December So Far ...

As you know we have our very own elf on the shelf called Bell, and every night this little elf flies back to the North Pole to tell Santa how good Jonathan is being.  In the morning Bell is sitting in a different place.  here are some of the places Bell has got to.

The day before this picture Jonathan received some special seeds in his mailbox from Bell, he had to plant them in a bowl of sugar and they would grow ... into candy canes!!!  I dont know about you but that is my kind of plant :) at the beginning he didnt fully understand what Bell was but now he has the hang of it. 
He did touch it one day, and Santa had to send a letter to explain how to get the Christmas Magic back.  instead of using glitter i went with the 'An Elf Story' version where the elf gets its magic back through love and forgiveness.  I really liked this idea because it teaches the kids to obey and say sorry when they have done something wrong. 

we have decorated a little too -

and this year i made a salt dough nativity scene ... with a moving baby Jesus which Jonathan loves -

and of course the advents .. we have our bible advent

This Bible is amazing, and the pictures are great for holding a childs attention.  Every story in it whispers towards Gods plan to send Jesus.  And there are the perfect number of stories to get to Christmas eve and have the Christmas story read.  It is so important that this is what the focus of Christmas is, not the presents.  When Jonathan has asked me what is Christmas I have told him it is all about Jesus being born, about God sending his redeemer to earth.  Santa confuses him though and i have explained to him (in simpler terms) that Santa shows us the meaning of grace.  We don't deserve the presents at Christmas, no-one does and yet we receive them.  Jesus also gives us the greatest gift through grace - eternal life, if only we grab it.   

We also have a movie advent where we watch a Christmas movie everyday even if it is only a short one - Jonathan chooses so sometimes there are repeats on it, but I don't mind as he is very happy.
Also like last year we have our Santa head, where everyday there is another cotton ball added to his beard because he can't visit without his hair :) While we stick it on we sing 'When Santa Got Stuck Up The Chimney' and a few others ... with actions of course! 

What have you been doing this December?  has anyone put up their tree yet?  why don't you send my some pictures and i can post them up here too!