So far in my stellar career as a mother, I haven’t yet done anything super-special to lead up to Christmas.  But this year, I got bit by the Advent bug.  I think part of it has to do with Sophie’s being fully excited and involved in the holiday thing this year.  Because of her speech language delay, last year was the first year she really “got” Christmas, and this year she really is beginning to understand the WHY of Christmas.  About eight times a day she says, “This is going to be the BEST…CHRISTMAS…EVER!”  It’s so cute! She and Joshua are bouncing off the walls excited, and part of the reason is because this year, I decided to get my ADVENT on.  I started thinking,  ”Do I really wanna do this?  It might get to be too much for me…” but then I remembered Emily’s advice from last year’s Advent season: Just do it So, I did.  And I am!

May I present, the Advent section of our dining room:

We are all about it, yo!

From left to right, we have: Little People Nativity (minus two wise men, this is what happens when you leave it out all year and let your kids play with it!), Hal the Moose from Build-a-Bear, who you know, has everything to do with Jesus’  birth, our Christmas tree calendar that has an advent activity that we will do as a family every day leading up to Christmas, our chocolate advent calendar which combines two of my favorite things, Scripture verses & chocolate, a random puppy dog dressed for Christmas, and finally, the ol’ mouse advent calendar that was in my house as a child.

WHEW!

We are having great fun doing each of our three calendars each day.  The kids are sharing the chocolate really well, we are learning from the Bible verses, and we are having a great time with the activities.  Most of the activities I just made up, like today’s “read the Christmas story from the Bible”, and some I have found online, like “make and play Christmas tic tac toe.”  They range from watching a Christmas movie, to reading a Christmas book, to making Christmas cookies.

I must confess, I am loving it!  I am loving doing these things with my kids, teaching them about Jesus’ birth, and adding some purpose and fun to the anticipation of Christmas morning.

I’m practically a fun mom!! Eek!  Well, ’tis the season!  What are you doing to celebrate this season with your kids?

One of the things that’s been on my mind (read: that I’ve been having ridiculous anxiety over) is how to keep my family healthy over the holidays.  I will completely freak out if any of the kids are sick and have to miss any of the family festivities!  I remember a few years ago when Joshua was a baby, I myself got the flu and had to miss a family Christmas. It was not cool!

So. How do I keep them healthy??  Since I am a Vicks Blogger, I decided to go to their website to see if they had anything to add to this healthy-for-the-holidays scheme.   Here are a few tips I picked up:

• Get outdoors if you can!  Spending more time indoors breathing germy air is part of the reason we get sick more often in the winter.  So put on your coats and spend a little time outside if it’s sunny and dry.
• Cover those coughs and sneezes!  I know this seems basic, but I’ve been drilling the “cough into your elbow” thing into my kids and it’s helped SO MUCH.  And I know it’s cutting down on them spreading the germs around to each other that they bring home from their respective schools.
• Detail those remotes! Something my kids touch all the time are the TV remote and Wii controllers, and I NEVER thought to clean them, until now.  From now on I will be wiping them down daily at least!
• Add humidity!  I hate humidity in the summer, but it’s a good thing in the winter.  Consider using a Vicks humidifier to keep the air in your home moist – cold viruses thrive in dry air.

Now if my little boogers DO get sick (and totally RUIN Christmas!!) at least I know how to treat their coughs & colds – with my favorite Vicks VapoRub and Vicks Vaporizer with VapoSteam to keep them as comfortable and soothed as possible.  To keep updated on how Vicks Products can help your family this cold & flu season, check out their Facebook page.

What measures are you taking to keep your family healthy this holiday season?

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I am being compensated for my role as a Vicks Blogger. All opinions about Vicks Products are my own.