Polar Express Christmas Party

Our ward this year put on a

 Polar Express party

 where the children, youth

 and some adults

 came dressed in their pyjamas to the church. 

 

 They were greeted by a

ticket master

 who punched their

golden tickets and then let them onto a train.

 

 The train ride took them to the North Pole.

They had to go past some pretty amazing scenery, but the trip wasn't too long.

 

 

 They then had to exit the train and follow the tracks to enter the north pole.

 

 

 They all got to choose a train and sat down for a turkey dinner and hot chocolate bar.

 

If they wanted to they could build a snowman and add it to the walls

 

Cute little snowmen

 (why is there a green one?)

 

 

We had a brief program where

 a couple of families danced to the

 hot chocolate song

and a young man sang the song believe from the movie

 and our

train conductor read a story about Santa and Jesus

 

  Santa visited and then we had a

 very special family

show up and we all sang silent night.

 

 

Santa handed out a swirly lollipop and a bell that said,

 

"the bell still rings for those who truly
believe"

 Hopefully it was a fun night for both the young and the old.

 I know it was for me and mine.

 

Merry Christmas!!

 

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Easy Gingerbread "Houses"

I forgot to post this fun night that we had with friends over the Christmas break.

  We wanted to make gingerbread houses with the kids and came across a great idea
 on pinterest that you only make the front of the gingerbread house. 
That way you don't have to worry about the structure and
get to focus on the fun part....the decorating.

The gingerbread "houses" are basically
 huge cookies (the size of a 9x13 pan)
 made from your choice of gingerbread recipes.

Here's how we did it.

Rolled out the dough right onto a piece of parchment
and cut out pieces for the windows and door.
(This made transferring the cookies so easy and no tearing or ripping happened)

 I was making so many I made a
template out of card stock and traced it with my knife.

 

Baked them and let them cool. 

 

The recipe I used had no shrinkage or spreading,

so the way they looked when I cut them

was the way they looked when they were done.

 



 

Next have the kids decorate them.

 



 

Some had more candy on them than others.

 

 

 

Winner of the heaviest cookie.

 

 

Us moms got into it too.

 



 

I think they turned out quite well.

 

 

 

We all had to pull out our mad piping skills.

 



 

My favorite part was how easy they were to make and we didn't have to worry about the houses breaking or what kind of icing to use to make them stick together.

 

The kids had fun and everyone ended up with a huge cookie to take home.

Definitely a fun night with some of my favorite people.



 



Even More Elf on the Shelf ideas

 

 

Day 15

I guess he had something to say

 

 

Day 16

Gonzo and his Babushka's

 

 

Day 17

I think he was hungry.

 

 

Day 18

Playing cards with a couple of babes

 

 

Day 19

Cuddling with kittens

 

 

Day 20

Making friendship bracelets

 

Day 21

Getting into trouble

 



 

Day 22

Countdown

 

 

 

Now I need to go and wrap and wrap and wrap and wrap presents.

Merry Christmas!

 

 

 



More Elf on the Shelf Ideas

 

Another week has come and gone,

(really where is the time going)

 

Gonzo has been very busy this week

 

Day 8

waiting for the shower

 

 

Had a couple kids ask why Gonzo wore his towel like a girl.

 

My answer:  I think he's super modest.

 

Day 9

Reading a story about Santa

Day 10

Gonzo left 4 pennies for each of the kids to have a treat.

 

Day 11

 Hanging with angels

 



 

Day 12

Up on the clock, wishing that Christmas was HERE.

 



 

 

 

Day 13

Had some more treats for the kids

 



 

Day14

Remember to

"B Good"

 



 

 

My kids love that we have a real elf living with us,

although my oldest gave me a sly wink when Gonzo was handing out candy canes and she said that Gonzo must really like us.

Made me laugh.

 

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Gonzo the Elf (elf on the shelf ideas)

 

Had a special visitor show up at our house this Christmas.

 

His name is

GONZO

and he's quite a crazy little elf.

 

Here's his first week and the places he's been.

 

Day 1

Found him playing the fishing game all by himself.

 

 

He caught the shark, not good Gonzo.

 

 

Day 2

Rollin' down the stairs is fun.
 Hubby didn't think so (he wanted to clean it up), but the kids emphatically told dad that Gonzo would lose his magic if he touch him.
 Kids won, Gonzo stayed that way the whole day and I got an eye roll from the hubster.

 

 

Day 3

Hiding in the cups.

 

 

Day 4
Puzzle making.

Day 5

Playing with the photocopier. 

Took the kids a while to find him, but so worth the laughs when they did.
 

 

Day 6

Headstand on a tree

 (the king of all yoga poses)

 

 

 

Much better and more difficult than your standard handstand.

 

Found this very, very, very interesting article on HEADSTANDS.

(For those of you too "lazy" to check the link, I'll give it to you in condensed form.)

 

10 Reasons to do a Headstand Everyday.

 

1. a great way to get a free face lift

2. you'll have less grey hair

3. better sex (sorry that's what it said....maybe you should check the link)

4. anecdote for depression

5. great way to impress your peers (try it at your next party and let me know)

6. improves circulation

7. reduces varicose veins

8. cleanses intestines

9. great deep core exercise

10. eliminates your chance of having an ischemic stroke.

 

Who knew?

 

So get off your butts and do a headstand....I'm doing mine right now. 

 

Wait....

NOW I'm doing mine.

 

 

Day 7

Riding the bus

 

 

 

It's been fun to have Gonzo this year, the kids just love waking up and finding him every morning.

 

linking

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chiconashoestringdecorating

alittleknickknack

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firefliesandjellybeans 

beyondthepicketfence 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Wooden Christmas Trees

There's lots of snow on the ground and it's very cold outside. 

 

I guess it's time to start tackling all the Christmas crafts that I've pinned for this year.

So here is my version of  some wooden trees that my sister found on

pinterest

 

 

There are only a few steps to get this project done.

 

First get your brother in laws to cut

 out 3 wooden trees in 3 different sizes from scrap wood.

 

 

decide what pattern to put on each tree

 

 

pick your colours

 

 

when a crisp line is needed use frog tape.

 

 

pull out the dark wax and age away.

 

 

take a picture and realize that you forgot the stars.

 

 

Paint, wax and glue the stars on.

 

Place around the house to bring the

feeling of Christmas

early to your

 home.

 

 

cost- 3cents

time- 2 hours

 

= 1 finished project.