Monday, December 1, 2008

Advent Countdown @ the House of Whimsy AND...The Nutcracker Ballet

I've been making these gingerbread man countdown chains with my kids since my oldest two were little. When I started this, I bought a miniature cookie cutter and baked them myself. Now, we just buy them in a box, but the FUN is still the same!
Pull out a very long length of plastic wrap. Cut in half, length wise.
Lay all 25 little men face down.
Pull wrap over on one side all the way down. Then pull the other side over so it looks like:
This!
Then flip whole chain over, so their little faces are facing you.
Use any type of ribbon you want to tie bows in between each gingerbread man.
Hang the chain from any hook, peg, or stocking holder.
Tie a little pair of scissors on for cutting each day.
Let the fun begin. Happy 1st day of December.
I started taking my oldest daughter, Emily, to the Nutcracker when she was about 7. It's been a fond family tradition at our house.
Here are Emily's two little pumpkins. The tradition lives on. : )
Beautiful mommy and Princess C.
Nana with Princess G.
Two little sisters waiting for their turn to speak with Santa.



Mommy with precious daughters.




The year Emily and I decided Sara was old enough to go with us. : )



These photos make me want to breakout in song:
Sunrise...sunset
...

from Fiddler on the Roof. : )



Little Sara





Beautiful big Sara.

41 comments:

Shell in your Pocket said...

I love your Advent countdown..so very cute!!!
What great pictures!
-sandy toes

Darlene said...

Love that advent countdown!! We took Lexi to the Nutcracker when she was 6 years old. It was so FUN!!! Great pictures of the everyone!

Stacy said...

Three generations of gorgeous girls! You all are so beautiful!

Great pics! I love the lil gingerbread men!!!

~Stacy

AndreaLeigh said...

Love the countdown... so very cute! Isn't the nutcracker the best? I don't go every year, but it is a tradition I'd love to start with my own family.

Penny from Enjoying The Simple Things said...

What a sweet Advent countdown! And what a wonderful tradition going to the Nutcracker Ballet!

Essential Oil Premier University said...

I love your idea of the advent gingerbread. I think that is adorable. But, of course, if I made one, me being the only one who likes gingerbread, I'd have to eat all 24 cookies. . . oh darn!! :)

Beautiful children and grandchildren you have there, must take after you :)

Blessings,

Sher

julie & joe said...

So much fun! I haven't seen the Nutcracker since 1993. I went with my best guy friend in college. He had never seen a ballet. I love the girls' dresses.

Unknown said...

Wow I love it how can you go wrong with gingerbread men and the nutcracker!

Angie said...

The advent countdown with the cookies is such a neat idea! I just saw the redo of your brother's kitchen - WOW! Gorgeous!!!

The Berry's Patch said...

What a great idea to countdown the days till Christmas. Your girls are beautiful! :-)

Suzann said...

Oh that is so sweet! The gingerbread and the nutcracker - such special memories.

Ms. Tee said...

I've *never* seen a gingerbread countdown calendar like that! And all of your girls are just beautiful. :)

The Quintessential Magpie said...

This is a wonderful idea! So clever! And you're right, the girls (all of you) are so pretty!

Thanks for sharing. I might just have to borrow this idea from you.

XO,

Sheila... who popped over from Diane's!

Empty Nest Full Life said...

I am so behind on blog reading. What a fun advent countdown, your daughters are beautiful, and your grandaughters are adorable. Such great memories. Glad you had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Jackie

Tina Puntigam said...

The pictures of all the girls are just beautiful. The matching dresses are adorable and perfect for a Christmas event :)

Jan said...

I don't know if the gingerbread countdown would last in my house. I might have to make 4 of them I think. They are DarLing. Love it. The girls are so cute. Great pictures.

Kacey said...

I LOVE Advent calendars and this is such a fun way to countdown the days. LOVE IT! I also love the pictures of your girls then and now. It makes me think about how fast time flies by. I can't wait until my littles are old enough to realize and appreciate traditions, but I don't want to rush the time we have now. :o) So precious.

Robin Beck said...

I just love your advent countdown-You are SO smart-what a great idea! I can't wait to make one myself. And you, your daughter and granddaughters are so beautiful...You are very blessed I can see!
Robin~♥

Kim @ Home Is Where The Heart Is said...

What a clever way to countdown advent!

Your granddaughter's are so precious in their red dresses!

p.s. Thank you for visiting me and for leaving me such a nice comment about my recent post...I appreciate it!

Unknown said...

That advent countdown is such a great idea! Your daughter and granddaughter are both beautiful. I used to go to the nutcracker with my mom and grandma when I was a little girl. This post made me remember back.

Shannon said...

Great pictures! Love the countdown idea!!

That kitchen makeover is amazing!

Jenny said...

Hmmm! Kyle and I might have to try this! Thank you for sharing!

Cindy said...

Great pictures of everything! I love the before and now pictures of all of you. You all look so beautiful! I love holiday traditions. You did a wonderful job posting about the kitchen.

Glitter & Bliss said...

Love the gingerbread countdown idea. You make everything look so easy... I am using all our left over Halloween candy in our advent calender. I like your idea much better...more festive.

AndreaLeigh said...

I've got an award for you on my blog! Check it out! :)

GARAGE SALE GAL said...

What a super idea with the gingerbread men:) Thanks for sharing it with us. Very sweet photos. I read a few past post and like how you painted the tree white and I like jars filled with your treasures.
Christmas JOY to You.
Deb

cherry said...

I love this idea....love gingerbread men. Your girls are beautiful! cherry

The Blonde Duck said...

I love the advent countdown!

I went to the Nutcracker with my mom and sister every year. It was a lot of fun.

Mimi Sue said...

That advent calendar is my kind of project, fast, easy and so very cute. We went to see the Nutcracker when the little girls were here. (We only took the older one) It wouldn't be Christmas without it. The mommy danced in the nutcracker many times. She is our ballerina. When she was a Jr in high school she was the snow queen. Very fun memories. Mimi

Wendy said...

Ah, the Nutcracker. I have dance since I was tiny and then I worked for a professional Ballet company (not as a dancer mind you) for about four years. I love the Nutcracker. Probably next year I'm going to start taking my little girl to see it. What a fun tradition!

Tamara Jansen said...

Gingerbread cookie idea is FABULOUS!

Two girls at the ballet....well....they are just GORGEOUS! what a wonderful tradition.

Unknown said...

Love the gingerbread chain...what a fun idea! Your girls are just precious! Have a blessed holiday!

Thrifty Decor Chick said...

Beautiful family you have!! I just saw this for the first time over at Joy's yesterday and LOVE it. Love how simple it is. I may try this one. I'm going to link to your site on mine -- I love your ideas!!

Unknown said...

I love your new Christmas theme in here. Did you make those trees too? Is that your mantle? Wow it's just GORGEOUS! I feel like I've been gone too long and I've missed you so much.

I love your beautiful Advent Countdown - That is such a great idea!

Blessings - Debbie

GRAMS said...

Alrighty then, I off to buy stuff to make these. Of course I'm a little late but I don't think the kids would mind eating extra to catch up.

PS I finished my ceiling!

Screaming Meme said...

I love the Advent idea! I think that would be fun! Your family is beautiful...So lucky....

Rue said...

Hi M.L. :)

That advent is so cute! I've never seen anything like it.

Your family is absolutely beautiful :)

rue

JudyBug said...

Oh I love the gingerbread idea. Putting that on the list of things to do!

G. said...

We make the same advent calendar but with Hershey's kisses instead. I'll have to try the gingerbread men next year...great idea!

Granny said...

I LOVE your advent countdown! So fun and easy. Ron and I went to the Nutcracker on our honeymoon, but haven't been back. We listen to the music a lot--love it!

Thank you for your blog and your Merry Christmas card. I love you and your family. Have a Happy New Year!

AliceAnderson said...

I'm bookmarking this so I can do it next year with dog cookies. No kids, but my dog loves his treats. Maybe I'll bake something for DH too. ;)