Holiday Favorites

***Linking up with MamaKat today: 4.) A favorite holiday tradition.

We have so many holiday traditions that we love, enjoy and look forward to.

Decorating the trees
Lights at the Zoo
Making cookies
Making and delivering cinnamon rolls to neighbors
Listening to Christmas music
Christmas movies
Christmas books
Ornaments

The list goes on and on. But my favorites have to be the advent calendar I do with the kids and Buddy our elf. I’ve been keeping you up to date with Buddy’s antics. Here’s what he was up to this week:

Rainbow Loom with Rapunzel. She made a headband and he made a necklace.

He was trying to fish in our bathroom sink! He didn’t catch anything.

When Mom was sick, Buddy was sick too. Even Elf’s need a day off now and then!

This one was all Gabe. Buddy went camping. He even had a campfire and a book!

Boy did it snow a lot last Saturday! Buddy sat and stared out the window. We were thinking he was getting homesick since it’s so close to Christmas when he goes home.

One morning, we woke up to discover he had left us a message!

And the next morning our kitchen was decorated!

He decided to have a little race with his friends too!

And the next night he felt like going solo…playing solitaire.

Seriously, I know this whole elf thing has started a whole new type of Mommy war, but the only reason we do it is because it’s so much fun! Gabe and I have a blast thinking up things for him to do. Matthew and Olivia love running around the house in the morning to see what he’s been up to. How can that be a bad thing?

We also do an advent calendar where we count down to Christmas. Each day the kids take turns choosing either a small gift or an activity out of a bag. They L-O-V-E it! Here are some of my favorite pictures from some of our advent days.

New ornaments! Dr. Cockroach for Olivia and Minecraft for the boys.

Grinch punch and watch both of the Grinch movies!

Crazy straws, hot cocoa and writing letters to Santa.

Lights at the Zoo with Grandma too!

We also drove around to look at lights, watched more Christmas movies, had a sleepover, wrote appreciation letters and made cookies and ornaments. It’s fun to have little things all month to get us in the Christmas spirit. I think I love it more than they do!

What is your favorite tradition?