Celebrating Advent

Happy Advent! We have started decorating the house this weekend. We don't get our Christmas tree until nearer Christmas but this year I decided to use our other decorations from 1 December to make it feel more festive and cosy. Also, I wanted the festive fun to be spread over a longer period so the boys aren't hyper excited all in one go.

We are not a religious family so our celebration of Christmas is very much focussed on family time and seasonal activities. We do tell the story of the Nativity, but as a story not as fact and I do think it is important to understand the history of our National religion.

Today the boys started their advent calendars. 

We got out some house decorations and Christmas themed books - we will borrow more from the library too. We love jigsaws and I bought a new one to add to the box this year too. It is the first 1000 piece one Harry will try.

We also dried orange slices in the oven to use for decorations. I sliced them and put them in the oven on wire cooling racks for 3 hours (90 degrees), turning once. I will make a small hole for a ribbon after leaving overnight to fully dry out.

Harry helped me to make the first batch of mince pies from the mincemeat I made in October. They were delicious!