This year, my husband took about a week off from work around Thanksgiving to spend time with his mom who was visiting us. I feel that having him around and clearing our schedule for our family during that week gave us a great head-start on our Christmas season. The house is decorated, we’ve been to Temple Square to see the lights, we’ve seen a few Christmas movies, our Christmas shopping is almost done, and we’ve made Christmas cookies. Hot chocolate has even been imbibed on more than one occasion. And it’s only Dec. 1!

Having that time to prepare also helped me to make an actual plan for making the season about more than Santa Claus. Every year, I feel like I get swept away in all the Christmas to-do lists mingled in with regular family, church and work responsibilities, and I never feel like I’m getting all there is to be got out of the Christmas season.

We have decided to try out three traditions this year to help us focus more on service and Jesus Christ. So far, they have been completely unstressful. They aren’t tried-and-true tested traditions yet, but I am optimistic about this year’s Christmas season.

(Side note: You’ve no doubt heard similar versions of everything I’m about to describe. I certainly am not trying to pass these off as original-Rebecca ideas, but I want to share them anyway!)

1. We participated in Samaritan’s Purse Operation Christmas Child

This is a program that allows you to pack a shoe box full of toys for a child. You choose the gender and age of the child, pay $7 for shipping, and Samaritan’s Purse sends it to a child in a third-world country who wouldn’t have Christmas presents otherwise. I believe the program has ended for this year, but I’m sure there are other similar things to be done somewhere.

We left the decision making up to our 5-in-a-few-days daughter so she could have the experience and ownership of helping someone. She chose to shop for a 5- to 7-year-0ld girl. No surprise there. In our prayers leading up to our shopping day, we prayed that we would know the right things to buy for the girl who is going to receive our box. Lydia picked out lots of Hello Kitty items and art supplies. We hope the box makes a little girl’s heart happy.

2. 25 Days of Service advent calendar

I saw this picture on Parents.com, and decided to do a little sewing project. Isn’t it adorable?

If you want to buy the fabric from me to make your own adorable advent calendar, I’ll sell it to you, because that’s as far as this project got. This may happen one year, but this is definitely not the year. Instead, we’re using our old $1 Target advent calendar to help us in our 25 Days of Service project.

Lydia and I sat down and came up with 25 things we can do to help other people, wrote them on little strips of paper, and put each one in each spot on the calendar.

Some of the things we came up with:

• Make lunch for Dad
• Do the dishes
• Write a note for Mom
• Send a letter to someone
• Bring food to the food shelter
• Bring packed lunches to homeless people
• Bring food dishes to the animal shelter
• Vacuum a room
• Dust a room
• Call grandmas and grandpas
• Make a picture for a friend
• Donate crayons to the children’s hospital
• Make snowflakes and deliver them to a nursing home

After about 10 of our own ideas, we had to look on the internet for more. It’s surprisingly hard to come up with ideas a 5-year-old can do.

3. Adding straw to Baby Jesus’ manger

We had an activity at church last week where the women shared Christmas traditions with each other. One woman shared this tradition, and I loved the idea so much because it encourages good behavior during the season with the motivator for good behavior focusing on Jesus Christ instead of the gifts Santa will bring.

We have an empty basket to represent Jesus’ manger and cut pieces of raffia to represent straw. Every time we do something nice for someone, we will put a piece of “straw” in the “manger,” with the idea that we are making a nice, soft bed for the baby Jesus.

Here’s a story that describes a similar version of this idea: The Last Straw in the Manger.

Since we haven’t ever tried any of these ideas, I don’t know how they will work in our family. But I’m eager to get started. We still have more cookies to bake, parties to attend, presents to buy, and movies to watch, but I’m hoping that with these kid-friendly service ideas, Christmas will be more focused on Christ this year.

I bought a new dress with a long red and white sash. My 4-year-old, who has a flair for attaching great sentimental value to the most worthless of items, laid eyes on that sash and immediately determined to claim it as her own. She set her thieving plan in motion when I wasn’t around by asking her dad most sweetly if she could play with it. He saw no harm, and handed it over.

Once I discovered the sash was gone, I immediately went to her “secret” stash-hiding place, found the prized sash (as well as a vacuum attachment I’ve been missing), and put it away, only to repeat the same process several times over the next few days.

Finally, I told her enough was enough. No more playing with the red and white sash. It is mine.

She begged me to make her one of her own, and I half-heartedly agreed, hoping she would forget our little agreement with enough distraction.

She forgot. And then she remembered. And remembered. And remembered. There was no more putting it off. I had told her I would make a sash (or a long piece of fabric, as she accurately called it), and so I must fulfill that promise.

I retrieved my mom’s 1970-something sewing machine from my basement, set it up on the kitchen table, and told Lydia, “I have no idea what I’m doing. This may not happen today.”

She hovered close-by, whispering words of encouragement as I struggled with my most-feared element of sewing: threading the machine. The bobbin was in place, and I thanked my lucky stars for that because even after a summer sewing class when I was 12, lessons from my mom, lessons from a friend, and lessons from my husband, I still have absolutely no idea what the bobbin is. I get all rashy if the bobbin needs to “be threaded.” What does that even mean?

After a few minutes of studying the machine, I discovered a diagram on threading the needle. With another warning to Lydia to not get her hopes too high, I hesitatingly followed that diagram — and was completely surprised when I found success!  Lydia and I both cheered.

Remembering something about “wrong sides” or “bad sides” or something of that nature, I sewed the “wrong sides” (I think) of Lydia’s two chosen fabric pieces together. I then spent almost an eternity turning those pieces right-side-out. I’m sure there was an easier way, but I am certainly not equipped to discover such a way.

Bewildering to me, my goofy Lydia was — and still is — thrilled with her uneven sash that I think still needs to be ironed before it can be called complete.

Thank goodness for 4-year-olds and low expectations.

This little girl turned 3 this weekend!

We incorporated a German tradition into our celebration, thanks to our lovely foreign exchange student.  In Germany, they set a special place at the table for the birthday girl or boy the night before.  The birthday person can’t see it until the day of the birthday.  They decorate it with candles to blow out, special dishes, flowers, streamers, balloons, whatever.  The presents are in place, ready to be opened.  Since Lydia was having a monster party that day, we used Halloween tableware for her special place.  She was thrilled.

And then, the party began.  She had requested a monster party, so we did our best to oblige.  But have you ever tried to plan a monster party in any month outside of October?  It’s not easy, my friends.  We had to stretch the imagination a bit.

The monster cake, made by my dashing and talented husband.

The monster drink: lime sherbet and 7 Up, an idea from Marie’s Monster Mania eBook

The monster party favors, a HUGE stretch.  The whoppers are “monster eyeballs,” the m&m’s are “monster polka-dots” (cuz, ya know, some monsters have polka dots on their bodies) and the twizzlers are “monster tongues.”  We also found some little monster toys and figurines at a party store and they were a huge hit.

The monster party craft: monster feet, an idea also taken from Marie’s Monster Mania ebook.

The monster activity: reading monster books.  See those smiles on the kiddos’ faces?  My hubby is a real crowd pleaser.

The monster game: “Don’t Eat Pete” with Halloween faces in the boxes.  Printable game cards and instructions are here.

All the little monsters behaved themselves and the Birthday Girl had a good time!  Happy birthday to my big, grown up girl (who informed me today that she is now big enough to drive).

Are you still looking for a fun 4th of July craft?  Check out Marie’s blog:  www.makeandtakes.com.  There are a gazillion.  And they’re good ones too.  Good for people like me who don’t know how to craft and good for people like my 2 year old daughter who gets so fantastically excited any time I mention an art project but is sadly dependent on me who doesn’t know how to craft.  I planned to do this one with my daughter but time got away from me.  Who cares?  I’m still going to do it after the 4th.  It’s cool to be patriotic any day of the year, right? 

Also, check out www.alwayssomethingtotalkabout.com.  We’re talking about our fathers and their good qualities.  (I know that Father’s Day was a while ago.  But it’s still timely since we’re celebrating the ‘fathers’ of our country this weekend!  Stretch much?)  We would love to hear what you love about your dad or other dads you know.  It’s so fun to see the important things that stick out to each person.  We’re all so different.

Here’s my daddy 27 years ago.  I was a much cuter baby than this picture portrays.

I’m always on the lookout for easy toddler crafts.  The less preparation, materials, and effort involved, the better.  Let’s face it.  I’m lazy when it comes to crafts. 

I saw this craft somewhere at some point in my life, but I don’t remember where.  It’s super easy.  It takes 3 materials and 3 minutes to prepare.

Materials:

Piece of paper
Cotton balls
Glue

Three minutes of preparation:

Cut out the shape of a fuzzy spring animal- a lamb or a bunny.  (I’m sure there are more fuzzy spring animals, but I’m drawing a blank.)

Now, before I show you the awesome picture of our lamb, I must warn you not to get jealous of my artistic abilities.  Jealousy isn’t very becoming.  Also, it won’t get you any closer to being as great of an artist as me.

See?  I’m amazing.

Now that those 3 minutes of preparation are up, gather your toddler and glue.  Help your toddler smear glue all over your fuzzy spring animal.

Give your toddler some cotton balls and instruct her to cover all the glue with the cotton balls.

Voila.

Set it aside in a special place to show to Daddy (or Mommy or Grandma or Grandpa or the neighbor) as soon as it dries.

We all know grandparents love getting cards from toddler grandchildren with scribbles and special stickers on them.  Even though toddlers don’t know what they’re doing, it’s still fun to receive a homemade card with the “signature” of that cute two year old.

Lydia loves scribbling away while chattering about Grandma Diamond or Grandma and Grandpa Brown.  She is even at a stage where she adamantly chooses which card goes to which grandparent.  Somehow, each scribble has meaning to her.

Until now, scribbles, stickers and glued on shapes have been the means of making cards for our family members. 

But we’ve come across an even cuter way to do personalized toddler cards.

This is a Valentine Lydia received from her almost 2 year old friend, Jack.

Making a card this way serves so many purposes.

1. You can see that all the letters of her name are used in the card, so it was made personally for Lydia. 

2. You can also see that it was made personally by little Jack because of the way the letters and hearts are arranged.

3. Jack got a lesson in letters and shapes while he applied his stickers.

4. Lydia loves picking out the letters of her name while she carries the card around the house. 

It’s cute, it’s creative, it’s personal, and it inspires learning.  It’s the perfect way for a toddler to make a card!

When I was seventeen, my church youth group did a time capsule activity.  I remember being very unenthusiastic about this activity.  Now, I can’t figure out why I wasn’t excited- this is exactly the type of thing I love to do!

Well, it’s been ten years since that activity took place.  While putting away the Christmas decorations in our Harry Potter closet under the stairs the other day, I found the time capsule.  My husband has been itching to open it up since we got married, but I’m a stickler for rules.

Since it is now 2010, we were finally allowed to open and reveal the great desires of my 17 year old self.

It was rather disappointing.  Remember- I was unenthusiastic at the time the capsule was sealed.  The things put in the capsule were mostly put in there by my dear friend Jill who wouldn’t let me seal it up without something interesting.  She made copies of pictures and cards for me.

And it looks like I grabbed a few things on my way out the door- the cover of a college application, a certificate for a judged piano performance, my senior picture.  These were interesting to see, but not exactly exciting.

There were two things in the capsule I was happy to see:

1. the pictures Jill copied.  Thank you Jill.

and

2. a sealed letter from my mother to me.

So that you don’t make the same mistake as me, I have compiled a list of things to include in a time capsule.  At the start of a new year and decade, now is a great time for your family to make your own time capsule!

What to Put in a Time Capsule

1. Lots of pictures.  It made me happy to see a picture of myself with my high school friends.  I am still friends with each one of them today.

2. Letters.  If your children are making a time capsule, write them a letter and seal it up (BEFORE they have read it).  Tell them what you love about them and what you hope for them.  Tell them what you believe and why.  Mention something about what they are currently doing in life.

Have your child write a letter to herself.  Those are so fun to read years later.  If you are making a time capsule for yourself, write yourself a letter.  Think about how old you will be when you open the time capsule, and write about what you hope to have accomplished at that point.

Have siblings, friends and even neighbors write letters too.  Be sure to have them include last names.

3. Lists.  I would have loved to have read a list of what I loved at the age of seventeen.  Or a list of what I hated.  A list of my favorite things in my room.  A list and description of my favorite outfits.  A list of my favorite song artists.  A list of my top 3 college choices.  A list of my favorite books.  A list of my favorite movies.  A Top 10 of my year…you get the idea.

4. Wages and prices.  It would have been fun to find an old pay stub and receipt for something I saved to buy.

5. Labels.  I found a little pink birdhouse with my name on it.  I have no idea where it came from, who made it or why I would have included it in my time capsule.  If you do put an item in your capsule, be sure to include a description of it’s origin and meaning to you at the time.

6. Movie stubs

7. Gas receipts

8. Grocery receipts

9. Your favorite book, cd or movie. Be sure it’s not your only copy since you’re sealing this up for a period of time.

10. Children’s artwork-label label label!  You won’t remember what the scribbles were supposed to be 10 years later!

11. Outlines of hands and feet

12. A lock of hair Since hair color changes (naturally or chemically), it could be fun to compare when you open the capsule.

13. An outgrown but favorite outfit or pair of shoes

14. A calendar of your year- with all the appointments.  Doctor appointments, vacations and piano lessons can be interesting years later!

15. Paint chips, carpet, fabric swatches from your house

Thanks for visiting! Because of stupid spammers, I had to close comments on this post, but please feel free to email me with any thoughts you have. thrilledbythethought@yahoo.com. Or better yet, stick around and check out my more recent posts. Just click here to go to the home page. Or better, better yet, add me to your preferred reader so you won’t miss out on any of the hilarity going on at Thrilled by the Thought!

Welcome to my Halloween Blog Party! 

Vanessa Valencia at A Fanciful Twist is hosting this fantabulous blog party.  Here is what’s going on at Thrilled by the Thought!

To get into the spirit of Halloween, we went to a graveyard.

We practiced wearing our costumes.

And now, the day is here!  Join us as we craft and look at art (my favorite thing to do!!)

First, we will make these candle holders.  Very simple.  Buy a regular vase, get some heavy duty spray glue and some Haloweenish tissue paper.  Spray the paper with the heavy duty spray glue and paste the paper on how you like it!

Now, let’s look at some scary art. 

Francisco Goya, The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters

Oh I’m so glad my dreams are not like this.

Caspar David Friedrich, Abbey in the Oak Forest

Even though this looks like a photograph, it is an oil painting!  Incredible!

Edvard Munch, The Scream

A psychological nightmare

Henry Fuseli, The Nightmare

Again, I’m so glad my dreams are not like this!

Thanks so much for stopping by.  Grab a spider ring on your way out!

My baby got a super fun Halloween package in the mail from her cousin in California yesterday.  It was in such creative packaging that I had to share!

There was a big hole cut out on the side for the retrieval of the goodies.  Over the hole was taped the address label.

I knew my husband would want to participate in the opening, so I just let my baby play with the package until he got home.  10 month olds are so easy to please!

I was planning on making my baby’s costume since I am an incredible seamstress (laugh laugh), but then I saw THIS!  I didn’t know store bought baby costumes could be so stinkin cute!  Oh boy, what am I going to do now?