Christmas Ideas from Christmas past.

Past posts for Christmas ideas when I participated in the Online Christmas Party.

Online Christmas Party - all of my posts

The Ongoing, Never ending Online Christmas Party!

2007

2008

2009

Making it easier

Tonight is the Faithgirls Christmas party. One of the activities the girls will be doing is decorating cookies. I really didn't feel like making "homemade from scratch" cookies so I just got Betty Crocker Gingerbread cookie mix and a Sugar cookie mix. You know what, it made the whole process a lot easier, and kept the stress level down. Emilie, Olivia and Bella appreciated that!

I don't think the girls will have any less fun decorating and eating these "almost homemade" cookies.

For more Christmas ideas and recipes check out the Online Christmas Party.

It's Started!

The Online Christmas Party is a blog meme hosted by Melissa Telling of Lilliput Station Adventures. It is a way for homeschool bloggers all over the world to celebrate the Saviour's birth by sharing some Christmas spirit with our online friends. It is a place to gather new ideas, new recipes, and maybe a few new traditions. It is our way of making the season a little brighter for those we have never met, but still feel as if we know. This year's party runs from December 6th through December 19th.

Christmas School

Christmas School begins today!

We stop our regular curriculum during December and do a special Christmas study.

Check out these 3 Different Christmas unit studies. This year we are doing "Good Christian Men Rejoice" and reading The Gift of the Magi, by O. Henry. I've not found any cool thingy to go with it, but will just be doing some worksheets I found online.

I've done Jesse Trees several times, the graphic with The Glorious Coming are so neat. This Jesse Tree devotional is free with "ornaments" for children to color. There are a lot of other free devotions and ornaments online.


Last year we did an Inductive Advent study.
The "sisters" read a Christmas Carol and did A Reading Record with it.
I *loved* the set up of the Reading Record. Isabella did this Christmas Lapbook last year, by Lilliput Station.

I'm a sucker for Christmas unit studies. I've got other Christmas studies this past weekend. One was A Christmas Adventure. I also bought Symbols of Christmas Lapbook, a couple years ago.
I have the Advent Calendar Lapbook but haven't used it yet. I've never met a Lilliput Station product that I've not liked.

Christmas just doesn't come around enough for me to use everything. I probably need to stop collecting Christmas studies now.

For more Christmas ideas to share with your family visit the On Line Christmas Party!

Send a card!

We will be participating in Holiday Mail for Heros this year!

For other great traditions from families check out the Online Christmas Party!

Filling Shoeboxes

We filled our shoeboxes Sunday afternoon for Operation Christmas Child.
Each box was filled to the brim. We included a bandana, washcloth, bar of soap, toothpaste, toothbrush, 1 pack of pencils, pencil sharpener, 3 ink pens, crayons, a small notebook, hair goodies, 1 book, 1 pair of socks, lip balm, stickers, gum and candy, tote bag, travel lotion, 1 small container of play-doh, 1 mini ball, comb, 1 small stuffed bunny, sunglasses.

We really enjoyed doing this project. For more great family traditions check out the Online Christmas Party!

Holiday Countdown Calendar

A Holiday pocket countdown calendar. Print 25 pockets onto colored paper, fold and glue to a poster board. On gingerbread boy cut outs write a holiday activity to do each day. Include the normal holiday prep that you need to do anyway, like signing cards, decorating the tree & home, and different baking days. Other things to include might be riding around looking at lights, going caroling, making gifts, wrapping gifts, reading Christmas books, watch Christmas movie(s), donate food to a food bank, “adopt” an angle tree child, participate in your church Christmas program, or attend a church Christmas program.

Since this is a daily calendar you can easily include daily advent readings, and/or Jesse tree reading/ornaments in each pocket as well.

I’ve not made mine yet, we started last year but I never got my poster made. For more great ideas to make your holiday special check out the Online Christmas Party.

Click here for PDF 2 small pockets per sheet of paper.

Christmas Craft Time

Using The Christmas Stencil Cards, card stock, colored pencils, hole punch and ribbon.

Trace the stencil of choice, color it in and cut it out to make gift tags. Other fun ideas for these cute festive cards include: Trace shapes onto Shrinky-Dink paper and make tree ornaments & holiday charms, create holiday bedroom door signs, or let your children make their own greeting cards.

Check out other great ideas at the Online Christmas Party.

Christmas Book Basket

I collect all our Christmas and Winter themed books and read one each day, leading up to Christmas. Some years I would wrap the books and place in a basket under the tree, letting the girls pick one to open each day. That way the book is a surprise and they get to open something which is always exciting.

I was pleasantly surprised to see that I have plenty of Christmas and Winter books to use. If you need to supplement with library books, I wouldn't wrap them. Save on those overdue fine. :) Or I suppose you could just keep renewing them until they get picked.

Online Christmas Party 2008

Christmas School

For the month of December we stop our normal curriculum and do what we like to call "Christmas School" There are several free online Christmas unit studies out there that we we rotate each year. We also include some sort of craft, or make a memory activity.

This year the girls have their own Holiday Journals, a combination of several different journals, including Our Christmas Journal by: Sheri Graham of Graham Family Ministries
www.school4jesus.com

This year we will do an Inductive Advent Study

Online Christmas Party 2008

Online Christmas Party

The second annual Online Christmas Party is gearing up for another fun and memorable year. So grab a cup of cocoa and your favorite fuzzy slippers and visit us at the Online Christmas Party 2008!