The Elf on the Shelf

Christmas is just 10 days away (yikes!) which means if you're like me you're running out of time to finish up shopping and running out of ideas for your Elf on the Shelf!

Clothespin reindeer

Like everyone else in MA, we got our tree this past weekend, so making Christmas ornaments seemed like the perfect activity for H and I to do last night. H has a serious reindeer thing this year, which I totally get. I loved reindeer as a kid too. They're kind of like horses (which H also loves), but they can fly. Magical. So making clothespin reindeer just seemed like a given.

The Advent Calendar

A couple of weeks ago I was cruising through the craft store when I saw an unfinished wood advent calendar in the shape of a Christmas tree. I breezed by it at first but then found myself heading back to get another look. It had 24 little drawers with pull knobs. "How fun would it be to paint that...?" I thought to myself. At $25 it was more than I would probably spend on a finished advent calendar, so I decided to head home and wait for my weekly "50% off one item" coupon* to appear in my email box and then went back to buy it.