WHOOSH - AND YOUR WEEK IS GONE!!!

Anyone else have the feeling that December has arrived and decided that its wants to got at double the speed of the rest of the year!!!

My plans of daily blogging to show off my advent swap gifts and Christmassy makes doesn't seem to have happened so this is an update of what we have been up to this past week....

 Day 3 of the Advent Swap and Rachel wanted to take some pictures of me opening my gifts, looking at my hands I could really do with some handcream in this parcel.....

but wait it's even better than handcream it's chocolate, that will take my mind off my dry old hands

unfortunately I had to share with the rest of the family !!!!

  

Day 4 was this beautiful green and gold star bunting to brighten up my dresser. Tomas wanted this for his room as Rachel has put up the Cupcake bunting that Sue sent for our last swap in her room but I managed to persuade him to let me put it up in the orangery as long as I promised to make him some for his room...

 

Day 5 and I waited until the kids were at school to open these latest gifts as they are just a bit too eager to nab them for themselves.....I'm still not sharing!!!

and in today's package was a shiny cupcake keyring

Day 6  inside today's package was this delightful little fella - how cute is he???

Day 7 and we are already a week into December I can't quite believe how quickly it's going, next week is a full on week of school this and that's and then the kids break up and then and then it's Christmas!!!!!

I'm trying really hard this year no to flap about things, but the time is going so quickly and there is still so much I would like to do/make/finish/start/blog/photograph the list just goes on...I've decided that I will do what I can but if it doesn't get done then it's not the end of the world....there's always next year!!!

In today's package there were lots of lovely card making bits and pieces some of them Christmassy which I will save until next year!!!

So that is me up to date with my advent swap gifts from sue a crafts@home don't forget to pop over to Sue's blog if you would like to see what I have sent her too.

As some of you know I have also been trying to do an advent activity with the kids each day, which I have to confess hasn't been easy to keep up, what with after school clubs, homework, dinner, tired toddlers and bedtime we have managed to do some of my planned activities this week but not all. I think this idea has migrated here from the USA and works great if you are homeschooling and your kids are a few years apart but when you are trying to think of things that will please both a three year old and two teens then its hard I can tell you. What has been funny is that although the older two moaned at having to watch Home Alone 1 again (a big favourite in this house and already watched several times since the end of November in anticipation of Christmas)when I hadn't organised anything yesterday they were the first to ask "what are we doing today"......

So far we have 

1.listened, danced and sang to Christmas music

2. written letters to Father Christmas

3. supposed to have put small trees up in bedrooms - this didn't happen due to a party and illness yuk!

4. Put up the BIG Christmas Tree - fun but quite stressful at times as Tomas thought you could put 5 ornaments on one branch and the older two had a case of silly - itus!! I have been really good though and have only re- arranged the branches that had two or more ornaments on them and have added some wired bows.

5. we didn't do anything tonight but I had written on the calendar "Carol's 8pm" and Jack thought we were going carolling but we weren't I was going round a friends for the evening I think he was a little disappointed!!! 

6. half heartedly watched Home Alone, everyone went off and did something else and Tomas decided he was too tired and asked to go to bed! 

7. tonight we made magic reindeer food ready for Christmas Eve, someone tried the oats, someone tried the sprinkles and someone used up all my lovely fine glitter!!!!

I also wanted to spend each day before Christmas either showing you something that I had made or bought to decorate the orangery to make it more Christmassy, so with the tree now up and each windowsill starting to fill up with bits and bobs I can show you a few more things.

I spied this snowglobe in our local TK MAXX  back in November and just couldn't resist - I do love a snowglobe!!!

I've also been following a 365 pinterest blog written by Kirsty which shows a make a day from her Pinterest boards I liked some of them so much I just had to make my own....

I made this reindeer cushion from a charity shop skirt and some felt I also added a lovely red glittery felt nose as Rudolph is a big favourite in our house. 

Today I almost finished a christmas tree cushion which I will show you all tomorrow.....

Right must get on as the older two are at the school concert tonight and I want to wrap some of their presents while they're out as they have already been confessed to having had a snoop around!!!!