Advent!

December! And it still looks like fall outside. It is a gift.

Set up our advent calendar today, on a random cardboard circle
from the Cardboard Closet (where we store all our packing
supplies). Couldn't be bothered to go out to buy artificial snow,
so I stuck on bits of fiberfill. Not sure I like the dry ice effect
but it was convenient.

Numbered the trees and stuck them on.

Emily's preschool teachers sent this superb little advent
calendar resource home with the kids this week. They are
meant to be paper chain links, with part of the story of
Christmas written behind each. Beautiful.

I rolled them up and put one under each tree, along with
edible treats and little slips of paper for a craft, a Christmas
movie or a Christmas book for the day. The girls popped the
first tree off today and got to pick a book from the
Christmas Book Basket.

Here's something new we did today. Emily was our instructor
today while I was putting Kate down for a nap. She made this
in school last week and she thought it would be a fun
craft to teach Jenna.

It is the easiest thing in the world - cut a paper shape out,
bite mini-marshmallows in half, and press the sticky halves
down onto the paper. Leave to dry overnight (or longer)
so the marshmallows harden.

I cut out two shapes for them, and she showed Jenna what to do.
Here's her flower:

Jenna ate most of her marshmallows,
so her finished star is a bit minimalist.

Unrelated, I covet this coat from Boden. I've seen it in
person. It is spectacular, if for the topstitching alone.
Actually, I covet a lot of things from Boden. Like this tunic.
And this top. And that's just in the women's section.
Aaaaaaaaaah...... Well, off to bed now.