The goose is getting fat...

Christmas is coming. Want to know how I know that? Because my kids are driving me absolutely bonkers. What is it about this time of year that makes them so rowdy? Could it be the lights, the candy, the impending desire for gifts gifts gifts, the parties, the cookies, the incessant songs? You're right. There was no need to ask in the first place.

Today I had a showdown at the OK Corral with no.2. That kid is insanely stubborn, and I picked the battle. Seriously child, do you think you are going to win? I am the one who gave you those stubborn genes and I have 31 years of practice using them. I won in the end.

Well, despite the occasional day of the yuckiest behaviour imaginable (the kind that makes me realize why some species eat their young), Christmas is still fun. Really fun. A holiday that without kids is pleasant, but nothing to really get amped about, is crazy fun with kids. You appreciate the whole season, not just the day, because there are endless possibilities of fun things to do and neat things to create. I love Advent. Always have. Growing up Catholic there was nothing better than the Sunday when the priest lit the pink candle on the Advent wreath- half way there, kind of like Catholic Christmas hump day! As a wee kid we never had commercial Advent calendars. Those came a bit later when I was 10 or 11... and the joy! Seriously, a 10 year old super excited about a shaped "chocolate" (and I use this term in the loosest sense... it is more a chocolate like confection, akin to, I don't know, Exlax)! But it upped the anticipation. And isn't it the anticipation that is half the fun? Later my mum made a quilted Christmas tree shaped Advent calendar with heart shaped pockets. We now have that and it is filled with Hershey's kisses, and the kids adore it.

This year I decided that I'd like to make another Advent calendar for the kids. Instead of it being chocolate oriented, I wanted it to be manipulative. My kids, Matteo in particular, love playing with felt stories and shapes. I've made a bunch for school.  Matteo's favourite outing is a trip to my school to keep me company while I work, where he happily plays (for hours on end) with these things. The kids love all the Christmas decorations and get so excited when they see them, but often they cannot touch these things as they are not intended to be put through the paces my boys would subject them to through play. So when I saw this, I knew it would be a hit in our house: http://www.solandrachel.com/2011/12/pinterest-christmas.html
I knew they'd love decorating their own christmas tree.

Then I saw this and loved it!
http://inchmark.squarespace.com/inchmark/category/advent-calendar

I loved how it combines felt play with an Advent calendar concept. But the trouble is that this thing is BIG. And at Christmas we have a ton of cute wallhangings that already occupy the walls. I thought that if I could make it smaller, and put magnet on the back, then maybe it could occupy the fridge (provided I could clear enough "foliage"- i.e. crayon and marker drawings on construction paper), and that way the kids could reach it and play with it too. In order to do this, I had to eliminate the pockets. Then how to distribute a decoration each day of Advent?





Then I saw this and loved the look of it (sigh. So many crafts, so little time):
http://www.canadianliving.com/crafts/other_crafts/diy_christmas_make_a_chic_advent_calendar.php

We all know I love a good bunting. And opening envelopes is a fun thing to do (how often do you get to open mail that isn't going to cost you money or try to sell you something?).

So the solution was to combine the ideas. Here's what I came up with. I made my own envelope bunting. There are 24 envelopes in total. In stead of using regular envelopes as they suggested in their directions, I made my own out of cardstock. Why? Well, I'm the queen of making things more complicated than necessary. That is a fact. But I also wanted to make sure that they last longer than one season. But other than that, I followed the directions completely as given.

Next I made a tree out of felt. I went looking for felt on the bolt for the backing and was rather dismayed with the lack of variety in colours that it comes in. Plus, they are all so solid and dull, no variation. I was hoping for something a little more natural looking. I decided that instead of using felt for the backing, I'd use cotton quilt batting. It worked brilliantly. It is actually better because you can iron it (felt isn't great for that purpose), and it is very light, which is a bonus given I wanted it to hang on the fridge by strips of magnet. I appliqued the tree on by sewing machine, but it could just as easily be done by using craft glue. Really, none of this requires a sewing machine. Next I cut out 24 ornaments that will be hung day by day on the tree. I hand sewed buttons on to the tree and under it (for the presents). I used a sewing machine to make button holes in the ornaments, but given felt does not fray, even that is not necessary- one could very easily simply snip a wee hole and that would do fine.  When I was finished I attached strips of magnet (peel and stick) to the entire length of the top and bottom of the hanging. Each piece will go in an envelope and piece by piece, the boys will be able to decorate their own tree. I'm pretty happy with the result. One note about the cotton, it does kind of warp, so the edge lines aren't straight, but it is good enough.

What is making your Christmas merry and bright? Any fun crafts on your horizons? I just found a pattern (thanks pinterest!) for a felt pickle ornament for the tree. (Do any of you do the German tradition of hiding the pickle on the tree and trying to be the first one to spot it?) I was hoping that would be my afternoon project. Instead I am learning the fine art of plumbing... it is never good when you flush the toilet and water goes through the basement ceiling. I guess I'll save the fun stuff for another day. Here I go, off to put on my gumboots. My life is extremely glamorous.



Happy trails!