Christmas is for Kids

I think one of the greatest joys of Christmas is seeing it through the eyes of children. While we didn't do many activities with the little kids sharing Christmas day with them was so much fun.

Even though we've lived here for seven years I keep forgetting that things take forever to organize since we can't just dash to a store when we get an idea and throw something together. This year I will be organizing Christmas in October so we can have a full month of Advent with the kids. The older ones will be at the perfect age for learning about the reason we celebrate and appreciating God's gift.

But back to this year. After the kids' naps we gathered them in the dining room for a special snack. We served them a carrot cake bar and one of the peanut butter balls they had helped make and then they got to choose a cookie from the wide selection. Most of them couldn't even finish the goodness.

Afterward the preschoolers sat on a step in our dining room and kept themselves content by singing songs while waiting for the presents. I feel terribly that I don't have this in a picture but Tom captured it on video so you'll be able to see it when we make our annual video in March.

  They were singing the alphabet song and would get through all the letters but when they got to the 'now I've sung my ABCs part' they got caught up on the ABC and would start all over again. They were all singing in different tempos too so that was hilarious.

We had saved time by purchasing a large huge gift bag and putting all toys in there so we didn't have to deal with tons of wrapping paper. The kids sat on the little step and I pulled things out one by one and they all applauded. It was so cute.

What we had decided was to make them a wooden play kitchen and buy a tea set or two for it as well as adding to the kitchen with discarded items from our kitchen--taping empty food boxes to make them sturdy, etc. Our carpenter did a really good job of building four pieces. We still want to do paint with gloss and do decorative paint on it so that will come later.

When I went to the store to get the toy dishes I couldn't help but toss a few extra items into the cart. I got a baseball and bat beginners set. They are soft so the kids can practice without getting hurt. We also got them a little bowling set and a board game so they can learn their shapes. We threw a few other items in as well such as new paints and brushes and playdoh accessories. Oh and this huge stability ball for exercise--both for us and the babies.

They were so happy and played all afternoon. We had friends over also that afternoon and sitting with them chatting, watching the kids play gave me such a sense of fulfillment and peace.

We couldn't have done all this without a little help from our friends so I'll be sharing that story on Monday.