Christmas count down idea

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Christmas count down idea
5
Sun, 11-30-2008 - 10:52am

I can't claim this as my own, a friend does it, but we decided to do it this year and I'm really excited about it. I think my tween will be more into than my teen, but I do think he'll enjoy it as well.

Gather 24 Christmas oriented books, I have some from years past, I got about 10 from the library yesterday, and then I went to half priced books and bought a few. I got a few really great classics from Amazon that should be in later this week, I bought them used so they were cheap too. Then I'm throwing in a Netflix Christmas movie once per week (thinks like Ernest Saves Christmas, It's a Wonderful Life, etc, a mix of silly and classic).

Every day beginning Dec. 1st, they get to open a "gift" book to read together each evening as a countdown to Christmas. On Christmas Eve we'll open The Night Before Christmas, which is our traditional read before bedtime.

We're having a tough financial year this Christmas, so I'm hoping this will add some excitement to things without costing a ton of money.

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iVillage Member
Registered: 03-25-2003
Sun, 11-30-2008 - 11:04am
I used to do this every year with Aly when she was younger (but I didn't wrap them). Cute to throw in the movies, too.




iVillage Member
Registered: 01-06-2006
Sun, 11-30-2008 - 12:30pm

How fun!!! We're in the same financial boat so I've been looking for something the add a "festive" feeling. Just one year I would like to take the kids to a Christmas show/review/concert/ballet of some sort. It just hasn't been in the cards the last several years.

Can you give me some of the titles if you get a chance? I would love to do something similar.

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Sun, 11-30-2008 - 7:50pm

Sure, I just finished wrapping them, and I made myself a list on the computer so I could remember next year which we liked and which we didn't. I got the bulk of them at the library, but I also got some at Half Priced Books (they had a cart full of only Christmas books), then some I had already. I had a lot of fun "shopping" at Amazon for them, a friend gave me some of her favorites and I would find them, then look at other suggestions, and read reviews, etc., then headed to the library and got what I could from there.

A wish to be a Christmas Tree
The First Christmas Tree
The Small One
My Dad cancelled Christmas
175 Christmas crafts
The Christmas Candle
A tree for Christmas
Little Angel
Charlie Brown’s Christmas
Auntie Claus
Flavia
Bob
How the Grinch Stole Christmas
Polar Express
12 Days of Christmas (pop up book)
Christmas Dawn
The Donkey’s Dream
The Ox and the Donkey
The Legend of the Pointsettia
A Small Miracle
The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey
Harvey Slumfenburger’s Christmas present
Christmas Day in the Morning
The Night Before Christmas (wrapped in different paper, to save for Christmas Eve)

Movies: I had planned on replacing some books with movies, but ended up with so many fun books that I am going to just have movies as an extra treat, with a book every day. Some of the titles in my netflix: Ernest Saves Christmas (goofy), Elf (also goofy), It's a Wonderful Life (classic), and Miracle on 34th Street (another classic). I think I also have The Santa Clause in there, but they've seen that I think, so I'll probably delete that one.

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iVillage Member
Registered: 06-24-2005
Mon, 12-01-2008 - 1:33am
That is a great idea! I think I might 'borrow' it for my 3 year old daughter and see if Kurt will read some of the books to her so he can be involved as well. :o)
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iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Mon, 12-01-2008 - 9:09am

We kinda do this, except we just watch ABC Family & talk about what Christmas means to us.

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