Games & Crafts

A delicious box of decorated cookies was delivered to my office for our staff to enjoy.  There were way to many for the 6 of us here this week, so I brought some home for us to have.  They are delicious too!

 

We ate the cookies while playing Yahtzee. 

In the first round, Kevin, Gramma Pat AND Camden got a Yahtzee!  Needless to say, I came in last.

After two rounds, Camden and Gramma Pat got some craft projects out.  Camden used a kit to color a cute reindeer decoration.

Best coloring effort from her I think I've seen!

Gramma Pat was not to be outdone and decided to do the second reindeer while Camden painted a Pegasus Sun Catcher.

Waveland Christmas Extravaganza

With freezing ice on the roads and below zero temperatures, the Waveland Christmas Extravaganza still happened.  Our crowds were low, but still had around 40-50 kids come through and several more individuals.  Probably saw close to 125 people throughout the day.

The event started with a small Farmer's Market at 10am.  We had 6 vendors who, despite the lower turnout, all report they did well.

Our chili meal and silent auction began at 11am. The Waveland Volunteer Fire Department took control of the meal and Waveland Strong did the auction. All the proceeds from this part of the day went to a Waveland family whose 9 month-old son died suddenly and unexpectedly from pneumonia in November.  The funds were to help with funeral costs and medical bills.  Our little community is very generous and we raised a nice amount to assist this young family.

The market ended at 2pm and we switched that room up to a Christmas party.  We had a few games, cookie decorating, and a raffle.

 And, of course, the big guy was there.

 

 

There are some really good people who made this day work!  

Class Party

Camden's last day of school was Friday and on Thursday they had their class Christmas party.  I planned the event and a few other moms helped out. 

On a side note, look at the balance balls a lot of the kids use.  It's a new trend in classrooms to use non-traditional seating.  We were allowed to purchase a ball for our child and send it in to be inflated and used.  Camden is on the green ball in the middle by her social butterfly self (read too distracted/distracting).

We made cute reindeer and snowman clothespin ornaments.  The model we used:

And the kids' ones actually looked close to this.  I painted them all before hand and we used glue dots to attach items.  It was a great craft project for a short party.

For the gift exchange, each child bought a gift for someone of the same gender.  We then did a round robin exchange game where a parent read a story and each time she said "right" they passed the gift one person to the right.  And "left" meant to pass the gift to the left.  The kids enjoyed the craziness that ensued in shuffling the gifts.

 

Camden was thrilled to end up with a small gumball machine and an eyeball splat ball.

We ended the party with snacks.  Fun days!

Danville Winter Wonderland

After our Plainfield Christmas party we did some shopping then headed to Red Robin for dinner (I had a free burger for my birthday).  Then we headed over to Danville for their Winter Wonderland Christmas light show at their park.  It's a drive through show with hundreds of lights around the park loop.

It's been a couple of years since we last went and it's just gotten bigger and better.  We especially loved the tree that was set to music.

Santa over the roof top is huge and one of my favorites.

Of course, we love the train!

Another fun tradition to enjoy together.

Plainfield Christmas

Kevin, Gramma Pat, and I went to Plainfield on Saturday for a holiday party at their community center.  Our first stop was to see Santa.  Mrs. Claus greeted us then we got time with the big guy. 

This place used a green screen and printed a photo with a background of our choosing for us to take home.

This Santa kept staring at Kevin and eventually called us over to "deputize" him as a Santa (in waiting).  He gave him a card with information about how to register in Indiana. 

Then we headed outdoors for a few activities.  It was cold, but sunny and with coats we enjoyed everything.  Well, except the little train rides because it broke down as we were waiting in line.

We petted goats, llamas, and a donkey, as well as fed a camel.  It was all part of a "living" Nativity area.

The animal caretaker also had a white (albino) racoon in his coat.  It kept popping it's head out to be petted.

Next we headed for a pony ride.  They were actually a bit bigger than normal and not attached to a wheel.  Very enjoyable for Camden.  A guide walked them in a nice loop in the field.

We all rode on a carriage around the large parking lot.  There was also a horse-drawn covered wagon but we didn't wait to ride it.

Back inside the building we got some cookies and hot chocolate and another picture, this time with Olaf from Frozen.

There was also face painting (didn't wait in line) and a raffle drawing to enter.  They had a huge playground and Camden wanted a few minutes to play.  I let her do that while Kevin and Gramma Pat went to get the car warmed up.  She probably got about 10 minutes, but that was plenty of time in the cold air.  Very fun, well done event.  We will remember this community center and watch for future events (or even summer days of play).