No Snow Village Here

Around Christmas time we pop into the Hallmark store to do a lot of lookie loo-ing! Love their stuff, the kids like looking at their ornaments and Car has started a little obsession. He is obsessed with their snow village set up beautifully in the back of the store. How do I know you ask (you asked right?) Well he makes it just slighly obvious when he sprints to the back of the store right as his foot touches the carpet and pretty much throws a temper tantrum when it is time to leave the snow village area. It's a cute obsession but one that got me thinking...

So...We may not have an entire snow village to decorate with here BUT we do have...

Snow People Village - air dry clay with pipe cleaners. Seriously makes me laugh and the kids ask for this craft each and every year...

Snow Globe Village - made these this year and it was a definite hit. Don't know who had more fun, the kids or me and my mom?? They would just have to shake them at least every hour.

The kids very own personal transportation even had their VERY own Rudolph Antler Set this year courtesy of resident creator/artist Miss Brooklyn Studdert. Before I could even finish washing morning dishes she had designed, colored and cut her own Cozy car set and asked where the tape was (that is something I hear about 10 times a day from her). I handed it to her and watched as she marched outside and taped away. It was the cutest and most creative thing I had seen.

In case you are wondering, Brooklyn had crazy hat day at school that morning and instead of looking around for a crazy hat she decided it would be best to make it herself. I have to say Kennedy paid the price of being my first in this area. I used to have ideas of what I thought stuff like this should look like or how it should be and I more or less took over contributed to Kennedy's ideas. Not with the 2nd or 3rd children and they are by far better off because of it. Brooklyn marched in her bathroom grabbed her brown crochet hat and started sticking her flower clips all over it. It was cute, she was proud and I didn't lift a finger. Everyone is happy!

A Gingerbread House complete with personal star flag (a.k.a Buffalo Flag) courtesy of daddy!

But the next part was classic...the finishing touches were being made to the flag, Tim pushed it back to admire and the girls stand up giggling (that's when we know they are  up to something) and slap their hands across their heart and start belting out the Pledge of Allegiance...

What was Carter doing during the patriotic moment...

Village Smillage...we will go admire it every year but for now we like our OWN villages!