And so this is Christmas

Merry Christmas everyone! Okay, so I'm a week late but the thought counts, not the time frame.

Our Christmas tree. It was only a small gathering this year, but look at all the presents. And there were even more under there on Christmas morning. The tree may just last another year if we don't water it too much!

There is a little table to the side holding our nativity scene. It gave hours of playtime fun, and it is unusual to see all the people in a straight line. Most of the time they have been 'dancing' in pairs. Jack managed to break both the camel and Joseph in a very short time (ceramic figures and tiled floors do not get on very well). He now thinks Dad can fix anything but is a little young to fully appreciate the magical powers of superglue.

'Santa Claus is coming to town' has been sung from dawn to dusk in our house for several weeks. Finally he came to town and look at the sack full of goodies he left behind.

I made the sack for his first Christmas and the ducky pj pants last year. After I let down the cuffs this summer we've managed another year out of the pjs.

The prize gift this year was a Thomas the Tank Engine umbrella. Rain every day for the last week has made one little boy very happy. Again, last years monster pjs are peaking out at the bottom of the coat - cuffs let down and still fit perfectly.

Another hit present was a kit containing poster paints. We finally gave in and let him loose. Here he is creating some thankyou letters that will be going out in the mail over the next month.

I hope your Christmas was as wondeful as ours, and wish you all the best for a happy 2010!

How to celebrate a birthday

November brought a birthday so Jack made his dad a very special birthday cake.

Step one: Mix

Step two: Lick

Step three: Decorate

Step four: Celebrate!

Pre-Christmas crafting

We didn't have much time for crafty pursuits during November and December mainly due to flu, tonsilitis and other unhealthy afflictions.

However Jack and I did manage to create some very personal cards for all his carers at daycare. There are 14 including one who recently left on maternity leave. As Jack goes five days a week he is looked after by all these lovely ladies and we wanted to say thankyou.

Here is Jack displaying the results.

We painted some sheets of paper then cut out christmas tree shapes and glued them to pre-folded cards. Shiny gold star stickers added a bit of bling, and Jack pilfered a few to decorate his hands. Jack wrote a message inside each card, and I added a translation :)