Getting ready for Christmas this year involved making a lot of Nanimo bars. A chocolate layer, followed by a cream custard layer resting on a chocolate nut and graham cracker base equals heaven (if you have a sweet tooth). This Canadian treat is one of my favorites from the Midwinter side of the family. The preschool teachers all got some this year, along with GG Lois's scones and tea.
Nova's friend Ella danced the Nutcracker this year--in two productions. While the Russian Ballet version was a bit much for Aria, the half hour mall version was perfect. We saw it twice. Ella is in green.
Wrapping was a creative endeavor in 2015, mixing and matching heavy brown paper, sticky foam letters, glitter, and golden twine.
Getting the kids up to the cathedral to see the life sized nativity was on my advent to-do list. These giant statues wait poised around an empty manger for the arrival of baby Jesus. I had hoped to get them back to see the manger full, but a bad cold got in the way. Since we were already there, we popped our heads in the door for just a few minutes. Choral music drifted through the immense stone clad space. The kids found the indoor creche at the chapel of Mary. After staring up at the 175 foot ceiling for a few minutes we headed back home.
I took a picture of the doors, thinking they were decorated for Christmas. When my mom and I toured the cathedral on New Years Eve I discovered it was not decorated for Christmas, but a Porta Sancta decorated for a special Jubilee year. According to the Pope, entering through these doors is the first step in gaining special indulgences which forgive past sins and erase time earned in purgatory. Unless it is a Jubilee year, the middle Porta Sancta door is locked.
At home, I finally got around to making a stocking for Aria. It seems it takes me at least two years to implement any new seasonal crafting or activity plans. Like Charlotte's, Ariadne's stocking was made from an old sweater of mine, felted down. I had grandiose plans to make a felt nativity, based on camels Aunt Marianne brought back for Charlotte from Kazakhstan so many years ago--oh well, next year.
And we mustn't forget to take time out to build snowmen. As you can see, all the important stuff got done.
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