December is flying by, isn’t it? Just two weeks until Christmas Eve, and I’m happy to say everyone here is pretty cheerful and into the spirit and enjoying the Advent calendar. Yes, even the Captain – MyFriendJen suggested that maybe he was doing a testing thing, and now that he knows the rule (i.e. you WILL ENJOY CHRISTMAS WITH YOUR FAMILY, DAMMIT), he’s pretty happy to participate. Dodged a bullet there – THIS YEAR, at least.
So far the activities are going well, just little things that we’ve enjoyed and help celebrate the season. I have been especially happy with our charity activities this year – I know many families that do so much more than we do, but we try to do what we can, and this year it’s going well. It was the first year I made a point of taking the kids to the Fill The Bus food bank campaign, and they were really into it, going through the store and picking things out for the drive (a nice mix of things they actually need, and fun things the kids like that they wanted to share with others). Then, we did our annual toy mountain trip and the kids each picked out something from the toy store that they themselves would want, then gave it away happily, and everyone left feeling really positive, and all was well, and CHRISTMAS WAS SAVED AND WORLD PEACE.
You know, the usual.
I think what I have learned here is that abstract giving of cash on the computer means nothing to them, but actually getting out and DOING something and GIVING something concrete has meaning for them, so we will definitely be focusing on that in the future, and looking for more opportunities to be more physically involved.
The only other thing I wanted to mention here was about Alight at Night at Upper Canada Village. We went last Friday and it was lovely and magical, and really, SO worth the trip down if you are considering it. But most importantly, there is a brand new rest stop on the 401 just outside Morrisburg, literally 1 km down the road from the Upper Canada Village exit. This means you can leave here at around 4:30, which is really too early for dinner unless your kids are 6 months or 60 years old, and then stop at the rest stop for either a pre-packed picnic dinner (which we did) or the treat of take-out (there’s a Tim’s and Burger King). All of which makes heading down there for the evening SO much easier, especially in winter.
Now I must go and make chocolate dipped marshmallows, then struggle not to eat them all while the kids are sleeping and the marshmallows are “drying.” IN MY BELLY. Did I type that out loud?
TurtleHead 
I just snorted aloud, in solidarity mind you, over your “IN MY BELLY” comment!
Thanks for the Alight at Night tip – we’re hoping to this year, for the first time.
You’re right, clicking a link or forking over some cash does not have the same impact as having them take ownership of a project. I am dying to blog about our “do-good jar”, but it’s kind of a catch 22. It’s been an amazing project that I want to share with everyone, but writing about it would completely alter the outcome. It really is killing me to sit on it though. Also… why do you not just live down the street from me? Geography sucks!
we did the OC Transpo fill a bus this weekend too (thanks for posting on FB about it!). and the jellybean also really liked looking at the “needs” list and gathering all of the stuff though the store. and his purchase of a toy for toy mountain using his Canadian Tire money was another great one. Now we just have to go drop it off.
Last night was “bubble bath.” First time we did that one. Thanks for the suggestion. He loved it! it’s been so long since he took a bath. I made sure to add extra bubbles. 🙂