Xmas ideas 2011---number 3 Countdown to Christmas

This tidbit is a great way to enjoy the countdown to the holiday period with your children.  This idea is from my friend, Emma Rogoz, via Pinterest:

http://pinterest.com/pin/620938050/

And this idea also came from Sarah Jane's blog:

http://sarahjanestudios.com/blog/2010/11/childrens-book-advent-calendar/

"Children’s Picture Book Advent Calendar: What is it?

24 Christmas Picture Books, all wrapped up and marked for each day leading up until Christmas. This way, we will be reading one Christmas story a night!

Now don’t panic…getting 24 Christmas Books isn’t as hard as it looks. When you can check out Christmas books from the Library for 3 weeks at a time, it makes it rather simple….you may need to renew one time in there, but it still makes for a lovely tradition! And inexpensive too!"

Emma is doing this with her two daughters this holiday, and what she did was look through her girls' books to find ones they had not read for a while and also went to charity shops and bought some new ones too. [Although as Sarah Jane points out, you can always borrow from a local library].  What a win-win idea---spending real quality time with the children, spending little or no money and just a tiny bit of effort wrapping them.

I know you should have started it already...but you could always do the 12 days of Xmas and start it on the 12th of December, that's enough time.  Or just a countdown to which ever is your name for the holiday you celebrate [Yule, Winterval, Christmas, Winter Solstice, etc.] and start 10 days before it.

I am starting to get some great ideas from friends, so if you have one Please send it to me, or if you make something or have a holiday tradition you think would be good to share with others, please let me know.

Please share at will!---Gabrielle 2011