Terrific Tuesdays

Today was as great as yesterday.  Christmas has always been my favorite time of year since I was a little kid.  Growing up and even now, I have always loved the music, the colors, the laughter, and more than anything the surprised faces when I give the perfect gift.  This afternoon, I couldn't help but smile as one of my little girls pulled out this little calendar and said, "It's 7 days until Christmas!"  It's the cutest thing.  For the last week, she's kept this little calendar and she marks a day off and then finds me to give me the update.  Throughout the last three weeks we've had so many moments like this and now it is coming to an end.  Well, not technically because in January is painting with snow, making S'mores, and lots of other little things, but nothing ever compares to Christmas.

Today we made our bags for our Christmas gifts and I have to tell you, they turned out adorable.  I got the idea off of Pinterest, but adjusted it to fit my kids.  First, we put the bags on their desk.  If you do this, make sure you lay them on their desks the way you want them to decorate them.  Also, make sure you write their names on the bottom.  It makes it much easier to identify and make sure that their parents end up with the correct, adorable gift.  Next, we put dots of glue for the eyes and the nose.  The kids then pressed them onto the bag.  Then, the kids drew their mouths and we allowed them to add eyelashes and eyebrows.  Before we handed over the markers we had a LOOONNNGGG talk about what was appropriate (3 to 4 eyelashes and 2 eyebrows) and inappropriate (monster faces and teeth).  I know that's probably a little overboard, but you didn't see the snowman ornaments we had to fix.  After that, my kids put their gifts into the bags and created the antlers to go on their bags.  It was funny because all of them were insisting that they couldn't make antlers.   told them that they could look at my sample, but I wasn't helping.  They had to solve the problem themselves.  It must have been magic because some how I ended up with 32 perfect antlers.  Not bad for kids who couldn't make antlers :)  Finally, my TA went around and attached the antlers to the bags.  I know I just gave you tons of instructions, but honestly it was a really easy project and my kids loved every second.  The only thing we were missing were tags, so here's a picture of some I created.  The kids are going to color them in the morning, so I can hole punch them and attach them to an antler.  If you want my tags, CLICK HERE to get them.

Now, this teacher is exhausted from keeping up with her crazy, little elf.  However, it is winding down, so we have to make sure Disney is going to go out as mischivious as ever.  Today I purposefully walked out of my room to go get something during his unveiling.  As I'm walking back down the hall, I hear my kids shouting with excitement from three rooms away.  Apparently, Disney appearing out of the animal crackers was quite the trick.  Several of them were concerned that he wouldn't be able to breathe, but I convinced them that he was fine.  When I left today, Disney had relocated himself to my clips that hang from the ceiling.  Apparently, he wishes he was a gymnast.  He also decided to give away my Polar Express secret.  I've been telling my kids all week that there is a secret hidden in the newsletter, so if their parents read it, they will know about their special Thursday treat.  Well, Disney got word that some of them may not read it, so he decided to blab.  He also decided to steal all of their bells for Thursday.

Alright, time to get ready for tomorrow!  Party tomorrow, sing-a-long and Polar Express Day on Thursday!  Oh, and somewhere in there I HAVE to make the elf ears/hats.  They are too cute to ignore!

Have a great day tomorrow and remember to love every second with your kids!