Someone I know, love, and trust shared this item on Facebook yesterday, so of course I did that one-click spendy thing on Amazon.
2. Since Amazon is also someone I know, love, and trust (within reason), and they had a suggestion for me, I nabbed these bad boys too.
I guess this means we'll be having gingerbeard instead of gingerbread. tee-hee!
3. In getting ready for the Advent-ure, (I sure am punny today) I did an online search for a high-quality child-safe Advent wreath. I'm looking for something similar in quality to this Shabbat set.
Facebook friend, Angela bought two Shabbat sets from Barnes & Noble. She's re-painting her candles and re-purposing them for Advent.
I'm impressed, yet overwhelmed with that route. So I turned to Etsy Handmade instead.
ADHToys is making me a set like this, but it will include "lit" and "unlit" candles. Easy on my temporal budget, while financially supporting a crafter's home business, winning all around.
Message her! She'll probably do one for you too. If you ask nicely.
4. Speaking of Etsy Handmade things, I sent my precious nephew, Isaac, a homemade flannel blanket from Etsy seller, Project Orange.
When I messaged her that it was a gift, she wrapped it, tied it with ribbon, and added a printed note from me, all at no extra charge. I love these Etsy folks!
5. I'm trying to do more Christmas/St. Nicholas shopping at Etsy and independent stores.
Kelly at This Ain't the Lyceum got me started on this kick. She has lots of great ideas in her Catholic and Handmade Christmas gift guide: ties in liturgical colors, handmade boxes for his homebrew, handmade saint medals, and more.
I know a girl who will love these Doctor Who inspired earrings,
and a couple of girls who desperately need red riding hoods.
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| This is not my photo or my kids. They belong to Etsy seller, OriginalsbyLaurenToo. |
Heck, I'm even finding stuff for my #indignant17yo. What teen boy doesn't want a lego mini-fig keychain in their stocking?
How cool would these Lord of the Rings inspired travel posters look in the boys' room? Or in Patrick's office? Or in our bedroom?
6. Enough of the Windows shopping! (Last pun, I promise.)
Soon it will be time to set up my collaborative Jesse tree and try to find the Advent at Ephesus cd that I bought last year. It's probably at the bottom of a Christmas tub. sigh.
**I am really on top of things this year.
I already ordered and received real beeswax Advent candles from Toadily Handmade Beeswax Candles. Ripped this idea off Mary at Better Than Eden. Of course, she is hand-rolling her own candles. *cough*over-acheiver*cough* I'm just phoning it in with the pre-rolled kind.
7. I am planning to do a(nother) post about our favorite Christmas/Advent books. Kendra at Catholic All Year posted her Five Favorite Read-Alouds for Advent, and I was surprised to see that the Thornton Family's picks for this season are all different! Every year, I find more and more Christmas stories to treasure.
This year, I got The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey by Susan Wojciechowski from the library. It pays to request Christmas books in November. Patrick read it to Jill, and he was spellbound. He immediately started looking to see if it had been made into a movie, and was disappointed to see that it has.
**Just by typing that, I have ensured that a major appliance will break down in the fourth week of Advent, or someone will vomit as soon as we begin our post-Christmas roadtrip to St. Louis.
Feel free to leave me a little present/comment below. You could share your favorite Etsy shop/item, your favorite Christmas/Advent book or cd, or your favorite cookie recipe. Or just say, "Hey!"
Happy Thanksgiving if I don't see you on What We're Reading Wednesday! I mean, I'll be here, but will you?
I think I need a ninjabread cookie kit. I need it. I also have some boys who need those LOTR travel posters.
ReplyDeleteAnd I just discovered the joys of Etsy shopping, too (my daughter-in-law and my other soon-to-be daughter-in-law are always finding the coolest gifts on there). I got our boys these wall mounted bottle openers, where the bottle caps fall into vintage Pearl beer cans. They're awesome! And not something you'd see at the mall.
This was a fun post to read. You should meet my dad. He's the pun master. :)
We have a different Ninjabread set but I love the travel posters! Etsy is such a beautiful place! I was just looking there last night at some photography to make a collage over my stove. It's a very blank area that desperately needs some prettying! If you have Doctor Who fans there, check out Time Machine Jewelry (there are in Peoria). And handstamped jewelry too!
ReplyDeleteThose posters are awesome. Our favorite Christmas books are The Nativity by Julie Vivas, and the Gift of the Magi by O. Henry (the copy we have is illustrated by Lisbeth Zwerger) I can't seem to ever get through that last paragraph without getting choked up.
ReplyDeleteOh… and I just found this etsy shop today if you are looking for something cute, educational and personalized for Princess Jill!
ReplyDeleteWhoops. I meant to link directly to the name puzzle.
Deletemy kids love the little drummer mouse by mercer mayer. it is the sweetest! and, i love the idea of putting christmas books on hold now. off to do that myself!
ReplyDeleteAnd one more shout out to a wonderful etsy store located in the hill country of Texas… Hill Country Woodcraft
ReplyDeleteWhere and how do you find all these books? And how do you store them? And afford to buy them all? (These are sincere questions! Right now I am dumbfounded by my perception of your wealth, built-in bookshelves in every room, and ability to spend afternoons at bookstores, finding new treasures while sipping yummy coffee. [Also, if that really is your life can I visit you for a day and follow you around?])
ReplyDeleteHa! Most of "my" books, including Jonathan Toomey above are loaners from my local library. I do have one basket for Christmas books that I store in a red/green tub in the basement most of the year. St. Nicholas often brings books, and Christmas gifts usually entail 1 book, 1 toy, and 1 article of clothing. With five children, the oldest being seventeen, that adds up to a LOT of books. I'm also a used book sale junkie. My library has a table in the lobby where paperbacks are $.25, hardbound books are a $.50. This week I picked up Roald Dahl's Omnibus for fifty cents! Ka-ching! I have floor to ceiling bookshelves in the family room (came with the house), in my office which we renovated this spring (ikea) and in the basement (also Ikea, the super cheap $19 ones). Also, coffee is gross. I'm strictly a tea drinker. Unsweetened iced tea. 365 days a year. Or sometimes a hot chai.
DeleteTravel or no, I NEVER miss WWRW! The apocalypse can come and I will still be checking your blog for my book fix. Please don't stop!!! I've even got my school librarian and all of my friends coming to you for help and advice. With only two of the five doing serious reading so far, and the oldest averaging 2-3 novels/week, I need you to do this for quite a while.
ReplyDeleteBTW, did I tell you that last year's missed Jesse Swap gave me a nudge for this year? I gave a talk at my parish about Advent and threw out the possibility of a swap to the ladies, and now we're doing it! I can't wait to see what everyone else comes up with for their ornaments! Yea!
At the bottom of the Christmas tub! I hate that!
ReplyDeleteHere's my Advent reading list from last year. I'm sure we'll be adding a few more, but these are solid. :)
I LOVE those LOTR posters. Love.
Duh. Link: californiatokorea.com/homeschooling/advent-booklist-with-a-link-up
DeleteNot being a *cough * over-achiever like my big sis, though inspired by her ideas, last year I found some nice wooden Jesse Tree ornaments at Jesse Tree Treasures shop on Etsy. Every year we read Christmas Keepsake: A Treasury of Best-Loved Stories and More. It is a collection of 25 little books to hang as you read them including gems from the Christmas Carol and Little Women. The last book is The Greatest Gift of All (Christmas story from the book of Luke. We read that Christmas morning before opening gifts.
ReplyDeleteThank you for all of these great links! I love the Ephesus cds--we have Christmas at Ephesus and am I a bad mom for playing it NOW before Advent even begins?? It's such a nice change from the jingle jangle tunes that pervade Nov/Dec. And though it's not an Advent book per se (and I'm sure everyone knows about it already), I love showing my boys Raymond Briggs' "The Snowman" when it starts getting chilly.
ReplyDeleteEtsy is a HUGE rabbit hole. I've even got my older kids visiting the site for all sorts of handmade Lego gifts. But I did NOT see those LOTR posters before so now I'm off to 'Favorite' them and hopefully not get lost for a few hours.
ReplyDelete