Christmas Challenge Day #3: Meeting the man himself! Santa Clause!

I've always heard the third time is a charm...I tried taking Samuel to see Santa when he was about a month old...screaming.  I tried taking Samuel last year to see Santa when he was a year old...screaming.  But the third time is a charm!  By no means did the picture turn out great, in fact, Samuel wouldn't even sit on Santa's lap. But we did it!  We got a picture of both Samuel and Santa in the same general area, with no tears!

This was one of my favorite childhood traditions when I was a kid!  A visit with Santa.  There is just something magical about it!  As a parent, I want to be able to provide the same experience for my son.  And though, the picture was kind of funny/not the best.  The time we spent together was invaluable.

You can do a visit with Santa the standard way...at the mall.  Our local mall does photos with Santa at a high price, but they will let you take your own with your digital camera if you want.  Or you can get creative at seeing Santa. 

This year, we attended an outdoor tree lighting ceremony in our little town.  It was a great experience: caroling, lights, Christmas tree, a message, and loads of kids!  You can also see Santa at church functions, children playgroups, and community gatherings!  Ask other mom's in your area, and call your town hall to see if they offer any holiday events!  No need to spend a lot of money! 

Not a great picture...of any of us!  But a great night and great memories!!!!!  It was great quality time for the whole family (the husband took the picture!)

Christmas Challenge Day #2: Make your windows glow

Samuel and I are spending the day decorating all the windows and doors!  It is a great activity to do with a 2-year old...and I'm sure the older the kiddos get that it gets even more entertaining! 

This is a fairly cheap activity, and may require a run to your local Wal-Mart or Target or Dollar Tree.  By my frugal standards, we went all out for window and door decoration day! We spent about $10!  We got a great assortment of the gel window clings, the regular window clings, and these great new window stickers that are removable! 

My pictures are certainly not the best, there is just something about taking pictures of windows that just never seems to work out for me!  But we have spent the entire morning having a ton of fun!  And it's the activity that just keeps on giving!

Samuel loves to pull off all the window clings and put them back on: over and over and over and over and over again!  I'm actually now questioning the gel window clings...they may be more appropriate for a child who is a bit older.  Samuel has already torn a couple of ours.  So if you are the mother of a toddler, maybe stick to the clings at the Dollar Tree.  It's only $1, so if they got lost or ruined, no big deal!  Plus, you can wipe them down in warm water and they are like new!  Also, let your child/children pick them out!  I picked out a Christmas tree I liked, Samuel liked the Santa Clause and the ornaments! 

We went all out and are decorating most of our windows.  But if you are on a tight budget, one will do!  It's something safe, fun, easy, and perfect for a toddler!  Plus it makes things look festive! And the sky is the limit on this!  This year we are doing just the simple clings, but next year I'm thinking of making snowflakes, decking them out with candles, and trimming the windows with bows!  Be creative and make your windows shine!

Christmas Challenge Day #1 Sparking Snow Dough

It is so easy during the holidays to get so wrapped up in everything, that it's easy to forget to take time out and enjoy that little love bug in your life!  So my challenge to any parent, it to make sure you carve out a half of hour of your morning or evening for just some one on one time!

I'm posting 24 fun things to do with your toddler during Christmas!  Some ideas are simple, some are free, some involve minor purchases...but all are great to do without going broke!!  You can do these ideas in any order and repeat when necessary!  But the time spent will be worth it!  Day #1: Sparking SNOW PLAYDOUGH!

SPARKLING SNOW DOUGH
2 cups water
2 cups flour
1 cup salt
4 tsp. cream of tartar
4 tsp. oil
Iridescent glitter (we used silver...but any color will work!)

1.  Combine ingredients in a heavy saucepan.
2.  Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly with wooden spoon- until mixture thickens and pulls away from sides of pan. 3.  Form dough into a ball, place on waxed paper and cool.

Recommendations:

Stoves and Samuel do not go well together!  Samuel loves to be a BIG helper!  But I always worry he will get burnt, so I made this during nap time for him to play with when he wakes up!  But if you are a parent of an older child, then this would be great to make together!

Here's the website where I found this recipe (and 39 other recipes for homemade playdough!!!)  If you don't have all these ingredients you can substitute another recipe and just add glitter!

Home Made Play Dough Website

24-Days of Christmas Fun!!!

As a child, I loved Christmas!!!  My siblings and I always had so much fun out of the simplest things!  As I got older, I lost some of that simple joy...but now that I have a 2-year old...IT'S BACK!!!!!!!!!  I am so excited to celebrate Christmas this year!!!!!  The past two years I was exhausted at Christmas time.  The year Samuel was born, I didn't even put up a tree...and last year, the tree made it up, and the gifts got wrapped, but anything more than that was daunting...but this year, I AM SO EXCITED!!!!!!

So, for others who have toddlers (my son is 2)...I plan to post 24 simple, and fun things you can do with your child.  One for each day leading up to Christmas!  I'm actually working ahead so I can post pictures!  So stay tuned (and Mel, I know you are a reader...just book mark this page so you and Lydia will have some fun ideas in a couple year!  In the mean time, be exhausted...you are allowed to!  You have an infant!!!)