H is for Happy Holiday Wishes

I wasn't home yesterday so I didn't get to post my wishes to you all.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! 

May this holiday season be blessed with love, peace, and happiness. I pray that we will all remember the real reason why we celebrate Christmas. Jesus is the reason for the season. Let's thank Him for all that He has done in our lives this year. I also wanted to say thank you to those of you who subscribe to and read my blog. I really appreciate everyone.

Thank you for visiting A Learning Journey. I will link this post up at Blogging Through the Alphabet. Posts for this week are themed around the Letter H. I haven't had much happen here in my home since my daughter is gone for the holidays so I kept my post simple this week. 

G is for Gingerbread House Christmas Tradition

This week the Blogging Through the Alphabet letter focus was "G." I decided to post about Alyssa's gingerbread house.

Hard at work! 

This particular house came from Walmart. The box provided us with a link to an online tutorial on how to set it up which would be especially handy if your children were assembling them on their own. The kit included everything needed to make a gingerbread house. We added a few more types of candy to the plate. I have to say . . . I wish gingerbread kits came with two icing tubes. There's almost never enough to complete the project. But, we made it work and she had fun!

I helped my daughter set it up and she decorated it 15-20 minutes later after it hardened. Next year we may have a gingerbread house contest. I think we could get other families or friends involved too.

Every year we decorate gingerbread houses as a Christmas tradition after reading Mortimer's Christmas Manger written by Karma Wilson. This is ONE of my FAVORITE books to read every year. We also set up our nativity on this day. At the end of the story, Mortimer finds a little house just his size to move into which is why we do this awesome activity. We also read the Gingerbread Mouse by Katy Bratun.

The gumdrop candy wouldn't stay on . . .
so we switched them out later

Beautiful job Alyssa! 

This kit also included two gingerbread men.

I hope you enjoyed visiting A Learning Journey. I will link this post up at Blogging Through the Alphabet, Tots and Me Wordless Wednesday, and Virtual Fridge.

F is for Festive Tradition: North Pole Village

We focus on the real reason why we celebrate Christmas which is the birth of Jesus, but we also have other Christmas traditions we've done as a family for years. One of those festive traditions is to visit the North Pole Village in Canyon Lake. It was CRRC's 19th year to host the North Pole Village event. My daughter really enjoys meeting old and new friends. We get there as soon as the doors open to avoid long lines and large crowds.

Santa was the first stop. Alyssa never wants to sit on Santa's lap, but she did this year and asked for a special gift. Will she get her wish?

She decorated her 3 cookies with frosting and sprinkles at the Bakery. She ate all of them!!!!! I know . . . but it's only once a year - right! 

One of her favorite places to visit is the North Pole Petting Barn. This year they brought friendly dogs. Alyssa would have stayed in that building ALL night if she was allowed to. She LOVES animals! This dog was especially adorable. I think it reminded her of our dog Mustang.

Alyssa and Jasmine
SO CUTE!!!  

This was her first time getting her face painted at the Elves House. In the past, she would pay for her father's face painting, but since we are no longer together she started a new tradition and allowed them to paint her face. She said it was cold and made her face feel weird. It easily washed off that night.

The children either decorate a bookmark or an ornament each year at the North Pole School House. This year it was a double-sided bookmark. Her little friend sat with her at each activity. 

Next stop was the North Pole Church to hear a retired teacher read aloud a book about the first Christmas. Alyssa gave her a cinnamon stick treat after the sweet read aloud. 

This was just a fun shot of Alyssa posing in front of one of their pretty trees.

Another favorite place for my daughter to visit is the Library. Alyssa chose a Magic Tree House chapter book this year titled, Blizzard of the Blue Moon. She actually found one that we don't own! She already started reading it.

Even though she has way too many stuffed animals, I always allow her to visit the Toyland to chose a friend to adopt. She'll be donating bags of stuffed animals before Christmas too. She named her bear Rosey.

They visited Santa's Post Office where they wrote and mailed a short letter to Santa.

They also had Frosty's Ice Fishing for Rice Krispy Treats, Christmas carol singing, hay rides headed by Tractor Rudolf, and a live Nativity play. The children's passports were stamped as they participated in each activity. Alyssa did shop at the Country Store and left with $2.00 worth of candy sticks. She bought the same thing last year. We had a blast with our friends! It was full of fun and laughter. It was definitely worth the hour drive. We used to live right around the corner but we recently moved out of town. We ran into old friends and continued those memory-filled traditions.  

Thank you for visiting A Learning Journey. I will link this post up at Blogging Through the Alphabet. Everyone is posting about Letter F topics this week. Come join us!  

BookLook Blogger Review: The Very First Christmas by Jan and Mike Berenstain

BookLook's Blogger Review Program recently offered me The Very First Christmas written by Jan and Mike Berenstain to review. I am gearing up for Christmas time so I jumped on the chance to add a new book to my Christmas collection. My daughter, Alyssa (Age 8) will receive this Zonderkidz published book as a gift for our growing Christmas book collection. Teaching about the real reason we celebrate can be a task without the right tools. This book will definitely be helpful.

Authors

Stan and Jan Berenstain introduced the first Berenstain Bear book series in 1962. Mike Berenstain grew up watching his parents work together to write about and draw these lovable bears. Eventually he started drawing and writing about them too. Though Stan died in 2005 and Jan in 2012, Mike continues to create the delightful Bear adventures from the family home and studio in Pennsylvania, in an area that looks much like the sunny dirt road deep in Bear Country.

Book Description

A Christmas story from the bestselling Berenstain Bears Living Lights series. The Berenstain Bears brand and Living Lights series continue their proven tradition of teaching children valuable lessons in a fun and creative way. In the 8x8 softcover format, the Berenstain Bears and the Night Jesus was Born gives fans of the Berenstain Bears the story of Jesus’ coming … from the angel’s announcement of a new baby to the visit of the three wise men. This newest Christmas title in the Berenstain series is perfect for gift-giving or as an easy addition to any holiday library.

My Thoughts and Review 
The dedication page shares Luke 2:11-12 with their readers "Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger." There is a place behind the front glossy cover for your child to write their name inside the book if you desire. I think the scripture reference adds a special touch to and builds the foundation for this spiritual book.

There are no page numbers, but this short 24-page softcover children's picture book will surely be one your child will want to read over and over again. The adorable classic characters always share such relevant and meaningful messages. This paperback book will help you and your family focus on the TRUE meaning of Christmas. The information read seemed accurate besides of course the use of the Berenstain bears as the main characters. The illustrations were simple and the characters displayed a friendly mood.

The story begins with the Bear cubs asking Papa Bear if he was going to read to them so he decided to read the story of The Very First Christmas from their storybook Bible. It discusses all the major events from the Christmas story beginning with Mary's visit from the Angel to Joseph's dream about King Herod. No specific name was given for the Angel that visited Mary or Joseph.

The back of the book contains Activities and Questions from Brother and Sister Bear for you to discuss with your children. One of the fun activities was to build a diorama showing the first Christmas. I know that my daughter will enjoy that activity! The other activity was to create Christmas cards with biblical messages for your neighborhood friends. This is the perfect time to get started on these projects and to utilize them during the Christmas or Advent season.

I HIGHLY recommend this affordable book for children between the ages of 4-8. As previously stated, I plan on giving this book to my daughter as an early Christmas book gift. We read MANY Christmas books during the month of December as part of our Book Tree Advent Countdown. I can't wait to see her projects after reading the book. I suggest reading this book before Christmas if possible and in conjunction with the projects at the back of the book. This book would make a great Christmas Day or stocking stuffer gift.

Price
Zondervan $3.99
Amazon $3.99

Disclaimer
I received a complimentary, free copy of this book from the publisher as part of the BookLook Blogger Review Team Program in exchange for an honest review on my blog. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are my own. I am disclosing this information in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255 "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising." 

I will link this post up at Booknificent Thursdays and Desperate Homeschoolers' Christmas Reads for Kids Link Up.

E is for Elf-ed: You've Been Elf-ed

Now that Alyssa and I moved into a neighborhood, I would like to start a new tradition. I am hoping this idea will catch on and everyone will get involved. We live on a great street so I think it'll be a huge hit!

I first saw this idea on Organized Christmas, but I wanted to share the free printables, links, and ideas from other websites as well. You may have seen the same idea but it might have been called "You've Been Jingled or Claused"

The Idea
1.) Select two neighbors you'd like to surprise
2.) Prepare TWO "mystery" treats, baskets, or bags.
3.) Copy the poem and sign twice and include one with each treat.
4.) Leave the goodies at your neighbor's front door when it gets dark.
5.) Ring the doorbell, run away, and hide.
6.) Hope they continue the tradition. You'll soon see the ELF-ED signs posted in your neighborhood.
7.) Victims have 24-48 hours to deliver their 2 neighbor treats to those who haven't been elf-ed yet.

Printables
Organized Christmas
Anders Ruff
Mother's Niche
Teach Me Genealogy
Two Crazy Cupcakes
Been Jingled
Hub Pages

Neighbor Gift Ideas
Pinterest Page for Neighbor Gifts
The Idea Room
Tip Junkie and Neighbor Gift ideas
Fun in The Neighborhood Pinterest Page
You've Been Elfed/Jingled/Claused Pinterest

I started prepping the treats and materials. I will share a photo later once it's all ready to go. But, we won't ELF our neighbors until my daughter comes home on Monday. She definitely wanted to participate and join in on the fun. I wouldn't want her to miss out on this Christmas tradition.

So get read to spread holiday cheer! 
Go elf or jingle your neighbor! 

If you participate in this festive activity, please come back and comment. Please also share any links to printables you've made or found so that we can all use them this year!

I will link this post up at the Blogging Through the Alphabet Linky hosted at Adventures with Jude. We are focusing on letter E this week. The linky will remain open until Sunday so come join the fun!

Thanks for visiting A Learning Journey!