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Tuesday, 11 December 2012

Snow Day!

On Sunday we had snow!

That's right, snow. Here in Berkeley.

I know what you're thinking... It doesn't snow in the Bay Area.

Ok, so it didn't actually fall out of the sky. And it was probably made by a snow machine - but that counts as snow in the ski resorts back home in Australia so I'm counting it as snow here!

Sunday was the annual "Snow, in Berkeley?" fun day.

A car park in Berkeley's Gourmet Ghetto district was transformed into a Winter Wonderland for a day of snow ball throwing, snowman building and general snow fun.

Ava had a ball playing in the snow even though it was a little compacted and wet by the time we arrived. She made lots of snow balls - which were mostly thrown at me - and attempted to make a snowman. I say attempted because the snow was not really powdery enough to do much with. She started making the base of the snowman but got a little bored and turned it into a snow ball - which of course was thrown at me!

Lola wasn't too sure about the snow. She was keen to play in it but had refused to wear socks, boots or anything else warm on her feet. She discovered pretty quickly just how cold snow can be when you're wearing Summer shoes. While attempting to make snow angels her little shoes filled up with icy cold sludge. Now we have another thing to add to Lola's list of things she hates getting in her shoes: sand, bark chips and snow! She did however, enjoy throwing snow balls at me too!

Here's a look at the girls and their day of fun in the snow...

Lola with her first snow ball  

Monday, 10 December 2012

Giant Gingerbread House

Just like last year one of the activities on this year's advent calendar was to visit the giant gingerbread house at the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco.

And just like last year, the giant gingerbread house did not disappoint. Standing at over 22 feet high and 23 feet wide and made of thousands of gingerbread bricks it is quite a sight to see. The girls were enchanted by the masses of gingerbread with its, wait for it... two thousand pounds of royal icing and candy. My teeth are aching just thinking about that number!

Giant gingerbread house and Christmas tree in the Fairmont Hotel lobby

Friday, 7 December 2012

A new Christmas Tradition...

I just stumbled upon a new Christmas Tradition for our family that I'm quite excited about. Ok, so it's probably not a new tradition for most Americans but it's new to us.

This tradition that I'm talking about is the story of "The Elf on the Shelf". Have you heard of it?

I hadn't heard of it before but kept seeing little elves popping up everywhere in the stores and online. Books, DVDs, figurines, plush dolls and Christmas ornaments everywhere. Even Pinterest boards devoted to Elf on the Shelf crafts! 

I was intrigued so after a little research online I purchased a box set with the book and our very own elf. Both Ava and Lola enjoy the book. They like looking for the elf on every page - not that he is always hiding, mind you! The elf that comes with the book has a cute vintage feel about him. Plastic moulded head and long, floppy felt body. He looks straight out of a 1950's toy store!

Our elf on the shelf  "Elfie Pokie Nokie"

The Little Things: Living Small

As of last week we've been living in our apartment for a year. This got me thinking about how well the girls have transitioned from living in a relatively big house to a relatively small apartment. I had initially been worried about how they (and I!) would cope with the major downgrade in living space but they adapted to it really quickly and without fuss.

In Australia we lived in a 3 bedroom house with a decent sized backyard. Our living room, dining room and kitchen were all distinct separate spaces (although fairly open plan) and the girls had their own bedrooms. Our backyard wasn't huge by Australian standards but had enough space for a large cubby house, fruit trees and vegetable patches, a verandah, a paved area for the outdoor setting and BBQ, a double garage and lots of lawn for running around. Ok, by San Francisco Bay Area standards that sounds huge!

Ava in our old backyard with her cubby house and veggie patches (and very patchy lawn!)

Tuesday, 4 December 2012

A visit to Santaland

Day 3 on our advent calendar was home to the voucher that Ava had most eagerly awaited: Visit Santa at Macy's!

"Visit Santa at Macy's" - the voucher we've been waiting for!


For weeks Ava has been asking if we can go see Santa. For weeks I've been telling her that she has to wait until it comes up in the advent calendar. You can imagine how excited she was when she saw the name Santa on the voucher. She couldn't read the rest of it but she recognised that one word and that was all she needed!

So, last night after Ava's iceskating lesson (and Holiday Ice Spectacular rehearsal) we headed to Macy's to meet the man.

Ava was pretty excited but Lola was a little apprehensive, especially after seeing a particularly seedy looking Santa here in Berkeley last week! The REAL Santa at Macy's however, is friendly and inviting and engages with the kids in a way that really warms them to him. Ava popped up on his lap straight away and started reeling off the list of things that she'd like for Christmas: an electric dog called Bouncy, a scooter, a fortune cookie maker... Lola hung back a little and when asked what she'd like for Christmas she yelled across the room "A present and a ball and a toy truck"!

After a little while Lola felt more comfortable with Santa and was happy to stand in front of him and pose for photos - but only if she could be on the same side as Ava. For the first time ever we ended up with photos of both girls smiling with Santa. Woo hoo!


Here's a look at the girls with Santa.

Our "official" Santa portrait

Sunday, 2 December 2012

My Advent Calendar 2012

Yesterday I shared my friend Daniela's fantastic advent calendar garland. Now it's time for a look at our advent calendar for this year...

Do you remember the advent calendar that we used last year? You can see it here. This advent calendar was purchased from my favourite Swedish stationery store Kikki.K before we left Australia last year. I really wish that Kikki.K would open stores here in America. Anyway, I'm getting side tracked...

I love the simplicity of this advent calendar. The design is minimalistic and modern while still festive with its red and white colour theme. As with last year I have made vouchers for holiday activities to include in the advent calendar. Last year's vouchers were very simple (hand written on card) as my craft supplies, computer, printer etc were still in transit from Australia.

This year I decided to design something a little more stylish for the advent calendar. Keeping with the simplicity of the calendar I went for a simple, modern design: blackboard background, red banner, white text and fine white borders. To help the girls pull each voucher out of the advent calendar I added some red and white baker's twine as a pull string. Nothing fancy but I think it goes quite well with the calendar.

Christmas activity vouchers ready for the advent calendar

Saturday, 1 December 2012

Guest Post: Advent Garland

Today I'm excited to be sharing something special with you. My first guest post!

Usually the craft projects that you see on Little Hiccups have been made by me - or my kids - but today I'll be sharing a fantastic Christmas craft made by my talented friend Daniela. It's an advent calendar and garland all in one. How clever is that? No need to take it down once the countdown to Christmas has finished.

Daniela's Advent Calendar Garland
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