmas Countdown
Heather asked if we are doing our activity Advent calendar again this year, so I thought I’d write a little about it.
Yes! We are doing it! Mike suggested going and getting a tree on Saturday and Erik freaked out, saying we couldn’t get a tree until the elf told us to get a tree. That’s when I realized it was almost Dec. 1 and I needed to get my act together.
For those who don’t know, our Christmas countdown is really simple. I just string some tinsel across the mantel and put 24 little paper cards on binder clips. Every night an elf comes in and writes an activity for us to do. The elf often writes in invisible ink that only grown-ups can read (yes, I am a total genius. Mwhahahahaha.)
I probably shouldn’t call it an Advent calendar since we are not religious in the least. Funny how I have completely embraced Christmas as my favorite part of the year, despite my heathen ways. I prefer to think of it as a celebration of light, magic and good will. I believe most cultures have to have something fun to look forward to in the winter, so I’ll embrace my non-religious Christmas with lots of colors, presents, food and good deeds.
But back to the countdown.
Elsa is completely unaware of the whole thing, but Erik is eating it up. I really thought last year would be the last year he would believe the elf story, but he is having even more fun this year. I hope we can make it through the season with his belief intact.
I have to admit I feel a little guilty about the whole thing. I want to create magic and wonder. You’re only a child once and the older you get the harder life is. I’m winning at creating magic and wonder!
However, I do feel bad that Erik is buying it hook, line and sinker simply because he completely trusts me. I never lie to him.
I just hope he’ll look back on it as a time of magic that I worked hard to create for him. I hope the disappointment of the truth will not scar him for life.
I must admit, I always thought little kids were supposed to be the most fun at Christmas, though little Erik was not necessarily that fun since he was too little to understand what we were doing. Now I know the truth: mid-sized kids are grand! Erik is finally old enough to really participate and enjoy all the activities. I am no longer doing crafts that he’s supposed to be doing but has zero interest in. I love it!
We read Santa Calls by William Joyce* last night and Erik was laughing and giggling the whole time while Elsa didn’t understand much of it. Tonight we made pine cone bird feeders. That didn’t go well last year, but this year he and his little friend probably made a dozen. And I didn’t even have to do it all! They took initiative and did most of the dozen completely on their own. Except. . . Before we got started he and Elsa were totally noshing on the bird seed. He refuses to eat nuts, but he eats bird seeds? My brain doesn’t understand this kid.
I’ll have to get some pictures up soon. I’ve been trying to take some with my real camera, but I really suck at photography. Bah.
And now that I did this whole Ode to Erik and His Christmas Mirth, I guess I owe you a post about Elsa. But for now I must go to bed!
*I’d highly recommend this book as a read-a-loud for older kids. It has really complex vocabulary and a lot of words. I didn’t want to read it at first because it was so text heavy, but I’m glad I did. It is a really fun Santa story with a 1950s Texas vibe. Good stuff, but not really for preschoolers. I think I may order it for our Christmas book collection–it was just that good!