So this was Christmas.....

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas! 

Ours was.....different.

I like to have my plans set and unfurl accordingly, but there was no planning this one.

A yucky bug made its way through the family this year, and all of our extended family that had plans to stay with us had to be rerouted (the day before their arrival) to another relative's house (& city!) in order to avoid infection. 
So, it was a quiet, yet enjoyable Christmas with just us, with some late nights and fussy babies thrown in there.

We made cookies, popcorn on the stove, and drank custard.

We wrapped presents and made dark hot chocolate with a little cayenne pepper.

We had a fire in the fireplace.

We enjoyed the radio station with all Christmas music, all the time.

We did lots of coloring, playdoh, and dress-up time.

We cuddled under blankets and read books.

We bundled the kids up and drove around in the warm van to look at Christmas lights since they were too sick to go to the Gardens Light Exhibition as planned.

All in all, it was different than expected, but still very wonderful all the same.

Soon I'll tell you about some of our favorite things that Santa brought us this year.

I did have to run out and in desperation, purchased an all-natural cough syrup. 

This turned out to be a fantastic find!

If you haven't heard of Zarbees Cough Syrup, and you have young children like I do (who aren't allowed to have the regular OTC cough remedies), or if you prefer natural remedies, I suggest you buy a bottle to have on hand in case you need it.

It is safe for children 12+ months, and is made with "a blend of special dark honeys (buckwheat & wildflower), vitamins and immune-bosting ingredients. The ingredients in Zarbee's are all-natural, side-effect-free and proven in clinical trials to be effective at calming coughs and sore throats in children and young adults." 

It is also Gluten, dye & preservative-free, and contains no drugs or alcohol.

It was created by a Pediatrician who wanted a natural product safe for young children's coughs.

 It doesn't taste like traditional medicine, which threw my kids for a loop at first, but soon after they took it, we noticed that the frequency of coughing had substantially decreased.  They also went to sleep quicker and easier after taking this.

If you are interested in trying it out, I know you can order it from Amazon:

or, buy it from Walgreens, like I did.  If you visit Zarbee's website, there is a link on the lower right hand side of the page for a coupon to purchase it at Walgreens.

Aside from this product, we found some relief from baths, cool mist humidifiers, and a tip from our Doctor to elevate the head of our children's beds with books or boards under the feet of the head of the bed just enough to keep their heads a little above the rest of their bodies to help with their coughing.

If you have any more tips, I'd love to hear them, as for some reason it appears (from new fevers today) that round 2 of a bug is just beginning.....

DIY Easy Sound Cylinders

{Photo credit}

Montessori sound cylinders (like the ones above) are commercially available from many sources and suppliers.  However, it is easy and much more inexpensive to make them yourself at home!

What is a sound cylinder?

Traditionally the cylinders are wooden, and there are 2 boxes containing the cylinders, one with a red lid and the other with a blue lid. In each box are six cylinders.  Each cylinder contains a different material that makes a distinct sound when shaken. Each cylinder in the red box has an exact match in the blue box.  The child selects a red lidded cylinder, shakes it, listens to the sound it makes, and attempts to match it with the blue lidded cylinder that makes the same noise.

 

Truth is, you really don't need such complicated materials to make this engaging lesson at home.  All you need are some simple (free!) materials, some cheap fillers you already have around the house, and if you wish, some paint.

 

The first step is to gather together the containers.  My personal favorite option you have is to go to a photo developing counter and ask them for some film canisters.  Most photo stores save them up for recycling.  When I went to our local drugstore photo counter, I told them I needed them for an educational project.  The lady reached under the counter and handed me a bag of 30 canisters.  They are usually very happy to give them to you.

Be sure to select the film canisters that look like this:

 

This type of canisters hide the contents.  If you get the white kind of canisters, they are somewhat transparent and you would have to spray paint them to make them usable for this lesson (which is easily done as well). 

Next, gather small-sized contents for the canisters.  These can include uncooked rice, unpopped popcorn kernels, marbles, uncooked oatmeal, cereal, glitter, small balls of aluminum foil, paper clips, coins, sand, pieces of gravel, seeds, small bells, q-tips, soil, metal nails, pieces of hard plastic, thumb tacks, pieces of hay, and anything else that is small enough to fit inside and won't decompose, mold, or melt.  In other words, select items that are non-perishable.

Next, make pairs of your canisters.  You have choices here: you can either put a colored dot (using a sticker or paint) on the bottom or paint the lid of each pair of containers as shown above, or just leave them blank & uncolored.  If your sounds are distinctive enough, the sounds will be self-correcting and your child will be able to make the pairs without the use of the colors.  I didn't use colors on mine and the children made pairs without trouble.  If you do choose to spray paint the lids, select a spray paint like Krylon Plastic Fusion that is made to adhere securely and attractively to plastic products.

Now, fill the canisters with a small portion of the contents you selected.  Be sure you fill 2 canisters with each item.  For example, you will put uncooked popcorn kernels in 2 canisters, coins in 2 canisters, and q-tips in 2 canisters, etc.  This way the child will be able to make pairs.  Try to put the same amount of the "sound maker" in each of the paired canisters so one isn't louder than the other.  Also, don't stuff the canisters full- be sure the contents have room to move around and make noise when the child shakes them.  Put the caps on and test them out.  When you have your canisters filled, glue the lids on with a strong glue.  If you are only going to use this as a supervised activity, you may choose to skip this step, but be sure to watch the child when they are using the materials to ensure they don't empty out the contents and/or put anything in their mouths. 

If you can't find film canisters, baby food jars also work great.  You will need to soak off the labels and paint either the inside or the outside of the jars entirely in black (or other solid color) to ensure the child cannot see the contents inside of the jar and matches them based on sound only.  You could also decoupage paper around the inside of the jar to make it opaque using Modge Podge or other similar product.  Be sure to let the decoupage dry with the jar lid off completely before filling it with the contents and sealing it.  Again, you can choose to glue the lids on, or not, based on the way you will be using them.  The activity is so economical that even if you glue the lids on, you can remake the cylinders with different contents over and over again to make the activity new again.

Other ideas for things that would work as containers (but are much larger & require more storage/shelf space) are margarine tubs with the snap-on lids, small tupperware style containers (you would have to spray paint or decoupage these to make them opaque as well), oatmeal cylinders, milk cartons, small wooden boxes (often found at craft stores), drugstore pill/medicine bottles or tylenol-style plastic bottles with child-proof caps (again, you would have to paint or decoupage them to make them opaque after removing the labels), individual serving-sized yogurt containers (with the snap-on lid), glitter containers or salt and pepper shakers (don't forget to tape over the holes!), empty glue stick tubes, or spice jars/vanilla bottles.

If you want to separate the cylinders in the same way as the boxes shown in the first photo above, you can either use shoe boxes or a smaller cardboard gift box, or a gallon ziploc bag.  Be sure to provide a way (like a color) for each group on the cylinders and the box or bag so the child (and you) will be able to see where each half of the pair belongs.

As an extension for this activity, keep a list of the materials you use in the cylinders.  It will be fun for your child to guess what is in the cylinders.  You could even have them draw a picture of what they think is making the sound they hear.  Then, you can tell them the actual contents.  If your child is older and is completing the activity more independently, the child can use the list and attempt to match the cylinders themselves to the materials on the list.

Let me know if you have any questions, comments, or ideas on other containers or items to use inside the containers, I'd love to hear!

♥

Totally Pointless......

...and yet fun. 

I apologize ahead of time for the irrelevance of this post, but I have to to show you something that had me wasting a silly amount of time tonight.  Just when my eyes were beginning to cross from looking at baby name lists (yes, still doing that!), I came across something that made me laugh.

The Ikea (Dila) Swedish Furniture Name Generator!!

Simply enter your name into the box, and push return to see what your name (and corresponding product) would be if you were in an Ikea catalog.  I know, totally pointless, yet oddly entertaining.  It is amazing what having pregnancy insomnia will do to your brain!

I found myself typing in everyone's name I could think of, as well as potential baby names just to see what it came up with.

A few names were transformed as follows:

Oh, just in case you were wondering,

Simply Montessori becomes this in Ikea Land:

What do you become??

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If you didn't win the recent giveaway, we still have a consolation for you.

Simply enter in the coupon code "Montessori" from now until New Year's Eve while shopping at

Ellies Pretty Things, you will receive 15% off your order.  Happy shopping!

Christmas Gifts to the Earth, and a Winner!

 Looking for a unique, purposeful Christmas gift that opens up the focus beyond our own doorstep?

Consider a gift making your gift to another a gift to the Earth as well!

Maria Montessori said

“The land is where our roots are.

The children must be taught to feel and live in harmony with the Earth.”

A fun way to integrate Montessori principles into Christmas gift-giving is through Enviromental Gifts.

Eco gifts are a great way to extend on what you've learned about Geography, and to teach about giving to important causes during the Holidays.

If you are teaching your child about Christmas traditions around the world, you can tie in an Eco gift by showing and learning about the exact location on a world map that their gift will go to benefit.

Some great ideas for Eco Gifts:

Consider Sponsoring-A-Gorilla!  Gorillas are a "Critically Endangered" species. 

The Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International accepts donations and sponsorships to send anti-poaching patrols into the woods to protect the Gorillas. 

There are many options for Adoption, including an adopting an infant ($40 or $50), a Rescued Orphan Gorilla ($75), a Mother & Infant Pair ($100), a Silverback, the protectors of the groups ($300), or choose to adopt a Tracker ($500) or an entire Patrol ($750).  The more expensive adoptions could be shared among extended family, more than one family, or a classroom. 

Adoption gifts are tax deductible.  Adoption comes with several benefits including online access to an adoption profile with detailed information written by their expert field scientists, online access to a ready-to-display adoption certificate with a full-color image from the groups Dian Fossey studied and that the Fossey Fund continues to study and protect (great for gift-giving), •A year's subscription to the Fossey Fund's newsletter, a four-color, fact-filled publication on gorillas, and more.

Another great gift option is to Adopt an Acre. 

The Nature Conservancy gives you lots of options to help protect threatened habitats here, as you can choose to adopt an acre of:

Africa's Grasslands and Savannas

Australia's Gondwana Link, Great Woodlands

Costa Rica's Osa Peninsula, An Acre of Rainforest

The Appalachians: United States, Bobcat and Moose Habitat

Las Californias: United States and Mexico, Redwood Forests

The Northern Rockies: United States

Southern Coastal Plain Forests: United States

Brazil: Atlantic Forest

Restore Brazil's Atlantic Forest through the Plant a Billion Trees Campaign, where just $1 plants 1 tree.

The Bahamas, Coral Reef

Dominican Republic, Humpback Whale Breeding Grounds

Palau, Coral Reef

Papua New Guinea’s Kimbe Bay, Coral Reef

The adoptions of an acre are $50.  You can also adopt 1/2 an acre for $25. 

We have adopted a Costa Rican Rainforest acre a previous year, and thought that the fact sheet and 4 issues of Nature Conservancy Magazine were very nice.  If you are sending this as a gift, the gift includes:

•Special Mail Delivery with a Nature Gift Card announcing your present and all membership materials

•Personalized certificate with signature photo of the site commemorating your gift

•Colorful fact sheet about the site you have chosen

•Adopt an Acre® magnet set

•World Map containing more information about the Adopt an Acre® program

•Nature Conservancy's 2011 calendar is included with gift memberships of $100 or more. Featuring stunning photos from Conservancy supporters, this calendar is only available for a limited time.

•Nature Conservancy magazine, their award-winning quarterly publication will keep your recipient informed about the many places the Conservancy is working to protect. (Plus, they rush the current magazine issue along with the personalized certificate!)

•An invitation to create a personalized nature homepage on nature.org

•Great Places E-Newsletter subscription to our monthly e-communication with local conservation updates, enviro-tips you can use and stunning nature photography downloads

The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) has an Adopt-A-Species program, with about 100 species to choose from, including Polar Bears, Sea Otters, Snowy Owls, and many more.  Adoption packages range from $25 to $250, and most include a plush animal of the species you adopt, photo, and an adoption certificate.

Plant a Tree in your receipient's name with Tree People.

Volunteers give their time to plant a tree for each donation they receive.

1 tree is $25, 2 trees=$45, 3 Trees=$65, and 4 trees is $85.

Adopt a Creature through Oceana.

Oceana is the largest international organization focused solely on ocean conservation

Choose from a Shark, Polar Bear, Dolphin, Killer Whale, Sea Turtle, or Penguin.

Choose from Adoption levels between $30-$150.

Your gift recipient will receive:

$35: (1) cookie cutter, (1) personalized adoption certificate in cardboard frame, (1) CakeLove sugar cookie recipe

$50: (1) stuffed animal, (1) personalized adoption certificate in cardboard frame

$75: (1) cookie cutter, (1) Oceana oven mitt + (1) personalized adoption certificate in wood frame, (1) CakeLove sugar cookie recipe

$75: (1) stuffed animal, (1) personalized adoption certificate in wood frame

$100: (6) cookie cutters, (2) Oceana oven mitts, (1) personalized adoption certificate in wood frame, (1) CakeLove sugar cookie recipe

$100: (4) stuffed animals, (1) personalized adoption certificate in wood frame

$150: (1) plush turtle, (1) turtle cookie cutter, (1) personalized adoption certificate in wood frame, (1) CakeLove sugar cookie recipe, (1) Oceana oven mitt, (1) sea turtle fact card and note from Casey + complimentary gift wrapping

NRDC is the nation's most effective environmental action organization, combining courtroom power, scientific expertise and the grassroots clout of 1.3 million Members and online activists.

Give unique gifts through them, including:

TAKE DOWN A POLLUTER: File a lawsuit for the planet

or ADOPT AN ECO-LAWYER: Sponsor NRDC's legal team ($100-$150)

Adopt a wolf in Yellowstone ($35)

Help save Honeybees ($50)

SAVE A SONGBIRD: Protect the Boreal Forest ($35)

GREEN CITIES: Help build an urban park ($35)

and many more!

Order by 12/15 to receive the gift packet by Christmas.

Clean Water!

Did you know that ONE IN EIGHT people in our world don’t have access to the most basic of human needs?

Charity Water, a nonprofit organization bringing clean, safe water to people in developing nations, now offers "Bottle of Charity." Your $20 pays for water and sanitation projects that will provide third world citizens clean water for -- at least -- 20 years!  100% of your donation will be used for direct project costs.

Have older, used cell phones cluttering up your drawer?

Please, don't throw them away, donate them to a soldier!

Help a soldier call home for the holidays.

Cell Phones for Soldiers uses your donated cell phones, which are then sold to a company that recycles them. The money they receive from recycling cell phones is used to purchase calling cards that we send to troops in need.

The U.S. Geological Survey offers the chance to purchase a Park pass, giving access to America the Beautiful – National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands that would normally charge entrance fees.

The passes provide entrance or access to more than 2,000 Federal recreation sites where Entrance or Standard Amenity Fee(s) are charged by the following agencies:

◦Bureau of Land Management (BLM) http://www.blm.gov/

◦Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) http://www.usbr.gov/

◦Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) http://www.fws.gov/

◦USDA Forest Service (USDA FS) http://www.fs.fed.us/

◦National Park Service (NPS) http://www.nps.gov/

The annual pass cost is $80, and provides your receipient the following benefits:

•Valid for one full year from month of purchase (through last day of that month).

•Allows pass owner and accompanying passengers in a single, private, non-commercial vehicle to enter Federally operated recreation sites across the country

•Covers the pass owner and three (3) accompanying adults age 16 and older at sites where per person entrance fees are charged. No entry fee charged for children 15 and under.

A Senior Pass is also available for $10.00, giving a lifetime pass for U.S. citizens 62 years and older.

Teach a man to fish....

Heifer International helps by giving families a hand-up, not just a hand-out, and empowering them to turn lives of hunger and poverty into self-reliance and hope.

With gifts of livestock and training, they help families improve their nutrition and generate income in sustainable ways. They refer to the animals as "living loans" because in exchange for their livestock and training, families agree to give one of its animal's offspring to another family in need.  They call this "Passing on the gift".

Choose from their Gift Catalog to give the gift of a Camel, Heifer, Sheep, Flock of Chicks, Trio of Rabbits, Honeybees, or a Pig, just to name a few.  Prices range from $20 to $10,000, which purchases training and a great start to women in struggling communities. Women produce 80% of developing world's food yet own less than 1% of the earth's land.  A $150 llama can provide wool, milk and meat for an entire South American family.

Visit Carbon Fund to offset your own or others' carbon footprint. 

Carbon Fund is the nation’s leading nonprofit provider of carbon offsets & climate solutions. They make it affordable for everyone to calculate, reduce & offset their carbon footprint with carbon offsets that are verified to third-party carbon offsets standards, and be carbon neutral.

Use their carbon calculators to calculate your own carbon footprint, and choose a way your donation is used.  From $11.33 to offset a Flight up to 6,000 miles, to $20.00 to offset 2 tons of CO2, to $960 to offset a 4 person family for a year, there are lots of choices to make.

So Why Offset Now?

"Global warming is already causing crop failures, severe heat waves and flooding from extreme weather in numerous countries, including the US. But we all can take action to stop global warming. When you offset, you balance out the carbon emissions you can’t reduce by supporting innovative projects around the world that are reducing emissions."

 

OptInNow provides a very personal way to make a difference in someone else's life across the globe. 
Read people's names, circumstances, and goals, and decide how to help.

Entrepreneurs that are helped receive weekly business training (facilitated by a loan officer), in addition to advice and support. Many loan officers also go above and beyond, bringing in outside experts to provide education in areas such as HIV/AIDS, child development and more.

You’ll notice that often women are selected. Why? Two reasons: they have the most difficult time receiving credit by other means. And secondly, the income their businesses bring in is most often shared with children and extended family, thereby having greater impact.

You can also give a gift card, and let your gift receipient decide whom to help for themselves.

Donations range from $25-$200.

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Want to do something more hands-on and local?

Most local zoos have animal sponsorship or adoption opportunities.  Check the zoo's website for contact and adoption information.  If you adopt one for your child, take them on a field trip there after the holidays to see your donation in action, and make it come to life for the child.

Plant a tree, and create your own dedication for it.  The Stepping Stone Kitsthat are sold at craft stores (or even Walmart) make a great way to place a memorable marker at the base of the tree.

Give an Eco-themed book to read with your child.  Try these:





Have more ideas?  I'd love to hear them!!!

And now, for the winner of our Giveaway and the $30 gift certificate to Ellies Pretty Things!

 

Congrats to Lixa, who said "I like the squirrel hair tie :)"

Now, you can go get it!

Enjoy!

♥

A Quick & Easy Holiday Cookie!

I had a cookie crisis today during nap time.  I really wanted to make us some cookies, but everything I wanted to make (cupcakes, gingerbread cookies, sugar cookies) required eggs, and to my dismay, I used them all up on pancakes this morning.

So, I searched around and found that All Recipes has an egg-free section to the recipe website, and there I found this recipe.

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Heavenly Shortbread

Ingredients:

2 cups butter, softened (2 cups butter = 4 sticks of butter)

1 cup white sugar

4 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons cornstarch

Directions:

1.Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (170 degrees C).

2.Cream softened butter thoroughly. ( If using margarine, add four drops of butter flavoring.)

Slowly add sugar.

3.Sift flour and corn starch before adding. Mix well.

Press into an ungreased jelly roll pan 11 x 15 x 1 1/2 inches.

4.Bake 30 minutes or until very light brown. Score and cut while warm.

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See where it says "softened" butter up there?  Now, I don't represent myself as an expert, or even very experienced baker.  But I do know that softened butter is different than melted butter, I just didn't really how to get it that way.

So, I googled "softened butter" and found lots of suggestions, from NOT microwaving it (because it melts it partially), to leaving it sit out on your counter for an hour (I'm not that patient), to rolling it with a rolling pin.

I opted for the last one.

To soften butter right out of the fridge:

Get a sheet of wax paper.  Put the stick of butter (unwrapped) on the wax paper and fold the wax paper over top of the stick of butter.  Gently roll the butter out flat as if you are rolling dough.

Well, this didn't work for me.  The butter was just too hard, and I ended up tearing the wax paper attempting to roll it out. 

What works better?  Pounding the butter!  I just used the rolling pin and pounded the butter out flat.  I suppose it would be more proper to use a meat tenderizer mallet thingy, but I don't have one, so I improvised.  Worked great!  Just remember to peel the butter off the wax paper right when you have it pounded out flat, because if you let the butter sit for a moment or two, it will be much more difficult to peel it off the wax paper into your bowl (yep, you end up scraping it off with a spoon).  If you have a wooden mallet, this would be a great job for your child to do (under your supervision!).

Also, I didn't have a jelly roll pan, or if I do, I don't recognize what a jelly roll pan looks like, so I just used a rectangular glass cake pan and pushed the shortbread mixture down flat down with my fingers, then rolled a glass over the top to make it even.  I baked mine for 35 minutes, and cut them into bars when I removed them from the oven.  Let them cool quite a bit so they firm up and aren't so crumbly before you eat them.

They are everything I like a shortbread cookie to be, flaky and rich at the same time.

I cut mine up into bars, but using a cookie cutter for the holidays would work well, too.

They are great with a cup of coffee, and I imagine even better with a Dulce de Leche!
Yum!

One more reminder to enter our GIVEAWAY...it ends tomorrow night!

♥

An Awesome Book (of Thanks)! (and a coupon code!)

Have you heard about An Awesome Book?

I recently discoved Dallas Clayton through his second book,

An Awesome Book of Thanks!

Although it is an obvious read-together book for Thanksgiving time, I think it is wonderful for all year long, as the messages in it are important and precious!  The simply, folksy illustrations are really endearing.

Here are some of my favorite pages from the book:

{Click on the image for a larger view!}

You can read An Awesome Book of Thanks for free online here,

and Dallas' first book An Awesome Book here.

What's even more awesome?

Dallas started the Awesome World Foundation.

For every book sold, he gives away a book.

Want a copy?
You can purchase the book here:

An Awesome Book of Thanks!
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Still have holiday shopping to do?
Lakeshore Learning has a $10 off a purchase of $50 or more coupon code out right now, good through December 13th.  Enter coupon code EM1224 at checkout to receive your discount.  Also, they are giving you free shipping on orders of $69 or more.

**Plus, don't forget about the GIVEAWAY for the $30 gift certificate!
You can enter until 10PM CST on Sunday (Dec. 12).**
♥

Two Giveaways!!

Just a quick note to let you know about my Giveaway with Ellies Pretty Things for a
$30 gift certificate!

It is easy to enter, just leave a comment with something you like from her Etsy Shop on that posting, and you can choose one of the other methods to enter for extra chances!

This giveaway closes on Sunday night.

I also have another great giveaway to mention, but you have to hurry because it closes TONIGHT!

Hop on over to Montessori for Everyone for your chance to win an Upper Case Tracing Board from Alison's Montessori, and a $100 gift certificate to Montessori for Everyone!

Good luck!!

♥

A Wonderful Holiday GIVEAWAY!

Just in time for Christmas, I am very excited to

announce a giveaway!

Introducing Ellies Pretty Things.

♥

If you have a daughter, niece, friend, or love to wear pretty accessories in your hair yourself,

you are sure to find something you love!

The Etsian behind Ellies Pretty Things is Olga,

who lives in Sydney, Australia.

Ellies Pretty Things is inspired by Olga's daughter Ellie.  Ellie was born with a full head of hair and from the time she was a little baby she would let Olga put it back for her. She is a real girly girl and Olga has always been quite creative so she started making clips for her. Ellie is very into her pretties!  Other people began asking about them and it started from there!

What I like about the items that she makes is that she doesn't ever make a lot of anything. Her pieces are either OOAK or very small runs. Olga likes the whole ethos of hand making items. She tries to use local suppliers where she can and smaller suppliers if she can't get local. She is a big fan of supporting WAHP or parents like her who work and create in their "down time", what ever that means when you have an 18 month old!

One lucky reader will win a $30 (USD) gift certificate to Olga's shop!!!

To Enter:

1. Visit Ellies Pretty Things and leave a comment on this post about your favorite items from her shop. 

Please be sure to leave your email address so that I can contact you if you are the winner. 

Additional Entry Options:

{Each entry must be left as a separate comment!}

2. Follow this blog and leave me a comment on this post letting me know.

3. "Heart" Ellies Pretty Things on Etsy.

4. "Like" Ellies Pretty Things on Facebook.

5.  Follow Ellies Pretty Things on Twitter.

5. Tweet or blog about this giveaway and leave a link in your comment.

Giveaway Info:

This Giveaway is open Worldwide! 

Items are coming from Australia so they will be shipped International Post. 

Prize is for a $30 (USD) gift certificate to Olga's shop, excluding shipping. 

Giveaway ends on Sunday, December 12, 2010 at 10 PM CST. 

One winner will be chosen randomly from all valid entries.

The winner will then be emailed, and must respond within 48 hours or I will choose a new winner. 

Even if you don't win (or if you can't wait until the contest is over!), you can make a purchase from Ellie's Pretty Things and enter coupon code XMAS2010 at checkout to recieve 15% off all purchases!

Free Christmas Goodies!

Wanting some Christmas Music?

Head on over to Amazon for free

Christmas Music MP3 Downloads!

They also have 25 Days of Free Christmas Music.

They offer a new free Christmas MP3 download each day!

So far their offerings include songs by The Indigo Girls and Chris Isaak.

You won't be sorry if you take a minute to download the Preschool Christmas Activities Pack from Confessions of a Homeschooler!  The download includes all the activities from Candy Cane counting, to cutting practice, to Pre-writing practice, to a lacing card and Do-A-Dot printouts!  Yep, one download, and you get it all.  She couldn't make it easier!!

Like the adorable vintage Christmas images in this post?

Head on over to Karen's Whimsy to choose your own.  There are lots to choose from, including color images that would be great to use for Christmas Cards or packaging labels, and black and white ones for the kiddies to color.  They are all Public Domain images, so you can use them any way you want.

(She has a large collection, so check out her non-holiday images, too!)

You'll find lots of free Holiday fonts at Da Font.

Find some great Printable Paper Dolls here (scroll down post for printable images), including this precious Christmas Bear.  Paper doll sets make great stocking stuffers.

Design Sponge gives you printable templates for several Christmas Craft projects, using simple white paper. My favorite is the dove ornament pictured above.

You can find the templates here.

3 Part Nomenclature ( vocabulary) Christmas Cards

3 Part Nomenclature Christmas Cards from Our Worldwide Classroom.

Christmas Light Lacing Card from ABCTeach.

I found this really neat tutorial on making your own lacing cards with accessories out of Craft Foam at Twelve Crafts Till Christmas.  In a fabric pouch, these would make a great gift!

A beautiful Waldorf Window Star Tutorial from Garden Mama.

We hope to make a few of these for our windows this Christmas!

I love this idea for an Advent Calendar Bunting from Country Living.

Free Christmas Wreath Printable.  Each night, your child(ren) will glue another leaf to the wreath as a countdown to Christmas.

Free Letter to Santa Printable from Disney Family.

Free Printable Advent Calendar from Living Locurto.

{Image from Living Locurto}

Christmas Word Jigsaw Puzzles from Activity Village.

Print, laminate, and cut out.  Store in plastic bags and have your child assemble one at a time.

Fabric (or paper, or felt) Stacking Tree Templates from The Small Object.

{Image from The Small Object}.

You could even add a star on the smallest one for a tree topper!

More to come later on!

♥