Seasonal activities turn into traditions

Has anyone else ever noticed how busy this time of year just seems to get no matter how hard you try to slow down and enjoy it?  Our schedule has been jam packed this weekend and will be fairly busy again next weekend.  But the times we've had so far have been a huge blessing.  The kids are starting to get old enough that these activities we're doing are going to become fond memories for the kids (I hope anyway lol).

So last night the town our church is located in had a big tree lighting event and various businesses downtown sponsored some fun things for the people to walk around and enjoy.  I was blessed to participate in a craft activity that was sponsored by our church and one of the main street businesses and it was great.  KOJ and my mom took the kids around to the other activities and from all accounts it was a great night had by all.

Candy cane craft sponsored by our church.

Decorate your own cookie at the fire station.

Spider monkey got his face painted at the fire station.

Spider and Squirrel had awesome face paint - a green soccer ball and a beautiful red flower.  Howler got a star but I don't have a pic of it.

Howler making a birthday card for Jesus.

All three boys making birthday cards.

a small live nativity

Looks like Sierra was trying to figure out what was going on.

Today the college students that attend our church blessed us with free babysitting churchwide for a few hours to go do some Christmas shopping.  As you know since you read my blog faithfully I'm already done with my Christmas shopping but KOJ and I took the opportunity to get a few groceries together.  It was so nice and peaceful.  I really appreciate those occassional breaks.

Tomorrow we're taking the children to Bethlehem.  Well, ok, so it's not the real Bethlehem but there's a nearby church that turns their building into the streets of Bethlehem.  We went last year and it was super cool.  Except the roman soldier's kinda scared the boys a little but we're prepared for that this year and can warn them ahead of time. And in the evening our church youth group is sponsoring a church wide caroling event that I'm still in the process of talking KOJ into.  I think it will be a lot of fun and that the kids would enjoy it.  But we'll see.

Next weekend we're on the wait list for a Polar Express ride on the local train that is being sponsored through the library.  Crossing our fingers (and saying a prayer or two) that spots open up so we can all go and enjoy the event.  If we do you can be sure I'll post about it.

So what fantastic things do you all have available to do in your hometowns?  Do you enjoy participating in several holiday events or prefer to keep it simple with only one or two?  I'm trying to keep it simple enough that we don't all end up grumpy at one another but also realize that these events are only available during this month of time.  I appreciate how easy it is to find fun things to do in our area that are generally free and family friendly that we can turn into traditions for our children.

Tune in tomorrow for an update on our giving project.