A Little Advent - Christmas Resource Round Up

Advent starts Sunday!  We sure are getting excited around here!  We even had trial runs of O Come, O Come Emmanuel!  and People Look East! at breakfast this morning!  Friday and Saturday we'll be pulling out the Advent wreath and Jesse Tree and dusting off some of the holiday books!  

I'm not planning on writing much that's Advent-y or Christmas-y this year.  But I did enjoy looking back through some of my past holiday posts and thought I'd stick some of them together here for you.  

Advent and Christmastime Picture Book List

I can't wait to get out holiday book basket out!  In this old post, I starred our

favorites.  What are you favorite picture books to share with kids during

Advent and Christmas?

For non-Christmas book ideas, check out my book lists page for lots of other great gift ideas!


Advent and Christmas Classical Music Recommendations

Music that we love that's not Rudolf the Red Nose Reindeer or Barenaked Ladies 
singing We Three Kinds (which I'm pretty sure is one of the all time absolute worst 
recordings of a Christmas song.  Of all time.  Ever.  All time.) 

Advent for Adults
My favorite books for my own personal spiritual reading during Advent.
(cause it's not just about kids, you know.)


10 Christmas Gift Ideas for Kids that Are Not Stuff

I love this list, if I do say so myself!  It's refreshing to bless our kids, and to be blessed by others with thoughtful gifts that don't add to our clutter.  

(Cause, boy, do we have enough clutter!)

The Toys They Actually Use and Love (and I Don't Mind Storing)

But if you ARE in the market for some good old fashioned Christmas toys, here are some

that the kids and I heartily recommend!  

Want to help your kids made homemade gifts for family and friends??  Check out our Kids Made Gift series from last year and the Kids Craft Ideas page too!

And don't forget!  There are still many items available in the Ordinary Lovely Etsy Shop for your shopping convenience!

Happy Handmade Christmas (Volume 2)

Last year I posted on the handmade gifts I had given for Christmas and thought I'd do the same again this year.  (Check out Volume 1 - that would be 2012's handmade gift list - here.) I really love making gifts this time of year.  The aspect of it that I was particularly proud of this year was that the majority of what I made was from materials I already had on hand!  I had to buy a few things here and there, but for the most part, handmade gifts this year were taken from my sewing room stockpile.  (It's a pretty big pile...)  As always, I will try to link back to the patterns, tutorials, and inspirations that I used.

The kids also hand make gifts each year.  This year they made salt dough ornaments which I completely forgot to photograph, wrap, and distribute to our family.  They also made these felt Christmas tree wall hangings - an idea I found from Ginny at Small Things via Pinterest! 

And I made...

For the kids' stockings...

Ruth has been begging for a pretty notebook like one of these for a while, so I just decided to make one for each of the bigger kids... to go with the "Smencils" they also got in their stockings!

The tutorial for these simple cloth-covered notebooks is here.

This was a pre-Christmas gift, but here's the peg doll Nativity set I painted... 

I loved doing it so much that I decided to to also paint some saint dolls for the kids' stockings.  I had intended to do two for each but ran out of time.  So Ruth got Our Lady of Guadalupe and St. Kateri, Clare got St. Clare and St. Therese, Aaron got St. Francis, and Dominic got St. Dominic.  

           

I whipped up a couple of crocheted ear warmer/headbands for the girls, but Clare refuses to model hers.  It's fairly similar to Ruth's...  (pattern from here)

And this is my favorite crochet project of the season - these nesting and stacking bowls for Clare.

These bowls are a combination of patterns.  The bottoms of the bowls follow this method here and the sides follow this method here. 

Gifts for extended family this year included a tag blanket for my new nephew...

a simple wooden-handle purse for one of my sisters...

I used this tutorial for the purse.  

and winter cowl/neckwarmers for my mom and other sister...

These are the patterns respectively...  Butternut Squash Neckwarmer and Cluster Stitch Scarf (I just made it smaller to be a neckwarmer and not a full length scarf.)

For the kids this year, we had decided to give them one big "bought" gift and one handmade gift.  For the boys, the homemade gift was fleece pajama pants - Russ also got a pair - in support of the hometown football team!

I just used a pair of the boys' sweatpants to create a pattern for these.  

And the girls received dress up capes...

The red cape was based on this tutorial here, and the floral one I created using an existing dress up cape I borrowed from a friend.  I'm hoping to make a couple more and will stick with the second version, as I like it better.  

That was the extent of handmade Christmas this year.  But if I get my way, I'll be doing a lot more sewing in the next couple weeks because I'm starting to panic that after the baby is born I'll never do another sewing project again...

I would love love love to hear about the handmade gifts you gave this year!  Leave me comments on your creations, and maybe if I can manage a couple extra minutes of blog time later I'll try to turn this into a link-up. Let me know if you're interested in that and perhaps it will be motivation for me!

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And...  because I seriously love reading what other families choose as gifts for their children,  I'll quickly tell you what the kids' second (non handmade) gifts were, in the event that you're likewise interested in these kinds of ideas!

For Aaron (age 7 1/2): The book Cool Creations in 35 Pieces, by Lego artist Sean Kenney, as well as three sets of the 35 pieces needed to build all the creations in the book.  

For Dominic (age 6): Melissa and Doug Scratch Art - Combo Scratch Art Set and Holographic Scratch Art Set.

For Ruth (age almost 4): A variety of beads for necklace making, including Melissa Doug Bead Bouquet, Butterfly Wooden Bead Set, and Flower Power Wooden Bead Set, as well as wooden pony beads and alphabet beads.  

For Clare (age 21 mos.): the classic, ever popular Fisher Price Magnetic Doodle Pro (which was much, much cheaper at Target, so um, get it there.)

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and, that's all folks!

P.S. If you read enough of my last post to ascertain that we were all sick and miserable, I'm happy to report that it seems we're on the mend!  No one got sick today and everyone ate dinner, except me  - but that has more to do with pregnancy-related reflux than stomach bug, but who wants to hear about that... 

Happy 4th Day of Christmas!  

10 Christmas Gift Ideas For Kids That ARE NOT STUFF

(Disclaimer - I have previously blogged a complaint about celebrating Christmas too early.  Please note that this is not celebrating, but responsible-parent planning!)

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Our mailbox has already begun to be inundated with advertisements for Christmas stuff - mostly toys.  One ad even said, "It's time to start making room for more stuff!"  (I think they were selling festive holiday organizational plastic bins as well as toys...) 

It's totally not my intention to get up on an evergreen-and-holly-scented soap box  (but oh, how I do love my holiday scented soaps!) and preach about materialism and the Christmas spirit. But when did the iconic symbol of a happy Christmas become an entire living room completely strewn with papers and ribbons - the remains of what was clearly a communal gorging on gifts??  

Please don't assume I'm some sort of anti-material goods wacko. I'm completely not.  I like stuff and gifts and toys as much as the next person, and I do in fact buy playthings for my children. (I have a particular weakness for books, arts and craft supplies, and wooden toys!)  But this year I'm trying to remember that "Christmas gift" does not have to be synonymous with "toys."

A friend and I were chatting the other day about making gifts count and had a mini brainstorming session on gifts for kids that are not "stuff."  Some of our ideas are included here...

(1)

SHOW TICKETS

And I'm not talking movie tickets.  What about to the symphony? Or to a play?  Check out what's playing at your local Theater of Youth.  Or see if your local philharmonic orchestra has shows especially for children if you don't think your little ones are ready to sit through a traditional concert.  (but they might be! you never know unless you try!) For ideas that are a little less cultural, shall we say, consider ideas like the circus, travelling rodeo, or monster truck rally!

(2)

TICKETS TO LOCAL ATTRACTIONS

Think of local attractions that a family might not get to without the gift of tickets.  For instance, we live near Niagara Falls but have never taken our kids on the Maid of the Mist boat ride that goes down into the gorge (obviously a summer activity!) We also live near a railway line that takes passengers for long scenic rides on a train pulled by a bona fide steam engine - my parents treated us to a ride last Fall! Think of stuff like that :)

(3)

MEMBERSHIPS...

to local museums, zoos, botanical gardens, indoor playground, gyms and pools.  Or consider looking at tickets for a special exhibit that will be opening at a local museum.  

(4)

GIFT CERTIFICATES FOR FAMILY FUN

The non-toy gift I think we're going to shoot for this year is a gift certificate for family bowling.  Our kids LOVE bowling, but we hardly ever go, so I think they'll really like this. Another one we've done before - for Father's Day - I bought an hour of archery lessons and some extra range time for my Dad, Russ, and the boys.  Some other family fun gift certificates might include indoor mini golf, a skate rental at a roller rink or ice skating rink, a couple hours at the driving range or batting cages, indoor rock climbing.

(5)

GIFT CERTIFICATES FOR CREATIVITY

Make-your-own pottery shops, classes for sewing, knitting, etc... at your local craft store, hmm, what else???

(6)

GIFT CERTIFICATES FOR ENRICHMENT

Horseback riding lessons, cooking classes, dance classes, a spot in an athletic or fitness class (like a YMCA soccer, basketball, or youth aerobics), etc... 

(7)

FAMILY DINNER OUT

If your family doesn't go out too often then a gift certificate to any restaurant will probably be a real treat for your kids! Maybe focus on a specialty food if you have an adventurous family, or a novelty restaurant if you already go out to eat often - I'm thinking of places like the rotating restaurant at the top of the Skylon Tower in Niagara Falls, Canada :)  

(8)

DIGITAL "STUFF" 

(this "stuff" is ok because it doesn't take up space or need dusting!)

This came to mind because I've been trying to build our own library of digital audio books and stories for the kids.  A gift card to Amazon, iTunes, or the like would allow a family to purchase electronic versions of books, audio books, music, apps, etc... to have on the family computer, Kindle, or other tech device.  It's "stuff," but not.   

(9)

"...OF THE MONTH CLUB" MEMBERSHIP

This was one of the most creative gifts we ever got.  Two years ago, my parents signed us up for a Snack of the Month Club.  The kids loved it!  Who am I kidding??  I loved it!  Every month we got a box full of snacks on our doorstep - usually stuff I wouldn't have bought otherwise, so it was a real treat.  I've seen all kinds of these "clubs" - chocolate, fruit, popcorn, bacon.  You're sure to find something your kids will like!  

(10)

THE GIFT OF TIME

Sometimes a gift doesn't have to cost anything at all!  One of my kids' favorite gifts is when the receive a coupon for an afternoon of baking alone with Papa.  One on one time is priceless and is always appreciated by kids with siblings! 

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That's all I've got for now.  I'm sure there are plenty of great ideas that I'm missing, so please leave your thoughts on this subject in the com box!  We can get this list really rollin'!