Christmastime snowiness flakes the castle gently.
Christmas! Christmas is coming. Today it actually FELT like Christmas because it snowed! Not a lot of snow, but enough to cover the grass and the sidewalk. Pippa got really excited and was saying "Every day is happy Christmas!" She was sad that there wasn't enough snow to make snowballs though. More to the point it was a powdery snow that doesn't pack well. Skiing snow. If you're planning a skiing holiday in Whistler etc I'm guessing it's pretty good up there.
I've been holding off on buying Christmas presents for the girls because I've been waiting to see some of what other people are giving to them. We are probably going to do the three present principle again this year, to recap:
1 gold gift, which is a really nice/impressive/fun/exciting gift
1 frankincense gift, which is something spiritual
1 myrrh gift, which is something practical but still nice/enjoyable
They also get to unwrap gifts other people have mailed to them. (Gifts given in person are opened in front of the giver because I think it's nicer for the giver that way.)
So this is what I've got planned.
For Mary-Alice, her gold gift is an exersaucer, which we already bought via Craigslist. (The moms in my Facebook moms group use the dysphemism "circle of neglect" to describe the exersaucer, which I think is hilarious.) Her myrrh gift will be a teether, probably a vibrating one. I don't care if other people give her teethers also because I've learned that teethers don't really last through too many kids. For her spiritual gift I'm going to try to find some time to go to the Marian Distribution Centre and browse. I'm thinking about getting a green scapular to tuck inside the mattress (between the fitted sheet and the mattress).
For Pippa, ideally I would like to get a good quality kitchen for her. Last year we bought her a kitchen for Christmas but it was cheap and it's already broken. The kids still play with it but the faucet broke off, and the stickers peeled off, and the oven door doesn't stay on. If I were going to get her a kitchen I would want it to be a good quality wooden one. However they do take up a bit of room. We would have to rearrange things somehow so as not to block the heating vent. My other thought was an easel or art desk. Have to think about that. Frankincense I also have to think about, probably browse in the same way as for Mary-Alice. Myrrh I've already bought, it's a whole bunch of leg warmers from the co-op. Pippa lately likes to copy me and wear the leg warmers on her arms along with a t-shirt. It looks pretty stylish actually. Cooler than me.
On Friday I am going to attempt to do a Christmas keepsake ornament craft with the kids. Morituri te salutant. I just really want some stuff with their hands on it. Pretty sure this is what is going to happen:
(The comments do include two probably wise tips. #1 Footprint keepsakes are easier than handprint keepsakes for kids under two. #2 If you really want a handprint keepsake do it when baby is asleep.)
I did see an idea for turning baby SHOES into ornaments. I think this is a great idea. I have this one pair of shoes that are of the Awesome But Impractical variety, so I don't really want to keep them for future kids to wear anyway.
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For the Immaculate Conception we did indeed make pizza, with lots of garlic. I said the white represented purity and Gordon said then did the garlic represent the odor of sanctity? No comment.
I've been holding off on buying Christmas presents for the girls because I've been waiting to see some of what other people are giving to them. We are probably going to do the three present principle again this year, to recap:
1 gold gift, which is a really nice/impressive/fun/exciting gift
1 frankincense gift, which is something spiritual
1 myrrh gift, which is something practical but still nice/enjoyable
They also get to unwrap gifts other people have mailed to them. (Gifts given in person are opened in front of the giver because I think it's nicer for the giver that way.)
So this is what I've got planned.
For Mary-Alice, her gold gift is an exersaucer, which we already bought via Craigslist. (The moms in my Facebook moms group use the dysphemism "circle of neglect" to describe the exersaucer, which I think is hilarious.) Her myrrh gift will be a teether, probably a vibrating one. I don't care if other people give her teethers also because I've learned that teethers don't really last through too many kids. For her spiritual gift I'm going to try to find some time to go to the Marian Distribution Centre and browse. I'm thinking about getting a green scapular to tuck inside the mattress (between the fitted sheet and the mattress).
For Pippa, ideally I would like to get a good quality kitchen for her. Last year we bought her a kitchen for Christmas but it was cheap and it's already broken. The kids still play with it but the faucet broke off, and the stickers peeled off, and the oven door doesn't stay on. If I were going to get her a kitchen I would want it to be a good quality wooden one. However they do take up a bit of room. We would have to rearrange things somehow so as not to block the heating vent. My other thought was an easel or art desk. Have to think about that. Frankincense I also have to think about, probably browse in the same way as for Mary-Alice. Myrrh I've already bought, it's a whole bunch of leg warmers from the co-op. Pippa lately likes to copy me and wear the leg warmers on her arms along with a t-shirt. It looks pretty stylish actually. Cooler than me.
On Friday I am going to attempt to do a Christmas keepsake ornament craft with the kids. Morituri te salutant. I just really want some stuff with their hands on it. Pretty sure this is what is going to happen:
(The comments do include two probably wise tips. #1 Footprint keepsakes are easier than handprint keepsakes for kids under two. #2 If you really want a handprint keepsake do it when baby is asleep.)
I did see an idea for turning baby SHOES into ornaments. I think this is a great idea. I have this one pair of shoes that are of the Awesome But Impractical variety, so I don't really want to keep them for future kids to wear anyway.
---
For the Immaculate Conception we did indeed make pizza, with lots of garlic. I said the white represented purity and Gordon said then did the garlic represent the odor of sanctity? No comment.