Two days until Christmas!

We've been counting down with our nativity calendar. A friend gave me a foam nativity kit from the Oriental Trading Company the first year I was married, so I put it together and made pockets for all the pieces. We've been using it ever since, and the kids really look forward to putting a new piece up each day.

My mom made a block countdown that displays how many days until Christmas that goes up with the other decorations at the beginning of December, and whoever wakes up first gets to move the numbers. They also get to plug in the Christmas lights on the tree, the mantel over the fireplace, and in the kitchen. I looked for an outside plug to hang some lights on the front door, but I didn't find an outlet so we had to make do with a wreath on the door.

We've been singing Christmas songs and carols and listening to Christmas music on the radio. Current kid favorites are "Jingle Bell Rock," "Feliz Navidad," and "Picture a Christmas." I love, love, love this version of "Hark the Herald Angels Sing" and "Angels We Have Heard on High" by the a cappella group Straight No Chaser.

This year when we set up our decorations and nativities, I told the kids about how I got my Mexican nativity, and the tradition they have of starting the wise men far from the scene and moving them closer each day. They were excited to do the same with ours, so I've let them be in charge of that, after telling them to be careful because they break easily. I found one wise man on my vanity countertop a couple of days ago with a severed head. When I asked the kids what happened, Rose told me Elijah played with it. How could Elijah get it? He's not that tall. Rose answered, "Maybe I gave it to him." Okay. Thanks for letting me know, and next time, please tell me if I need to glue something back together.

We've made treats. I'm not that great at English toffee, and I definitely prefer peanut brittle made in a pan on the stove to the "easy" microwave recipe I tried, but we've had some yummy gingerbread cookies, and the Reindeer Treats were a hit at the family Christmas party yesterday. 1 package semi-sweet chocolate chips, 1 package butterscotch chips, melted, remove from heat and stir in 1 plastic canister of dry roasted salted peanuts (make sure they don't have garlic powder on them!) and then stir in 1 package mini marshmallows. Drop spoonfuls onto waxed paper and let cool completely, and then make sure you have someone to share with, because you may just end up eating them all on your own.

The kids and I made a small army of ornaments from green and red fabric circles sewn into yo-yos and stacked to make mini Christmas trees to give school teachers and Primary teachers. We also made and decorating gingerbread houses with friends, which was so much fun. I took Rose and Elijah with me to make special gift deliveries to the ladies from church that I visit teach.

We took a weekend to visit cousins in Houston, and then spent the next weekend having cousins visit us in Waco for the first annual Jackson family Christmas party. Oh, and I spent some time organizing said party. It was really neat to have 39 of us at Dad's house to act out the nativity. Since most of the kids wanted to be angels, we had no problem assembling a heavenly host to visit the shepherds. We plan to make the nativity and dinner a standing family tradition, so let us know if you'll be in Waco around the holidays and want to participate!

We have been generally enjoying the season (and not blogging about it). As I told the kids today, they get two weeks out of school and we haven't even started counting that down yet, so there's lots of fun and family time to go.

I did write a guest post for my friend Sheila over at Pennies of Time, so check it out if you're interested in her amazing project to teach children about serving others and providing children of any age meaningful opportunities to serve others. Perfect for the Christmas season and always.

It's the most wonderful time of the year!

1. That song came on the Christmas music radio station while I was driving somewhere with the kids, and Ellen said, "Oh, Mom! I love this song!"

2. We decorated gingerbread houses for Family Home Evening on Monday. We did this every year when I was growing up, but I had never actually made my mom's recipe for gingerbread until now. I made it ahead, and it was almost a mess foaming out of the pan, but it turned out to be a success.

3. Now I want to try to make ginger-caramel popcorn. Right now.

4. This was also the first time I've tasted that gingerbread straight out of the oven, and it is amazing! Who knew? We were never supposed to nibble on the gingerbread houses until the family New Year's Eve party. Definitely not great week(s) later.

5. On a whim I wrote questions on paper strips and set them on a plate on the table. Tonight we got around to letting the kids each pick one and have everyone answer. It was a hit. What is your favorite Christmas song? What is your favorite Christmas activity? What is your favorite Christmas memory? What is your favorite Christmas symbol? Who is your favorite character in the Christmas story?

6. I've been listening to a station on Pandora named "Straight No Chaser Holiday." Apparently I cannot get enough of male a cappella groups singing Christmas songs. Love it.