12 Acts of Kindness: Act One

This year we are trying something a little different for our acts of kindness. In previous years, we have done one act of kindness per day on the 12 days leading up to Christmas Eve. However, this year with everything else going on (e.g., Danny's wrestling, orchestra concerts, youth activity nights, etc.), we decided that we are still going to do our 12 acts of kindness, but we are going to fit them in on the nights we can and we may do more than one on any given day. Today, after our breakfast with Santa, we decided to start with one of our favorite kindness activities - candy cane bombing the hospital parking lot! We often don't get to see the reactions of the recipients of our kindness act, but it is fun to think about the smiles that may come because of the small gesture. This year we did get to speak with a couple families who were coming to their cars as we were placing the candy canes. One family just welcomed a new baby! The other family was visiting an ailing grandparent. Both families smiled as they received the candy cane. Bring on more smiles and more small acts of kindness!

Breakfast with Santa

When Jingle dropped off all the ornaments, he also invited Danny and Jonas (and Jeff and I of course) to an official breakfast with Santa! I can't think of a more fun way to kick off all the Christmas activities. I'm not sure who was more excited...Jonas or me?! Santa held his breakfast at Gardner Village. When we arrived, we got to eat while we waited for everyone else to arrive. We were at the CinnaBear table. There were three very funny elves that kept us engaged. One was Sally Snowball and she encouraged us to be naughty. Jonas thought she was funny. He even got in a "snowball fight" with her. Another elf, Ginger Jingle kept throwing mini-marshmallows on our table.

Finally, it was time to welcome Santa with a few Christmas songs. Jonas's face was filled with anticipation as we sang...and then there he was...Santa had arrived! Mrs. Claus joined him too. We were lucky to be the first table to greet Santa. Jonas told him that he wanted an electric scooter for Christmas. Danny and Jeff were good sports and joined us in a fun family picture.

After we greeted Santa, we got to decorate sugar cookies and enjoy the rest of our breakfast. The boys even got to write a letter to Santa so that he wouldn't forget what they wanted for Christmas (although Danny got his gift early).

We left the breakfast and immediately went on an elf hunt! Gardner Village sets up different elves around the stores in different settings. We had fun looking for all the silly elves. It was the perfect holiday morning!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

With Thanksgiving officially over, it was time to put up the Christmas decorations! In fact, I totally took down the Thanksgiving decorations after our hot cocoa bar. Most people went downstairs to watch a football game, but I decided to skim through the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade (a tradition from my childhood) while taking down all the pumpkins, fall leaves, and Thanksgiving decor. Friday we were ready to break out the red, green, sparkly, commercialized and spiritual decor. It's the most magical month for me. I really enjoy settling down at night to watch a Christmas movie (mostly from Hallmark) by the lights of the Christmas tree.

Once I had most of the house decorated, Jeff helped us set up the tree. This is by far our favorite part of decorating. As we were starting to pull out the ornaments, there was a knock at the door. Jingle, our scout elf from the North Pole, arrived with the kids' ornaments for the year! (I enjoy having Jingle join us for fun activities throughout the month.) Each year, the kids get an ornament that pays homage to a major event that happened that year. This year, Jonas received an ornament of a kid with a broken arm; Danny got an Eagle Scout ornament; Dallin received one of a boy with a cap and gown for his high school graduation (next year he'll get a mission one); Amber received a wedding one; Jacob got one for his first elk hunt; Laurin received a graduation one for her RN; and Casey, got one to commemorate their engagement. After Jonas and Danny unwrapped theirs (and Dallin's...the older kids weren't there), we started to unpack all the others. It's fun to reminisce about the trips we've taken or the activities we've done over the years. There are so many fun memories on that tree. It reminds me of how blessed we are to have experienced all these magical moments together. The Christmas magic is finally upon us! It's truly the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!