Seasonal Bucket Lists & Family Advent Cards!
With Kamden starting Pre-k last year and Kinder this year, this past Summer was our first season of “school vacation” and I was determined to make the most of it. I took a step back and realized that I only have so many summers before he goes out in the world with less and less of a grip on my hand and I can only describe that feeling as the most complicated heartbreak. With that both sad and proud thought of the future, our summer bucket list was born. At the beginning of the summer, we sat down and wrote out all the exciting things we wanted to do, see and try between June and Labor Day – what happened was beyond my expectations. We had the busiest summer, very rarely staying put for too long and putting countless miles on our car, but we also had the best season of memories, bonding and team building. We had such an incredible summer that we decided to make these bucket lists a seasonal thing, it forces us to slow down and really appreciate our little family because at the end of the day, that is truly all that matters in our eyes.
We had such a blast ticking off items on our summer and fall lists that for Christmas we made a set of advent cards that we’ll print out and do an activity together each day! My parents were magic makers when I was a kid, the holidays were always the highlight of my year – we weren’t extremely wealthy and I know now as an adult that there were years where we struggled, but my parents always put so much effort into the holidays that I never knew any different, the magic didn’t come from gifts or goods, but from the moments we spent together building foundational memories. I know that the holidays can be overwhelming and feeling like you’re doing enough can put added stress onto parents, so I wanted to share these advent cards as a freebie for anyone that wants to build some holiday magic without having to use too much brain power in planning! I truly hope this holiday season is one where you fully embrace the loved ones in your life and the simple beauties in simply being together.
Get/print the advent cards here and the advent instructions/checklist here!
Happy Holidays!