I spent faaaar too long trying to arrange that blanket into a heart shaped nest 😂 Heart decorations for the tree (the elves had been cooking up a storm with the heart decorations – should’ve put them in the kitchen really, that can happen another day though…) and there’s a tree shaped cutter and a mini rolling pin in the advent calendar to go with the salt dough I prepared yesterday afternoon. Decided my best plan of attack is to let the boys know at bedtime what the suggested/planned activity is for the following day so there’s no element of surprise (which they both dislike and often actively resist). Salt dough usually goes down well though!

The kids chose a cutter each (Erika a heart, Charley a tree, and Ben a star) and I rolled the dough out for them the first time around. Then, because I was helping Erika mostly, the boys took the opportunity to re-roll out their offcuts themselves to cut more shapes out. The final shapes needed a bit more assistance though so I left Erika to it and helped the boys – and looked up to find Eri had rolled out and cut out a heart all by herself! ❤️ That one might be a keeper!

There’s no pictures of them making the salt dough ornaments as it was such a guided activity, but after all the dough had been used they hadn’t had enough so we got the playdough out for a bit while I poked holes in the ornaments.

Tomorrow’s planned activity is painting / papercraft so I spent a while in the evening trying out some possibilities to make painted backgrounds for things. Shaving foam prints did not work (I think I have the wrong kind of paints or wasn’t adding enough – either way, it was not working how I remembered), then I tried string-pulling art and couldn’t get that to work either. During all this Charley discovered me playing with the paints and begged to make some butterflies. They worked 😂 and then Erika discovered me as well and begged to make a butterfly too. Which also worked. But the paints needed putting away for bedtime and Erika was distraught so I guess we’ll be making butterflies tomorrow…

I’ve also realised that I’m confusing myself with how I’m recording advent, so I’ll include tonight’s elfy silliness in this post!

There are some white wooden angels that go with the red wooden hearts so of course they were the next decorations to come down. Angels had only one logical thought progression: flour angels. Straight onto the floor. I hate kitcheny mess but it was a weird kind of enjoyment creating flour angels!!

And then I decided Erika probably would cause chaos if she found the elves lying in the flour in the kitchen so I took them back to read That’s Not My Snowman and That’s Not My Angel instead. Still covered in flour.