Christmas Countdown

Well...the countdown has begun. At least in our house it has. What countdown you ask? The countdown to Christmas , of course.

About 8 years ago, my friend Sheila and I, along with our children, started getting together the Saturday after Thanksgiving for, what we like to call, a Christmas Tea.{We don't actually drink tea, but we each put our beverage choice into a holiday teacup.} It's become an annual tradition for us... a time for moms & kids to kick off the holiday season. The girls & I pack up & spend the night at Sheila's house {our hubbies bunk at my house for the evening}; we eat, craft, and play. And, of course, we start our Christmas countdown. In the beginning, the kids made a simple red and green paper chain. But, a few years ago, we saw an idea using a K&CO accordion album. That year during our "tea", Sheila and I stayed up into the wee hours of the morning putting our countdown albums together. The bags under my eyes eventually disappeared {I think!}; the treasured album became a part of our annual tradition.

So now, every year at our Christmas Tea gathering, our first project is to make new tags for the countdown. The girls and I work on ours; Sheila and her kids do theirs. On each tag, we take turns writing down a "holiday to-do", such as "Bake sugar cookies" or "Sing Christmas carols" or "Spread Cheer"...etc. Then, each morning for 25 days, Brynn & Reilly take turns reading a tag from our album. It's a really fun way for us to enjoy the holiday season together. Plus, it helps the girls deal with that "ants-in-their-pants anticipation" as Santa's arrival gets closer and closer!