Ahhh the whirlwindd that is December- plus a printable :)

Yeah...so I haven't posted anything in what feels like a loooooooong time. Life has been BUSY! But that is the whirlwind that is December. Christmas shopping, parties, concerts, regular extra curriculars, plus full time jobs, 3 children, house cleaning, wrapping, and making some of my gifts- OY! Even thinking about that makes me tired. I'd ask for pity, but I have a feeling that everyones life is like that this time of year.
But in the spirit of Christmas I thought I'd share some of our Christmas Eve traditions. After supper, we all sit down by the tree, and get one present to open (its usually marked) and oddly enough, its always brand new pajamas! So we all get our `jammas`on, and then we go outside, and sprinkle Magic Reindeer food all over our lawn, and driveway (more on that later). When we come in, we set out cookies and milk/hot chocolate for Santa, and either apples or carrot sticks for all the reindeer, and my kids sit down, and write a little note to Santa wishing him well on his journey and other little tid bits. Then its the last chocolate from our advent calendar and off to bed.  And if your curious, Santa always replies to my kids letter :)

So for the Magic Reindeer food, here is a free printable to you if you'd like to try this with your kids. I set out 3 bowls, each was filled with oats, sugar, and sprinkles. I gave each child a baby food jar, and had them fill them up with the stuff from the bowls. Then screwed the cap on, cover the lid with a square of jersey, and tied the printable on with some embroidery floss.

Isn't it pretty?

Do any of you have any really fun traditions that happen the night before?