Dick and Jane Puzzle Blocks from Sun-Kissed Scholars {I used to have an old block puzzle as a kid. I’d love to make this vintage one!}

Quick Trick: Patience, Patience from Teach Mama {oh, wow. we need this at our house!}

A Very Kid Friendly New Year’s Eve Party from This Blessed Nest {I am saving this for next year1}

Crafty Math? Make a Button Board from Education.com {Cute idea even if you don’t use it for math!}

Pom Pom Polar Bear from Free Kids Crafts {It’s so cold here, I feel like a polar bear! This one is adorable!}

Day 15: Repurposed Jewelry Box Silhouette Diorama of the Stable

“She gave birth to her first baby. It was a boy. She wrapped him in large strips of cloth. Then she placed him in a manger. There was no room for them in the inn.”  Luke 2:7

Day 16: Repurposed Jewelry Box Manger with Spagetti Straw and Christmas Ball Baby Jesus (*whew*)

“She gave birth to her first baby. It was a boy. She wrapped him in large strips of cloth. Then she placed him in a manger. There was no room for them in the inn.”  Luke 2:7

Day 17: Trashbag Lamb. Inspired by DadCanDo.com

“There were shepherds living out in the fields nearby. It was night, and they were looking after their sheep.” Luke 2:8

Day 18: Stamped Scroll declaring the GOOD NEWS that Jesus is Born!

“But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy. It is for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you. He is Christ the Lord.” Luke 2:10-12

Day 19: Shepherd Who Praised God AND Told Others About Jesus

After the shepherds had seen him, they told everyone. They reported what the angel had said about this child…They gave glory and praise to God. Luke 2:17 & 20

Don’t forget to look at all our Advent Calendar Ornaments!

Glitter craft foam mosaic star. Inspired by Glittering Shards.

“We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him.” Matthew 2:2

A recycled egg carton town of Bethlehem. Those black marks are windows. Obviously.

“…he asked them where the Christ was to be born. “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written: ” ‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will be the shepherd of my people Israel.’” Matthew 2:4-6

ps…for some awesome info about why Jesus was born in Bethlehem, check out Why a Manger? by Brock and Bodie Thoene!

We started with a cross, wrote “Immanuel”, “Jesus” and “God with us”…

Folded it up, taped it and it’s a box! The box metaphor is kind of a stretch, but I decided to do it because it reminded me that God isn’t just “out there”, He’s tangible and close and “with us”!

(why yes, that is a walrus decoration on the side…)

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All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”—which means, “God with us.” Matthew 1:22-23

Joseph’s pillow…hand “sewn” by Lydia!

An angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” Matthew 1:20-21

Homemade shrinky dink of a Family Tree. Instructions from Skip to My Lou.

“Abraham was the father of Isaac…and Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.” Matthew 1.

(oh, it’s supposed to be a crown with the letter “J” for Jesus…)

A child will be born to us. A son will be given to us. He will rule over us. And he will be called Wonderful Adviser and Mighty God. He will also be called Father Who Lives Forever and Prince Who Brings Peace.  The authority of his rule will continue to grow. The peace he brings will never end. He will rule on David’s throne and over his kingdom. He will make the kingdom strong and secure. His rule will be based on what is fair and right. It will last forever.  The Lord’s great love will make sure that happens. He rules over all.
Isaiah 9:6-7 NIrV

“The people who are now living in darkness will see a great light. They are now living in a very dark land. But a light will shine on them.” Isaiah 9:2 NIrV

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Leigh has already started the Advent posts off with a bang! I was going to wait to share my activities until next week because I’ll be out of town for my Disney Mom’s Panel training this week. But this morning Lydia and I had such a great time talking about baby Jesus and making the first of our Advent ornaments that I just had to share a picture! Stay tuned more advent posts coming daily!

Our extended family is growing by leaps and bounds – and we are all still trying to figure out our Thanksgiving traditions.  We are in our 3rd year of switching houses for dinner on Josh’s side, and there are five children under 5 years old who will be running around the new house on Thursday.  I’ve decided that no matter what the setting is, Auntie Leigh will start bringing cool kids crafts for the children to do while the fabulous cooks are getting things ready for everyone.  This year, I’m bringing the supplies to make clothespin turkeys for the table setting!

Supplies you will need for the clothespin turkeys:

• clothespins
• paint (optional – I think these would look really nice with the plain wood clothespins, too)
• googly eyes
• felt or construction paper for beak and turkey waddle-thingy
• feathers or construction paper feathers
• glue or double-stick tape

Elias and I did a little bit of prep for the craft today – we painted the clothespins so we could have some fun rainbow colored turkeys at the table with us on Thursday!

Elias actually painted one, and I painted the rest.  Good enough.

If you choose to paint the clothespins, give them a chance to dry, then bag them up for your bulk turkey production on Thursday.

Cut out little orange triangles for beaks and little red waddle-thingy shaped thingies…

… and then start to make a sample turkey to give the kids an example to look at as they craft away on Thursday.

Glue or tape the feathers to one side of the painted clothespin (I will do this with double-sided tape on Thursday, because the glue is still drying on the feathers I glued to my turkey, and I don’t want the kids to have to wait that long.  Instant gratification, you know.)…

Glue or stick down googly-eyes and a waddle-thingy and a beak on the front of the turkey, and stand the bird up to be admired! (one good thing about doing crafts with kids is you can leave glue all gloopy around the edges, and it doesn’t bother them!  And if adults see it, they can just assume that a child did the craft!  It’s a win-win situation!)

Put together all of your supplies for the turkey craft into a large zip-top bag for easy transport to your Thanksgiving dinner location, and you will be the “favorite aunt” for a little bit (at least until the kids taste Auntie Gina’s amazing mashed potatoes).

I still need to put in my double-side tape and a marker – I will be asking all of the adults to write what they are thankful for on their turkeys, and we will place them at each plate at the dinner table – and maybe we can start a new tradition of reading the thankful turkeys at dinner time!

Do you have any tricks for helping kids spend the long hours before Thanksgiving dinner?