Jolly Christmas Eve Box

Our Jolly Christmas Eve Box is one tradition we look forward to every year. I usually place everything in a gift box and add a bow, but this year I found this beautiful Christmas suitcase at Tuesday Morning that can be used year after year. This vintage-looking box is the perfect size for everything that I want to include. In fact, there's more space for additional items in the future. 

The Christmas Eve Box is usually a box of some kind that we open on Christmas Eve. It is filled with treats and activities for the night. This tradition makes the night before Christmas special and memorable for us. It brings us so much JOY. You can't see it in the picture, but at the bottom of the suitcase is red shredded paper. You can make your own box as a family project or just purchase one. 

My daughter is with her father this Christmas so our Christmas Eve will officially start three days after Christmas. This means I have a couple more days to prepare our Christmas Eve Box, but I wanted to share this idea with you all in case you want to start the same tradition with your family.  

What's Included In Our Box 

• Polar Express Book and Movie
• Christmas Pajamas (Wrapped)
• Christmas Book to Read Aloud (Wrapped)
• Santa's Magic Key
• Special Hot Cocoa Packets
• Dark Chocolate Creme-Filled Wafers
• Packaged or Tub Popcorn (Alyssa asked for a popcorn tub as a Christmas gift.)

Other Things I May Add: Reindeer food, Santa's cookies to decorate, Alyssa's Santa letter, Christmas socks or slippers, hot cocoa toppings, candy cane stirrers or chocolate covered spoons, small games, coloring books, Christmas mugs, and a Christmas craft.

Do you have a Christmas Eve Box? 

What fun items do you include in your box?

I will link this post up at Blogging Through the Alphabet Linky. J is the letter of the week so come join the fun and link up your post. I will also link this post up at the Homeschool Blog Link Up, Life at Rossmont's Wordless Wednesday, and Tots and Me Wordless Wednesday. 

Iceland's Puffin Craft

Our last featured craft before Christmas break was Iceland's Puffin Craft. My daughter followed the directions and used the printables provided in the Let's Go Geography curriculum. I absolutely love that this curriculum is so easy to use. She wants to continue using the 3-year program next year and I am thankful that it is so affordable. 

I wanted to share her Art project with you today. She used white paper, colored paper, colored pencils, and a glue stick for this art project. She colored the Puffin's beak using a variety of color selections as suggested in the curriculum. I look forward to seeing her work at the end of the day. She also colored a page featuring the Puffin. She learned that 60% of the world's Puffins live in Iceland. The author of the curriculum provided an educational link for her to explore and learn more about Puffins. She shared the facts with me after she spent some time researching. Thank you for visiting and checking out this wintery craft. 

I will link this post up at Blogging Through the Alphabet Linky. I is the letter of the week so come join the fun and link up your post. I will also link this post up at the Homeschool Blog Link Up, Virtual Refrigerator Blog Hop, Life at Rossmont's Wordless Wednesday, and Tots and Me Wordless Wednesday. 

Holiday Elf is Back!

There are so many wonderful things happening this year. It snowed for the first time in a long time in Texas. My daughter FINALLY had a snowball fight with me and the neighborhood. We took a winter walk together to view the lights as we played in the snow. Here is a picture of the front yard the next morning. The snow quickly melted away by mid-afternoon.

We also had a special visitor arrive. Our Elf on the Shelf, Faith, came to the house. The first day she spread shreds of paper across the house leading to the Christmas tree where she was hiding in a decorative Christmas box with a sign saying, "I'm Back!" My daughter was thrilled to see that she returned and helped clean up the mess.

Here is another prank she recently played on Alyssa. My daughter woke up and ran to the bathroom only to find . . . 

Do you have an Elf on the Shelf? 

Share your Elf actions or deeds in the comment section. 

I will link this post up at Blogging Through the Alphabet Linky. H is the letter of the week so come join the fun and link up your post. I will also link this post up at the Homeschool Blog Link Up.