giving away the festive feeling

Carol singing was a huge success. We went to a Retirement Home and sang our little socks of to the residents. Turned into a bit of a shin-dig, and the cakes and puddings we gifted were well received. We all left with that warm glow of Christmassy-ness. (I'm a little tired and words are slightly failing me.)

I forgot to mention at the start of Advent (because believe it or not, I have a life outside of this blog) but we are doing things a little bit differently this year.

It all started with a remark from Od, about how lucky we are to be home together, and how so many people don't have what we have. I was pleased to hear her being so aware of others, and so after much discussion, we decided to have a season of giving in as many different ways as we could imagine.

A list was made. It's an ever-changing list of ideas and plans. It's been fun, and the kids are getting a sense of how they really can make a difference to the world, powerful stuff for little people to realise.

Carol singing was on the list, so was clearing out old toys and donating them to a local charity shop, so was making special bird feed for the garden birds over the hard winter months. Next week we have a visit to the local foodbank. We are also in the process of writing letters and wrapping parcels to post to children who are less fortunate than we are.

I think we can do this because we don't have an exhausting diary of school events. We had a Christmas play from the HE drama group, and a HE Christmas Party, but apart from that our time is our own, to use as we see fit. It's a freeing way to live, and we are thankful for it.

As part of our pre-Christmas clear out, I have sorted through all my craft supplies. No one really needs thirty glitter glues, let's be honest.

So I had an idea of another way to spread the cheer. Right here. My random collection of craft supplies is not some thing that would be appreciated by the masses, but possibly by the odd person that pops in here. So....if you would like to be considered as a recipient of the box of mystery delights, then leave a comment and we will pick a random person at the end of the week. I will post any where in the world, and it will be mailed out in time for Christmas.

I hope.