Follow along as our contributor, Beth, celebrates the Advent season in Southwest Michigan.
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As I write this, we just finished putting up the Christmas tree. And, for the first time in years, I had fun. Having little ones underfoot the last few years has stolen much of the peace, quiet, and contemplation (what are those things again??) involved in putting up the ornaments. But, that’s the wonderful thing about this activity – each year it starts as something a little different yet ends up something else entirely.
Last Tuesday, we made paper snowflakes. Nothing fancy but they now cover our front window and were (finally) met by some of their natural counterparts later in the week.
On Wednesday, we skipped the walk-in crafts at the Lincoln Township library because I forgot about midweek choir practice and kids’ activities at our church.
Fountain at the Bluff
After dinner Thursday evening, we attended the Great Start Parenting Coalition holiday party hosted at Fairplain Presbyterian. We had dinner (again) and crafts with other families from the St. Joe/Benton Harbor area. My little Vikings came home stuffed and happy holding more crafts than I thought could be legally possible to carry. Holly Wingard threw quite a party!
We bundled up and arrived at Light Up the Bluff Friday night just as the tree was lit up. It was beautiful and the fountain (my personal favorite) was gorgeous. After walking for a few, we wandered down State Street to get out of the wind. Good thing we did or we would have missed free samples of soups (clam chowder and a tomato bisque, I think) from Port 412. Can I just say…YUM!?
Saturday afternoon was a whirlwind of cold, canines, crafts, and candy! We attended the Reindog Parade then waddled our over-bundled selves to the Maud Preston/St Joseph library for their annual December family event. This year is was a sugar-saturated “Sweet Shoppe” made with frosting and a variety of candy, cereal, and cookies on a base of heavy-duty paper bowls.
Putting up the children's tree
Finally, as mentioned above, we got both the kids’ little Christmas tree and the full-size family tree up during the evening Sunday.
This coming week has tons of crafts – thankfully, not many of them at home! Check back tomorrow and I’ll have all the details.
Beth also writes at her bloggy home, Life With Two Little Vikings.