Dear Santa, Cranberry Garlands and Tree Art: Days 3 and 4

Yesterday and today's Advent Activities were kind of amalgamated, so I don't feel too bad about not posting yesterday at all.

Day 3 we wrote letters to Santa and strung cranberry garlands for the birds. The Santa letter-writing campaign was totally trumped by the stringing of the cranberries though, which went better than I thought it would. I will admit I was a nervous wreck though with the children and the threading needle. I ended up letting them hold the needle while I pierced the cranberries. I couldn't bear the thought of them trying to force a cranberry through and pricking their fingers... gahhhh can't even think of it now! The older children (Fifi and one of the boys I childmind) were absolutely fine with stringing, and I had no worries about them, but the two younger ones only got to help - they didn't get to do the stringing on their own. Anyway, it was good fun, and particularly amusing watching them all try to eat the incredibly sour cranberries during the process!

We hung the cranberry garlands on the bushes outside our front door today, so we could check them daily and see if the birds were interested. They look quite nice, if you ask me!

Today's Activity, Day 4, was to decorate a Christmas Tree Wall Poster. I was planning on just cutting out a tree from a huge sheet of paper, but while in Lidl this morning, I found a large canvas for £4 and the wheels in my head began to turn. So I bought one, took it home, painted a green tree on it, let it dry, and when the kids came home, they were encouraged to use their imaginations and decorate it. At first they weren't sure, but then I started bringing out loads of odds and ends and crafty bits and bobs, and they really went to town then. I hope they had as much fun doing it as I had watching them! I love the result and am going to hang the 'poster' somewhere prominent once it has dried.

From shabby to chic.