I learned quickly that the activities are for me. So on day two, I filled up each pocket with slips of paper and chocolate coins. It looked so nice in our entryway. By day three of Advent (Saturday), my kids tore down the calendar and ate all candy before I got out of the shower. Granted I take 20 minutes showers most mornings, I still consider my kids wild animals. I'm sure Ella was protesting at first, but then dug in when she saw that it was all going to be lost.
That day we were also planning to go to the NY Botanical Garden to see the Christmas Train Show. But my kid's behavior was so bad (I'm sure the pound of chocolate they stole didn't help their moods), that we took that activity away. Instead, we all got our annual FLU SHOTS. How's that for an Advent activity? Add it to your list for next year! They SCREAMED. Bahahaha.
How's your Advent calendar moving along? Got any good stories to tell? Day 6! 19 more to go!
Love it, Sharon! Mwa ha ha!
ReplyDeleteI don't trust my four year-old to not swipe the candy, so the night before I put in candy and activity for the next day. This also helps in planning the activity so I make sure to have enough time to do it. Today we visited Santa land at Macy's- no line at 10am! There is an adorable puppet show on the same floor for $5/ person too!
ReplyDeleteOh Sharon, this post made my day. All this talk of daily advent calendar activities recently has given me anxiety. Thank goodness I'm not the only one who doesn't lead a perfectly constructed life! ;)
ReplyDeletehaha. i've been avoiding the blogging world for that exact reason! Anxiety indeed!
ReplyDeleteHow funny! I reused several activities throughout my calendar so a bunch of days just say "read Christmas books" or "dance to Christmas songs," so I think this is helping us to avoid activity burnout. And I just noticed I said "my" calendar. You're so right...these activities are mainly for us, aren't they?
ReplyDeleteA good handful of our activities involve eating candy or cookies too, so we've got all our bases covered!
Happy advent!
I'm loving that you got your flu shots!!!!
ReplyDeleteThat. Is. Hilarious. I love how relaxed of a mother/blogger you are. You're a joy to read!
ReplyDeleteI'm sure your kids will always remember the day you took them to get their flu shots for an Advent activity.
My wife (Karen) made an awesome advent calendar. She made it from a mini-muffin pan and then used a sheet of magnet to make a covering for each day. Every night she puts the next days treat and activity in it just in case the kids rip it off the wall.
ReplyDeleteHilarious. I love your blog and it's "realness". It keeps me reading!
ReplyDeleteKeepin' it real! I like it. My mom gave us a wooden advent calender already filled with candies and corresponding gifts to open, she's the best. If it were up to me, I'd still be deciding which one to make...for next year. My 2.5 year old hasn't figured out that she can steal the candy...yet.
ReplyDeletesharon, i knew there was a reason i liked you! :) we are the same. i had such good intentions with doing a christmas activity everyday. who am i kidding? i can't even do my dishes and cook dinner every day, let alone plan a fun activity/outing. i did (like you), however, manage to be a good mom one day and get all of our flu shots done! success with something. and they all totally screamed as well. thanks for keepin' it real!!
ReplyDeleteI thought you had great ideas/intentions for your advent calendar. I have two advent calendars (one for each kid). I started writing some ideas down..but then I became overwhelmed and felt like I would be pressured into doing that particular activity on that particular day. Too much pressure!....Last year I did candy...this year, I decided to be a rebel and put nothing in them. I thought my kids would be really upset with that idea...but to my surprise, my daughter said "Ok"...and opens the advent door each day:) We still are doing fun Christmas activities but when we feel like it:) Cheers to flu shots!:)
ReplyDeleteSharon! hahahaa
ReplyDeleteThis. is. awesome! Hahahahaha! I love your honesty! After so many years of blog-reading, I thought I must be the only person who didn't grow up doing an advent calendar. Turns out, I was probably just a wild animal, too! Thanks for making me feel normal and giving me an unexpected laughing spell in my cube. :)
ReplyDeleteOh, you are hilarious! Thanks for brightening a gloomy day:)
ReplyDeleteI needed that laugh! I bought an Advent calendar for myself and my husband at World Market. My 14 month old has ridiculous food allergies so he can't have the chocolate in them. He gets Annie's organic bunny fruit snacks... those are used to bribe him to sit in his car seat nicely. Otherwise, he twists and turns and wants to face the other way. He gets his second half of the flu shot next week!
ReplyDeleteHaha! I love it. Flu shots bleh. That'll teach em! I love reading your posts and being blown away by how gorgeous Ella is, and how big and funny the boys are!
ReplyDeletehaha hilarious! we can never have it our way and neither we can plan for anything, it always ends up being whatever the kids want to make out of it! ;)
ReplyDeletehaaaaa i love you!
ReplyDeleteI love you blog! It's perfect anitdote to a long day with my 3-yr old twins!
ReplyDeleteSO FUNNY!!! TOtally took the advent calendar activity away from my kids today too. I told them they were ROTTEN at the store. Mia was so offended. Whatever!
ReplyDeletegood thing that kids look cute otherwise it would be harder to forgive them! Look at the good side, you got a post out of it! I used your cafe idea as a night of cookies and milk. It started well and then the cookies I bought tasted so bad that my son did not want to eat them, and then I don't remember for what reason he started to cry. All in all, at least I tried. Maybe next time we will have a better family time!
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