It's looking like Christmas!

I think even more than THE day I enjoy all the activities leading up to THE day.  I enjoy the old traditions surrounding the season, the music, the bringing out of familiar Christmas decorations.

 For years we have helped decorate our church for Christmas the first Saturday of December.  Now the grandchildren are helping and it is so much more fun with them.

 My favorite Christmas decoration hands down is the Fisher Price Natitivity set.  We've added pieces over the  years and it has held up well.  The kids play and play and play with it.

 We don't get a white Christmas here very often.  Face it, we don't get snow very often period.  We did get a bit of a dusting a week ago and a little 3 year old insisted on a snowman.  This was the result.  He's about 6 inches tall.  She also insisted on a carrot nose.  We packed the head so tight that the head flew off when we tried to insert the nose.  Ahh well, she was happy.

 So we don't get much snow.  That doesn't mean we don't have snowball fights.  Indoors.  A friend in my IBK group on ravelry sent me a dozen knit snowballs as part of an ornament swap.  They have been a hit since.  Just a day ago they divided into teams, boys vs girls and had a war.  I'm not sure who won but considering how much fun they had, all won.

 Zoo lights is part of the holiday tradition.  The lights!  The zoo characters for hugging.  Elephant ears for eating.  The night we went this year was cool but clear, as in no rain!  Perfect!

 One of the ladies in our church uses tea time as her ministry.  Usually there is one around Christmas time and one in the spring near Mother's Day.  We haven't gone to the last few because we had other commitments but we made it to this one.  The little girls seem to enjoy it more than we do.  But then all they have to do is smile or bat their eyes and the waiters are swooping in to give to their every whim.  They enjoy the dress up part of it too.

 Church, church family, are a huge part of the Christmas season for us.  My grandchildren enjoy their moment in the spot light lighting the Advent candles.  This year the brothers did it together.  Half way up the aisle one of the candles went out which meant going back for a relight.  The other went ahead and lit his candle and then patiently waited for his brother to light the 3rd candle together.

 I've tried to get some knitting done inbetween scrapbooking and passing the treasurer's job for the Guild on to the next one and running children to and from school and fixing meals.  Hats are great projects for busy people or any knitter really.  Super cute results with pretty instant gratification.  Both the hats I've finished were slouchy ones and I want to do some more.  They look so cute on the kids.   (details on ravelry)

 Just a week before Christmas and we finally got our treel.  It's a pretty one and it was fun to decorate.

Now to get the needles clicking.  Another holiday tradition?  Last minute sewing and knitting projects!  But come January it's all about finishing projects.  Nothing new in January but back to the old.