December Projects

We tend to do a lot of projects throughout December.  We did more than I pictured, but here were some of my favorites...

 Every year I make these birdseed wreaths as teacher gifts.  They're cheap and easy, and they love them.  I love them!

 This was a new one I saw online.  Everyone worked on them, but I only got pictures when Ellie and I were working on them.  I loved it because Ellie could do it by herself, as long as I was helping her one-on-one...mostly just coaching her through the process.

 I just love her cute little fingers and concentration.

 Buck loves luminaries.  A few days before Christmas, we surprised him with this gift from the kids and me.  They worked really hard.

 I was working on folding the tops of the bags and helping fill them with sand.  Eve and Ellie were working really hard.  When I finished, this is what I found.  I love how they lined them up so nicely.  I felt a little bad spreading them out, but after we got started I don't think they minded.  I think they were excited to be able to reach so far around the yard.

 We didn't get a good night picture, but it was so pretty.  The neighbors loved it.

 Of course we did gingerbread houses as well.  The girls worked on one, and the boys had one (i.e. John got to work on one himself)

 

 I'm pretty sure less than 50% of the candy made it onto the houses.

The girls' house

John's house

 

 It was funny to look at the houses over the next several days.  Some of the peppermints were missing color (because they had been licked...AFTER putting the houses on display, mind you), and decorations continued to dwindle.

 We also, of course, had to make cookies for Santa.  These are pretzels with Hershey kisses and Reece's cups on top.  It's a fun one the kids can do on their own.  This year they surprised me, though, by stacking a whole bunch to make a tower of reece's cups.  Funny.

 We also made sugar cookies.  John was very meticulous.

 Jake manned our Quality Control.

 I think they passed the test.