Christmas in Texas Part 2: Christmas activities

Well, some of these are Christmas activities, and some of these are just fun things we did that made me smile.

First up, Canton. You know I looove me some Canton. Nearly every item in my home that people comment on is from Canton. I sooo miss that place and really had to limit my purchases because we didn't have much room in the car for any extraneous loot. I had to be mindful that my boys were likely to be spoiled plum rotten with Christmas gifts. (And they were, in case you had any doubt.)

The boys were real troopers that day, and probably the highlight for Alex was getting to run Blue Speed through the dirt. He was covered by the time it was all said and done. And by "he," I really mean "they."


Alex did a little Christmas sticker activity.

And some water coloring, which we will not be attempting again for a while. He never quite caught on to the concept of rinsing the paint brush before moving on to a different color.

Some coloring time - please note that all colors he selected to use are some shade of blue because they "match Blue Speed." Oh yes, he will tell you that.


Alex enjoying his Moon Pie, just like one of his favorite book characters, Jimmy Zangwow.


Making salt dough ornaments with Noni. Sadly, we started this little project but never got them finished. They're cooked, but not painted. Those ornaments never did make it to the tree either - even in their half-finished state. We just needed more time!

And of course, Blue Speed couldn't miss out on the fun. He raced through the flour making tracks on the counter top.


Alex getting his hair cut in a fire engine. He wasn't too sure what to make of it all, but he sat there still and quiet for the most part.

One morning I got to take pictures of mom modeling one of the many amazing things she has knitted. Is she beautiful, or what?! 

Roo-bear Elf was Santa's QC this year. Giving it the chomp test.

Noni, Alex and I worked on cookies for Santa.

We made sugar cookies with M&Ms, although Alex found it very hard to stop himself from eating all the M&Ms that were supposed to go on Santa's cookies. When I asked him what Santa was going to eat, he just looked at Noni and me and replied, "Sorry, guys."

We also made melted snowman cookies. If you're interested in the recipe, you can find it here and here.

Pop Pop, Daddy and Alex also whipped up a batch of cookies. These are Pop Pop's specialty. Small twisted pretzels+rolos+pecans=DELISH! Just set one rolo on top of each pretzel and microwave for a few seconds until it softens and then add a pecan on top. Salty, sweet goodness at your fingertips. And they're easy as pie to make.

Of course, you can't make food for Santa without also making some for his reindeer. So Alex whipped up a batch of oatmeal and red sugar crystals to spread out on the lawn. In the picture below it seems as though he's keeping one eye on the lawn just to make sure he doesn't miss any potential reindeer activity.

We sort of did an advent calendar. I'd try to get Alex to move the mouse to the appropriate day, and then later on I'd glance at the calendar when walking by, and somehow, that mouse mysteriously always landed back on day 9 - the day when we started the calendar. I guess Alex wasn't too keen on seeing the days progress along.

And finally, one of my favorite things we did was sing "Happy Birthday" to Jesus after our Christmas Eve dinner. We had six candles on our cake (one for Noni, Pop Pop, Momma, Daddy, Alex and Roo) to symbolize that Jesus came to earth for each of us.




Next up, Polar Express. Stay tuned...