5 on Friday: Christmas Goals

Today I'm linking up Carolina Charm and KTCupofTea for 5 on Friday.

Most years, I feel like the holiday season passes in such a blur that I never have a chance to complete all of the holiday activities I wanted to do. So this year, I made a Christmas goal list, mostly consisting of things I want to do with my three-year-old niece Sofie. (I tried to include my 18-month-old nephew Tyler in as many of these activities as I could, but his only Christmas goal appears to be trying to steal an icicle ornament off the tree without anyone noticing, so his participation was a bit limited.)

So far, Sofie and I have been doing a great job of meeting our Christmas goals. And we're not going to let the fact that most of our Christmas goals include watching TV and eating candy take anything away from our victory!

Christmas Goal # 1: Building a Gingerbread House -

Last year, we built a Gingerbread house, so this year we upped our game and built a Gingerbread Village.

This Gingerbread Village kit actually had 4 houses, but one collapsed and Sofie accidentally knocked another one to the ground. Oh, well, we had fun anyway!

As you can see, Sofie decided to put a Christmas wreath and garland on the roof. Innovative.

Christmas Goal # 2: Christmas Countdowns.

I bought Sofie and Tyler Chocolate Advent calendars, which Sofie has begun referring to as her "chocolate board."

We also made a paper chain countdown. I made Sofie a paper chain countdown for vacation earlier this year and she thought it was so fun, that i just had to do another one for Christmas.

Christmas Goal # 3: Watching Christmas specials -

So far we've watched A Charlie Brown Christmas, The Rugrats Christmas special, Christmas Eve on Sesame Street and A Berenstain Bears Christmas. We still have A Very Merry Pooh Year and How the Grinch Stole Christmas left to watch.

Christmas Goal # 4: Making Christmas cards -

Note the artful placement of the stickers!

Christmas Goal # 5: Making a Christmas Tree Cake -

Sofie helped me make a chocolate cake (we cheated and used a box cake mix) and then I cut the cake to look like a Christmas tree. I probably should buy a tree shaped cake pan because I clearly do not excel at cutting the cake evenly. My tree is a tad bit lop-sided. But it still tasted good, so that's what really counts, right!

I used a pastry attachment to pipe the frosting on the cake. I started out with the top part of the cake so Sofie could see how to do it, and then I turned it over to Sofie and let her finish.

Then I gave her M & Ms, Sour Spaghetti candy, and cake decorating candies to decorate with. She was so proud of the end result and I think she did a great job!

I would love to hear about your Christmas traditions/activities in the comments section!