What is your Christmas Wish this year?! What a fun question to think about, right? For some it may be a toy, a computer, or a new pair of shoes… and for others it may be as “simple” as a new home like one of Susan’s wishes in Miracle on 34th Street. I tend to think that Santa can handle anything AND it never hurts to ask! So, for Day 6 of the Amazing Holiday Advent Calendar, we are encouraging you to write a letter to Santa!
As we prepared for our visit with Santa, we discussed what we would say when he asked us that question, “What is your Christmas Wish this year?!” A few “simple” ideas came to mind… nothing that seemed too much to ask from such a magical person! ;) We simplified our list to this:
An AMAZING life for EVERYONE that they live out everyday!
Health and Happiness
World Peace.
I mean, if Santa can bring Susan a Dad, a new home, AND a baby brother… I think he can handle the above too! ;) As we were walking through Macy’s during our visit with Santa, we came across a letter writing station where we could write a letter to Santa and they would make sure that he receives it! AWESOME! So, I had myself a little seat at the desk and wrote my letter! I was sure to offer any help that we could just in case we really were asking for too much! ;)
The very best thing about writing our letter to Santa and mailing it at Macy’s is that they will donate $1.00 for every letter that they receive to the Make A Wish Foundation!!! SO so so great!!! The next time you are at the mall (or what the heck- make a special trip!!!) go to Macy’s and mail your very own letter to Santa… or two or three! You will be making a difference in an AMAZING child’s live!
Don’t hold back on those wishes… we are believers and even if they don’t come true this year, we know the elves will be working hard to make them come true in the very near future!
There is something so incredibly magical about Santa! He has this special way of bringing an extra sparkle into the holiday season. It is always so much fun to walk by Santa at the Mall and see so many kids lined up to see the man in the bright red suit. Their eyes are usually bigger than ever with excitement because they believe in that magic! That raw excitement is contagious… so for Day 5 of our Amazing Holiday Advent Calendar we suggest that you go have your picture taken with Santa! ;)
I ALWAYS get super excited whenever I see Santa, anywhere… in the mall, at MeMe’s house on Christmas Eve (Yes, Santa always makes a stop at MeMe’s house on Christmas Eve and it is AMAZING! ;) ), and especially at Macy’s in NYC! Ryan and I took a little adventure to NYC earlier this week and one of the few planned activities that we had was to go see Santa at Macy’s! Ahhh! The REAL Santa!!! So exciting!!! ;) I may have even been more excited than the other kids in line! (I think part of me was super excited because I really thought that we might run into Buddy the Elf too! ;)… but no such luck!). But thats ok! Our visit with Santa was AMAZING!
You know what was SUPER fun?!? Santa LOVES Baltimore!! ;) (Actually, he told us he loves National Bohemian… lol, but that was just one of the many reasons he loved the city.) Visiting with Santa was pretty much magical! ;) We shared our Christmas wishes with him (more on those to come later! ;) ) and he said he would do the best that he could! He kind of loved them! ;)
Ahhh… so if you can’t tell by the HUGE smile on our faces… having our picture taken with Santa added even more Magic and sparkle into our holiday season! We certainly believe!
Since we started dating in high school, we have always made it a Christmas tradition to go see the local light display. When we were younger, there was “Candy Cane Lane” where an entire street in town would decorate their homes. And we are not just talking about a few lights, these houses would be covered in thousands of lights, have moving parts, music, and actual people dressed as elves. When a home is sold on the street, the previous owners leave the lights and the neighbors make sure to inform all potential buyers that they have to take part in the long running holiday tradition!
Since we moved to Baltimore, our light viewing tradition has taken on a little bit different experience. And that brings us to Day 4 of our AMAZING Life Holiday Advent Calendar: Go Look at Holiday Lights.
Maybe it’s just because I went to school to be an electrical engineer but there is just something special about the way Christmas lights covering a house in a festive display make you feel. And even better than lights on a house… lights on a boat!
The first year we were in Baltimore, we happened upon the Lighted Boat Parade by chance. We were out for a walk and saw a large crowd of people down along the water. Not wanting to miss out on the fun, we walked over to investigate. And to our surprise, there were dozens of boats parading around Inner Harbor fully lit in a magical array of Christmas cheer. Since then, we have made it our new tradition to see the Lighted Boat Parade in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor each year. The past few years have been rainy cold and windy, but this year we had the perfect evening to sit along the water, snap a few photos, and cuddle close together.
If you are looking for a way to kick start your Christmas Season, make it a date night to see a Holiday Light display! And if you are in need of a few ideas on where to see the best light displays, check out the Travel Channel List of the Country’s Best Light Displays! Now if I can only convince Liz to let us buy a boat and decorate it with Christmas lights …
There are a lot of things that we often “think” about doing during the holidays that would be “nice” things to do, but we get too caught up in other things that we don’t end up doing them! This year we have decided to change that and actually make the things that matter happen! We hope our Amazing Holiday Advent Calendar will help you do the same! Today, Day 3 of Advent, we are sending Holiday greetings to soldiers!
While we were writing out our Christmas Cards this year, I came across a note from a friend who mentioned that soldiers who are serving our country might enjoy a holiday card too! What an AMAZING reminder! So, we Googled how to send a Holiday Card to a soldier and actually was totally surprised to find out that it is a bit more complicated than I would have hoped. (Sadly you can’t just send a card directly to the Walter Reed Hospital and expect that it gets into the hands of a soldier.) However, we did find that the Red Cross has a Holiday Mail for Heroes Initiative where they will take your cards and make sure they end up in the hands of those with whom you intended!
Of course we were excited to find this program and we couldn’t wait to get a few in the mail. But then, we found this video that actually showed the Red Cross delivering a few cards in 2010…
Whoa! With tears running down my face our passion and drive to let these men and women know how much we appreciate them multiplied x 1 million! I was originally worried about what I was going to say- and then I realized that we have the power to bring a smile to someone’s face or bring encouragement when things are hard! It is as simple as just speaking from our hearts and letting them know just how grateful we are for them! Without their service we likely wouldn’t have the freedom that we do to live out our dreams everyday!
We hope you join us today in sending a smile to a soldier and letting them know how much we appreciate them! Don’t delay and push this off to another day… all cards must be delivered to the Red Cross by December 7th! (That is this Friday!!) More details can be found on this website (they have a few rules to follow to make sure they can actually be delivered… no glitter, etc.!)
Also! Just in case you don’t have any stamps today, Savannah’s Soldiers (a non-profit organization started by an 11 year old!!! YES 11!!) will take a message that you email through their contact form and they will send it off to a special serviceman. So AMAZING!
No excuses! Make the things that matter happen! ;)… start by sending a letter to a soldier! ;)
Ahhh coffee! In my book, there is no better way to wake up in the morning than enjoying a freshly brewed cup of coffee. So for Day 2 of our AMAZING Life Holiday Advent Calendar we decided to create a cup of coffee that would make any Elf proud! :)
If you are anything like us, by the time Christmas arrives, you will probably have enough peppermint sticks and candy canes to last an entire year. For the most part, we rarely eat them. But this year, we found the perfect solution. Inspired by Starbucks Peppermint Latte, we brewed up a fresh batch of coffee and added a peppermint stick. As the warm coffee slowly melts away the stick, your coffee will quickly began to take on a wonderful minty flavor. Its like having Christmas in a cup!
If you are even more adventurous, you can easily turn your morning cup of coffee into a tasty Peppermint Mocha! We had a few bags of hot chocolate lying around and decided to use them instead of sugar. For your very own Peppermint Mocha Coffee just follow the recipe below.
Recipe: Peppermint Mocha Coffee
Ingredients:
Your favorite morning coffee
One peppermint stick or candy cane
1/2 packet of instant hot chocolate
Milk
Instructions:
Prepare your morning coffee as you normally would. We prefer to use a french press to prepare a perfect cup but any method will work. Grab your favorite mug from your cupboard and add 1/2 a packet of instant hot chocolate. Pour coffee over chocolate leaving a small amount of room in the cup. Top off with milk and use a peppermint stick to stir everything together. Sit back and enjoy the perfect way to start Day 2 of Advent.
