santa Archives - Going Dad

The month of December is inching closer and closer by the minute, which means only one thing; Santa is well and truly on his way. The excitement that whirls around your household during the festive season is unbeatable and you want your family to have the best Christmas ever. There are so many exciting activities to be done before the big day arrives so grab some inspiration here and get excited for the holiday season. Your kids will be thrilled to have such a fun filled schedule over the next month, so make every second count and treasure the memories forever.

Find the Perfect Presents

One of the best parts of the pre Christmas preparations is going shopping for gifts. Take a careful look at your little one’s list to Santa and you will soon be able to see what their heart truly desires. If you’re not sure about choosing a specific toy they have requested then you might want to read some in-depth reviews online. When it comes to remote control toys and other gadget-type gifts it is always best to get a second opinion and check out the popular thoughts online.

Decorate the Tree

Heading out to choose the perfect Christmas tree with the family is probably one of the most exciting parts of the festive season, so make the most of it. You should fill an entire day with fun activities to keep the kids entertained; firstly you should head to your local garden center or tree supplier and pick out the perfect pine for your home. Once you have loaded it into the car you will be able to pull out the decorations, make some yummy hot chocolate and dress the tree beautifully ready for the big man to arrive.

Go Ice Skating

If you live near a local ice rink, whether it’s outdoor or indoor you should definitely plan a trip there this year. It’s such a wintry and Christmassy activity that nobody will be able to resist the fun that’s in store. Many local towns build makeshift ice rinks just for the holiday season so look online for the closest one to you.

Plan Your Christmas Feast

It wouldn’t be Christmas without baking festive cookies and getting messy in the kitchen. This is something that you can get all of the family involved in no matter what their age or ability. Look online for recipes for Christmas cookies or even have a go at making gingerbread house this year. You can serve these up on Christmas Day for the whole family and show everyone how much fun you had making them.

santa, activities, family, kids, christmas

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Whether you’re getting busy in the kitchen or making a big deal out of decorating the tree, you can be sure that your fun filled festive activities are never forgotten. Christmas Day is so much more than opening up a few presents; it is about spending quality time with the people that you love. So indulge in some fun filled festive activities this winter season and you will have memories to last a lifetime.

My blogging goals have been falling somewhat short lately in that I’m not capturing the happenings of our daily life as much as I used to. Instead, I have a Word document filled with several pages of blog post ideas I keep thinking I’ll write. You see, I’ve been trying too hard to write some deep, insightful post on things like “Why Dads Should Encourage Breastfeeding” or something related to being an at-home parent instead of just writing about our life.

I still type my ideas on the Word doc as they pop into my head, but until the time arises, I’ll stick to what I intended to do when creating this blog. Sharing the story of my at-home dad life with a beautiful working mom/wife, Kelley (a.k.a Going Mom) and our precious daughter, Avery. In addition, I’ll frequently write reviews on parent-related products and healthy food as well as my thoughts on the fitness and nutrition world.

I feel I have a lot to share when it comes to food and exercise, and hope anyone reading is able to benefit from what I have to say. Please, if you ever have any questions or thoughts of your own, feel free to share and I’ll respond as best as possible.

Now that we have that out of the way, lets talk walking. No, Avery’s not a full-blown walking yet, but she sure is close! First, I commend her for never giving up as you might’ve seen on Instagram….

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A post shared by RC Liley (@going_dad)

But just a couple days later and she has shown improvement….

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A post shared by RC Liley (@going_dad)

It’s been a lot of up and down (literally) since then, and although she still doesn’t have walking mastered (does anyone?), she’s getting better each day. Sometimes she gets really confident and even tries to bust out a few dance moves.

She also thinks she owns the place now and has been doing some rearranging of the furniture.

I guess having a stool beside the oven and refrigerator could prove useful. Maybe she’s just lashing out at my decision not to put a shirt on her. Sorry, Avery.

This past weekend was fun seeing her take a few steps, fall, and get up to try again without thinking twice, and I’m glad Going Mom and I got to experience it together. Another thing we got to experience together was Avery’s first visit to see Santa Claus, and we even received a pleasant surprise from our growing girl.

She freakin smiled! Of all the facial expressions we were prepared to see once we handed her over to the strange guy with a giant white beard and a red suit, smiling was not one of them! All it took was the photographer, one of Santa’s not-so-little elves, to ring a bell and wham, she smiles!

We were shocked! It made standing in line for over an hour in the cold as we passed our squirmy, increasingly heavy, daughter back and forth all worthwhile. It even rained on us a little. But, $20 for one 5×7 photo of our smiling baby on a stranger’s lap made our day complete. Sounds weird, huh, that something like that would make parents happy?

No matter, we’re told next year is when she’ll probably cry once she understand more of what’s going on. Looking forward to it! Sense my sarcasm.

How long once your little one starting taking steps until they got it mostly down and began terrorizing the house and any pets you have (or had)?

Any good visits to Santa stories you’d like to share?