Advent Countdown: Stories & Simple Activities

Hello my friends and Happy Thursday! I know we're but a few days away from the 1st of December, so you probably have your Advent plans already in place, but here I am anyways, to share what my Advent project looks like this year ... :)

In addition to a few treasured traditions, I really enjoy coming up with something new for my boys every year! (Check out my Advent Plans & Crafts archives if you'd like to see past projects.)

So this year I decided to revolve our Advent countdown around picture books - meaningful and beautiful stories we've enjoyed as a family for years. As I've blogged about before, we have an awful lot of books - longtime homeschooling family that we are! - and though they are indeed spread out all over the house, I do like to organize them by subject and season.

Case in point - here's our Christmas book bin:

True confession: there are more books now than can fit in this pretty rolling bin ... and yes, those are my slippered feet in the bottom of the pic!

So, as you can see, we have many, many Christmas books  ... so what I did first was to go through the WHOLE stash and pull out the ones we (ahem, I) love best. Then I looked over our December calendar, considered our weekly seasonal themes and then organized the books into separate piles ...

1st pile: WEEK ONE "cozy nests, stars/sticks/stones" (St. Barbara, St. Nicholas)

2nd pile: WEEK TWO "seasonal spices and Christmas trees" (OL Guadalupe, St. Lucia, EB & Papa's B.day)

3rd pile: WEEK THREE "welcome winter & advent animals" (Winter Solstice, Full Yule Moon)

4th pile - WEEK FOUR (which is just 12/24) "O Holy Night" (Christmas Eve)

I realize this all sounds rather complicated, but there is a method to my madness, I promise! Here is the low-tech spreadsheet I made up for myself as I worked it all out ...

And here's a corner of my December month-at-a-glance calendar, showing how I note our weekly themes ...

Next, once I had my 24 books all assigned to their dates, I placed them in a basket so I could get down to work ...

Naturally, Archibald offered to help ...

I went through each book and chose an illustration to photocopy, something that would hopefully be rather easy to identify ...

Then I gathered the rest of my materials: poster board, washi tape, stickers, post-it notes, glue stick, pen. All items I already had on hand!

I figured a post-it was a good size for a small illustration, so I first made sure I could fit 24 on the board and then I started cutting out my illustrations! 

(Remember - these are photocopies!)

Once I had all my picture squares, I placed them in order and then decorated the edges of the poster board.

I used an Elmer's glue stick for this and it worked just fine adhering the copy paper to the poster board ...

I used Christmas-y washi tape to jazz up the poster board a bit. I also used up some old stickers I had on hand as you can see below ..

Next I placed a plain white post-it note over each illustration ...

And then ... I placed a log slice sticker on the bottom edge of each post-it. The post-it notes hide the illustration and the stickers keep that post-it note from flipping up and revealing any hints!

Close ups of the poster/post-it/sticker situation ...

Festive, yes? :)

Lastly, I used a red pen to number each sticker ...

And secured Archie's approval, natch ...

And that's it!

Well, actually ... there is much more to it and I will now get to all that. :)

Honestly though, this was a super easy project to pull together this morning. The photocopying took the longest time I think.

Here's how (I hope) my plan will unfold ...

Each day the boys will pull the day's post-it off and, using the revealed illustration, will head to the Christmas Library to try to find the book of the day. (I may also stick a number on the day's book to make it easier for my boys who are pretty young and might need help with this. Little Bear is not yet so familiar with the Christmas book collection and Earlybird may not recognize the illustrations.)

We will then all read the book together! (Please see my book list below.)

I am taking it a little further by planning a simple activity to go along with our Advent reading each day. I am not sharing this "Advent Agenda" with the boys beforehand however, because, as I've learned in the past, it's best to determine first if an activity will work - given the time/energy/weather/mood of the boys - and their mama! I have included my ideas below, next to the book titles.

I hope you enjoy the list and maybe can use an idea or two!

The PDF: Advent Countdown: Stories & Simple Activities

❤️

December 1st

Celebrate Christmas: With Carols, Presents and Peace by Deborah Heiligman

*Set up our Advent Garden.*

❤️

December 2nd

The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg

*Watch The Polar Express and drink hot chocolate!*

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December 3rd

The Light of Christmas by Richard Paul Evans

*Make beeswax candles for Advent Garden.*

❤️

December 4th

An Early American Christmas by Tomie dePaola

*Nature walk: gather twigs and other natural craft materials.*

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December 5th

Angelina’s Christmas  by Katharine Holabird

*Take an evening stroll around neighborhood  - deliver holiday cards.”

❤️

December 6th

Santa’s Favorite Story by Hisako Aoki

*Saint Nicholas Teatime: mulled cider and speculaas cookies.*

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December 7th

Song of the Stars by Sally Lloyd-Jones

*Make twig stars and other natural-material ornaments.*

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December 8th

Night Tree by Eve Bunting

*Go to The Farm and get our Christmas Tree!*

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December 9th

Country Angel Christmas by Tomie dePaola

*Cookie Baking Day with Nana!*

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December 10th

The Animals’ Santa by Jan Brett

*Decorate a Solstice Tree for the backyard Animals.*

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December 11th

The Golden Christmas Tree by Jan Wahl

*Make golden glitter tree ornaments.*

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December 12th

The Legend of the Poinsettia by Tomie dePaola

*Visit the Nursery to see poinsettias. Make cinnamon-sugar tortilla stars with fresh pineapple-mint salsa. Tacos for supper!*

❤️

December 13th

Gingerbread Friends by Jan Brett

*Bake and decorate gingerbread folk.*

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December 14th

My Wonderful Christmas Tree by Dahlov Ipcar

*Write and perform  a Woodland Christmas puppet show.”

❤️

December 15th

Christmas Farm by Mary Lyn Ray

*Take a nighttime Christmas lights drive.*

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December 16th

A Wish to Be a Christmas Tree by Colleen Monroe

*Watch the bird garden at sunrise while sipping hot cocoa.*

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December 17th

The Christmas Bird by  Bernadette Watts

*Set up our children’s creche.”

❤️

December 18th

The Christmas Cat by Efner Tudor Holmes

*Make moon ornaments for Solstice Tree; watch moonrise tonight.”

❤️

December 19th

Corgiville Christmas by Tasha Tudor

*Bonfire night! Make magic pinecones to burn in fire.*

❤️

December 20th

Pussycat’s Christmas by Margaret Wise Brown

*Make homemade gift wrap.*

❤️

December 21st

Bear Noel by Olivier Dunrea

*Family Solstice Supper with hot wassail, cottage pie and sun cake.”

❤️

December 22nd

The Friendly Beasts: An Old English Christmas Carol by Tomie dePaola

*Go caroling!*

❤️

December 23rd

Christmas in the Stable by Astrid Lindgren

*Visit an outdoor nativity scene at night.”

❤️

December 24th

The Night Before Christmas illustrated by Douglas Gorsline

There will be new pajamas and slippers and steamed almond milk before bed!

*

I hope you enjoyed my Advent ideas! Please remember - my goal is not to do every single thing on my list, but rather, to use the "plan" to create an atmosphere ... a slower, peaceful and happy time of anticipation. The 24 days of Advent pass very quickly and I sincerely hope every one of them brings you much comfort and joy!

Well my friends, as always, I thank you for stopping by and wish you all a pleasant day ... see you here again very soon!

Holiday Tea at Dawn's ~ Thanksgiving Memories

Hello my friends and Happy Monday! Can you believe in a week's time we will be starting the very last month of the year??

Well, I hope you all had a nice weekend, and if you celebrate, a Happy Thanksgiving, too! Ours was lovely, but before I launch into holiday memories, I want to say I am so excited to return to my weekly tea series! My goal is to host afternoon tea here at my blog every Monday, beginning today and continuing throughout the holiday season ... I will include the usual disclaimer of course, that as life often gets busy around here, there may be a week or two when tea is a bit late!

Now, as before, each week's Tea will have a theme, corresponding (more or less) to my family's seasonal homeschooling themes. This week, for instance, our theme is "hibernation" and so for the next several days we will be immersing ourselves in Earth's natural rhythm. We'll spend time outside (weather permitting) and inside (through windows) observing changes in our local habitat, the decreasing light and increasing dark, as well as the local fauna preparing for the cold weather to come. We'll take notes in our nature journals and read books about how different species adapt to the change in seasons - humans included! Some of us hibernate and some don't ... but why?

As we head into next week, the theme will morph into "our own cozy nests," and we will undertake our own family hibernation - turning inwards as we prepare our home and hearts for the dark and dreary (but beautiful) days ahead. The weeks leading up to Christmas are well known for their "hustle and bustle," but in our family we try to keep a quieter and more peaceful Advent. Preparing for such a "hibernation" from the holiday "madness" takes a little forethought and some days, even fortitude!

Which brings us to this week, the last in November, which I feel is a kind of "break" between one holiday and the next. After a super busy November, I am currently catching my breath and preparing to take stock of what lies ahead. These are the days to create a plan that will allow us to feel cozy, comfortable, well prepared and ready to sink into the cold days ahead ...

When hibernating, I think it's as important to fill our emotional larders as well as the practical ones. The year's golden memories bring us such warmth and light no matter how dark the coming days may be. Such is the lesson in a lovely little picture book called, Three Pebbles and a Song. A mouse family bustles about gathering what they need for the winter - nourishment and nesting materials, for example - but little Moses brings something special to their family's hibernation. Memories and laughter are just as necessary for comfort and joy!

So in that spirit, what memories will you carry into the winter with you this year? How do you keep preserve those bright happy times for yourself and your family?

I'd love to hear about your Thanksgiving ...

What was your favorite part of the holiday this year?

What do you remember most fondly from your childhood holidays?

The best part of my own holiday was having so many dear ones here with us - many for the first time in years, and a few for the very first time! I also loved the feeling of having all four of my boys home together ... there's nothing like a "full nest" to ensure a mama bird's good night's sleep!

From my own childhood I would say I remember most fondly my grandparents' home - filled up with loved ones and such wonderful smells. I always loved watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade as well ... 

But one memory sticks out above all, when I was probably seven or eight years old ...

After dinner my dad and my uncle took a bunch of the kids on a walk, just a little ways down an old railroad bed. I am the older of two children in my immediate family (big sister to my little brother, Matt) so I was always thrilled when we were surrounded by cousins - some of them older than me! But what was particularly thrilling about this late afternoon "adventure" was when it started to SNOW. Just lightly, but still - it was like magic! (To this day, I always hope for a Thanksgiving snow!) We all headed back to the house which was all aglow and the desserts were set out and everything was just so wonderful and warm. The grownups might not have been too happy to see it, but we kids were CERTAIN the day's flurries meant we'd have a white Christmas for sure!

Fast forward 40 some-odd years and we had another lovely Thanksgiving Day, with many, many cousins catching up with each other. Here are a WHOLE bunch of photos from our day ...

As you can see it was a bright and sunny day ... but so very cold. The coldest Thanksgiving on record, I believe! (22° was the day's high.)

Another record of sorts - we were a party of 25! Hosting a dinner for that many people can be tricky - mostly because you need to find places for people to sit! Also, timing a large number of dishes to complete cooking at the same time ... well, that's another real challenge! I am grateful for my family, especially my dear mum, who help me pull it all together ...

And speaking of my dear mum - today is her 75th birthday! Here's a photo of the two of us from earlier this month ... 

As I said on IG this morning, this beautiful lady is my best friend, my guiding light and I am so blessed to say, my own dear mother. We have such fun together and I look forward to planning many more parties in our future!

So that's a look back at our Thanksgiving, but here are a few more photos from the past few weeks ... 

Tea with a warm slice of gingerbread, baked in celebration of the season's first snow!

Oh my goodness, and speaking of tea!! My top photo shows you how I'm taking my tea at this very moment ... it's English Teatime (black decaf), served in a big sturdy mug. I was tempted to drink full-test, because we had a bit of a rocky weekend - Little Bear has a rotten cold and has gotten very little sleep - but I kept it simple (and non-stimulating). As I type up this post, I'm sitting at my desk, the day is dark and wet, but my home office is bright and warm. Currently I'm gathering up all my holiday resources - books, magazines, cocoa, candles, planner - but we'll chat about all that next week!

And so, tea will be served here again on Monday, December 3rd, roundabouts 4 p.m. You are welcome to pop by - sip, read, comment if you wish, and/or send me your own pics for inclusion in my post! Just send me an email at drhanigan AT gmail DOT com.

Next week's theme is creating "Our Own Cozy Nests." We will also talk about managing our hopes for the holidays. ❤

Feel free to grab this button if you'd like to post about the Teas at your own site:

For now though, thanks so much for stopping by ... I will see you here again very soon!

❤️Looking Ahead: Tea & Christmas Planning!

Hello again, my friends!

Well, it's a rather dreary November afternoon here - sleety, cold, and DARK - so I'm taking a break from our Thanksgiving prep to sit down for a cup of tea and to share a couple of quick things with you all. The first thing is what you see above ... this year's Christmas Planner is ready to go!

🎄 Dawn's Christmas Planner for 2018 🎄

Now, I'm really excited to dive into holiday planning - but I do like to live in season, and be mindful of our present blessings - so this week is all about thankfulness - and preparing turkey for 25! I also, however, like to get my ducks in a row asap, so I printed out a fresh copy - updated for the new year with a new, pretty cover (and back) page - and added it to my planning binder. There it will wait for me until Friday morning when I'll be raring to go! (Over a cup of mulled cider and leftovers!)

Ok, here is a little sneak peek at the inside pages ...

I hope this 16-page booklet will be helpful to you as you plan out your holiday season, but more than that - I hope it helps you think about HOW you want the season to feel. Christmas is about so much more than just the nitty gritty details - not that there's not a lot of things to do and keep on top of in order to make everyone's holiday  happy - but it's really about creating an atmosphere, crafting a vision, cultivating and carrying on with traditions that make the season so special for everyone. It is also, if I may be so bold as to suggest, a time for making time for ourselves. A time to connect with the true spirit of the season - whatever that may mean for YOU - touching base with the memories and values you hold dear. These weeks go by so fast, let's give this special time some real forethought and plan a Christmastide that will bring not only happiness, but harmony - inside and out.

Well ... more on all that in posts to come, but on that note ... the other thing I wanted to tell you all today is that I've decided to bring back my WEEKLY WINTER TEAS!

And so ...

Tea at Dawn's will commence next Monday, November 26th and continue (fingers crossed) every week throughout what I like to call, "nesting" season.

I am still hammering out my thoughts on this special project, as well as my weekly Tea themes, but come next Monday we can start by sharing a little of our Thanksgivings as well as our hopes for the season ahead - not to mention, of course, a lovely cup of late autumn tea!

Guests are always welcome at Teatime - to simply read, or share thoughts, or to participate with pictures - so I hope you'll consider joining me! Grab that Teacup image above if you'd care to spread the word, and if you'd like to send me a picture, please email me:

drhanigan AT gmail DOT com

Our 1st post:

November 26th: "Thanksgiving Memories and Holiday Hopes."

Well friends, I will be off now as dinnertime has approached and I am actually now typing these last words with a five year old in my arms who is complaining of a bellyache! So for now ...

Thanks so much for stopping by, have a nice evening, and I'll hope to see you here again very soon!

My 2019 Planning Sheets: Printable & Free!

Hello my friends and Happy Sunday! With just a little over a month left to the year, I would like to share my 2019 planning sheets with you all!

Please find all the PDF links below and read on for more information on how to print and assemble your own planner. (With more posts to come on planner "maintenance" as well!)

I believe this is my third (or fourth?) year sharing these planning sheets here at the blog and though I am getting a little more comfortable with the tech side of things, I always seem to scramble to make the sheets "post-able" just before year's end!

This year I'm happy to say I am able to share them in a much more streamlined way - and I hope this makes them easier to use!

Please let me know if you have any trouble printing the sheets or if you come across any typos or incorrect dates. As always, these sheets are very much a homemade affair - a rather personal project I create for myself first, and then make public in hopes others might find them useful. I'm a self-confessed planner addict for sure, but I really enjoy making my own planner because it allows me to create something with my own "mother and homemaker" needs in mind. There are so many gorgeous, wonderful planners out there - and yet I have not been able to find one that not only meets my specific needs but also suits my taste for a planner that's a little old-fashioned, specifically home-centered and has true seasonal "flair."

(To that end, in addition to seasonal quotes on each weekly page, you will notice that font colors change monthly to reflect the time of the year.)

These sheets are certainly not perfect but they do come straight from my heart and it is my dearest hope that they are fun for you to use and maybe inspire you to find a little more "comfort and joy" in the year ahead. 💛

Now as I mentioned last week, as much as I'd truly love to, at this time I'm not able to offer prepared planners for sale. I'm afraid I just don't have the kind of time I'd need to take on such a project. (Folks who have "won" a giveaway copy before can attest to how long it takes me to make it for them!) I'm definitely not saying never - just not this time around!

What I can do though, is share my planning sheets in PDF form, and make them available to readers for free! I can also give you an idea how to go about printing and assembling these pages into your own personal planner, in a form that makes sense. I myself have gone back and forth between using these sheets in a three-ring binder and having them spiral-bound at the copy shop ... but I'll talk more about that in a bit!. :)

Ok, without further ado, here we go! Each link is a printable PDF file and is free for your personal use.

💛 The By Sun and Candlelight Seasonal Planner for 2019

Front Section

January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December

Extra Blank Pages

 (Please note the November and December files are larger due to holiday planning and might take a little longer to load.)

And now for more details ...

I use HP ink and Staples brand "Premium Bright White" paper:

The paper is smooth and has a nice weight to it. :)

Other materials I use when making up a planner:

The planner includes title pages for each month of the year, but I find it handy to insert a thicker piece of paper to set apart the monthly sections. I like to use pretty patterned paper that has the thickness of card stock for this purpose. These papers tend to come in a larger "12x12" inch sheet so I just cut them down to size. I buy mine through Amazon or at the craft store.

As you can see, I really like "vintage" images ...

(Note - if you have trouble finding paper you like, you could also use card-stock for your monthly dividers. I made up a separate PDF of my 12 monthly title pages in case you'd like to use those title pages as dividers. Just print the PDF file on white card stock so the pages have a thicker weight.)

I also like to choose an especially pretty piece of paper to serve as my planner cover page:

I sometimes use alphabet stickers for "monogramming" the cover. I'm not a big sticker gal really, but they can be fun and add just the right touch of whimsy.

Now for a very important piece of the planner assembly, especially if you are binding your sheets at the copy shop ...

This is sturdy 50-point chipboard which will give your planner a very firm back cover. I got a package of 20 for $17 at Amazon. (In case you are wondering, a three hole punch does go through this material!)

Speaking of which ...

If I'm going to keep my planning sheets in a binder, then I use a three-hole punch! The one I have is quite old, but I'm linking one that seems similar: Swingline Three-Hole Punch.

And as for a binder ...

My favorite binder is a Martha Stewart 1-inch, 3-ring binder. It holds 275 sheets and is wonderfully sturdy and the rings work so smoothly. I honestly have not found another binder that works as well! They are all too stiff and the rings can be lethal! You can find this binder at Amazon but I buy mine at Staples for a much better price!

Last but certainly not least (because they give me such joy!) ...

I use adhesive tabs for the monthly divider pages. I love these pretty pastel tabs made by Erin Condren. I buy them at Staples but they are also available Amazon and through www.erincondren.com.

Basically I just print out all the sheets and paper clip each section to keep all those pages in order. 

I add the cover, monthly dividers (with tabs attached) and chipboard backing ... then I either bring the whole thing to the copy shop and ask for it to be "spiral bound" or I hole punch the sheets and file them into a binder. 

A note on spiral binding ... I take my planners to Staples for binding. They offer this service for about $5.00 and depending on how busy the store is, it's a pretty quick job! The spiral binding is made from plastic but recently I was told that they can send out the planners to be bound with a metal coil instead. I have yet to try that but I think metal coils would add a nice sturdiness and a touch of "elegance" to the planner!

Here are a few glimpses of planner construction, but as I mentioned at the start of this post, I will be back with a follow up post to talk more about using the planner once it's all put together!

planner assembly ...

ready for the copy shop ...

the first month of the new year ...

menu planning and overview ...

extra planning pages ...

monthly review and holiday planning ...

the weekly spread ...

January shades of brown, blue and rose ...

the month-at-a-glance ...

color-coded events ...

Well my friends, that is all I have for today! I would love to hear your thoughts and any questions about my planner and/or planner-making process. As I said, I will be back with a follow-up post to talk more about how I use this planner - my "system" if you will - and I will be happy to address any questions in that next post.

In the meantime, thanks so much, as always, for stopping by - I wish you all well and will hope to see you here again very soon!

🍂My Thanksgiving Planner: A Free Printable!🍂

Hello my friends, and Happy Tuesday! I meant to post this last week (or really, earlier this month!) but here I am today, with just a little more than a week to go, sharing my Thanksgiving Planner with you all ...

I hope you enjoy it!

🍂 Dawn's Thanksgiving Planner 🍂

It's eight pages long and has space for ...

• planning the meal
• organizing a gratitude project
• making time for holiday baking
• incorporating family traditions
• noticing November nature
• managing hostess duties
• cleaning ahead of the gathering
• setting up a holiday timetable

Even if you're not hosting Thanksgiving at your house, there are plenty of ideas and activities to consider as we celebrate this beautiful time of year.

If you are interested in my planner, you are free to print it for your personal use!

Note: It might take a bit to load the PDF, so if you have any trouble please let me know. You could keep these pages in a binder, on a clipboard or even inside a holiday folder.

Let me know what you think if you have a moment - about this planner and/or your own Thanksgiving plans! I will also be sharing an updated Advent/Christmas planner with you all just as soon as I can - but certainly before the first Sunday of Advent. :)

Ok, that's all for today, my friends ... hope to see you here again very soon!

p.s. My 2019 planning sheets will be ready to print by the end of the week!

One-Pan Harvest Chicken: Recipe Share!

Last night Bookworm made us an absolutely delicious (and wonderfully seasonal) supper and I thought I'd share a link to the recipe here!

One Pan Harvest Chicken - a bit of prep work, but quick to cook. Chock full of tasty, late autumn vegetables (plus apples!), smokey bacon and economical chicken thighs ...

Everybody loved it! Next time we might try using boneless/skinless chicken, because for one thing, they're just easier to eat and for another, they may cook more evenly matched with the veggies. (We ended up taking the vegetables out and broiling the chicken to finish up.)

On tonight's menu ... Crockpot Chicken Cacciatore! It simmered in the crockpot all day yesterday and tonight we'll serve it over linguine. (Along with salad and crusty bread.)

What dishes have you been making this autumn? Any new recipes to share?

Enjoy the rest of your Monday my friends ... see you here again very soon!

It's a Working Weekend!

Hello my friends, and Happy November! 

I just wanted to pop in to say I have carved out this whole weekend to work on my homemade planner! So that means I will be sharing updated planning sheets for 2019 with you all very soon!

Hope everyone is doing well and enjoying their weekend, wherever they are ... it's blustery and bright here in New England!

Blessings to all,

~ Dawn