Crazy for Christmas Challenge: September

OK, my Christmas-loving friends… it’s time to get down to business! We have three more Crazy for Christmas Challenge days left, so we are going to be crossing things off the list left and right. In other words… we are going to be so productive and feel AWESOME about our progress! Let’s jump into this month’s tasks.

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Choose Your Advent Devotionals

Now is a great time to decide what kind of devotional you would like to go through for the advent season. Set aside a new book or dream up what you will do as a family. I would caution to keep things simple, as the December schedule is so busy… BUT carving out time to ponder the true reason for the season is so important. I will be going through this book for the first time this year and I’m really looking forward to it. As a family, we’ve really enjoyed this book or this book either in the mornings or around the dinner table. There are many beautiful books out there to guide you and your family through the Christmas season.

Plan Your Movie Nights

I love Christmas movies so much! Now is a great time to pick your top four or five must-see holiday films. Start scheming about treats, dinners and themes. Your December schedule is probably still up in the air, but starting to plan what you want to do will save time later. Then you can plug the movie nights into your calendar once it takes shape. Even though many Friday nights are booked up with parties or other activities, the beauty of Christmas break is the opportunity for movies on weeknights! Join the Crazy for Christmas Challenge email list to get the handy printable. Be sure to follow my Christmas Pinterest board for lots of inspiration as the season approaches.

Declutter Toys

If you have kids in your home, now is the perfect time to start decluttering that ever-growing pile of toys. Start donating items that are no longer needed to make room for the new arrivals Christmas will bring. Out with the old, because you know the new is coming!

Keep Buying Gifts

Check some more gifts off your list by shopping a little today. Anything you buy now saves you time and money later! This is one of my favorite go-to gifts.

I’m loving hearing about everyone’s gift closets filling up and plans being made. Our Facebook group is the perfect place to brag on your progress! Have a merry Wednesday!

Movie Night: The Biggest Little Farm

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Roll up your sleeves and get ready to dig in to a darling movie night. The Biggest Little Farm is a delight! It’s a beautiful story of hard work set against a stunning backdrop of nature, animals, and dreams.

The Biggest Little Farm is a documentary chronicling the eight-year journey of a couple who followed their dog (yes, their dog) to create a haven of vegetables, baby animals, fruit trees and chicken coops.

For parents… this movie has one bad word (it’s more implied than heard) and you will see animals both give birth and fall victim to predators. We found it suitable for our family, but just know some scenes will be hard on little (and big) hearts. However, there’s a payoff when you see nature truly work in harmony and did I mention the baby animals? So many adorable baby animals!

My goal was to create a table for this movie night that had a farm or barnyard feel, but more rustic and sophisticated than many of the preschool-themed products I initially found. I discovered this set of plates and napkins and they were just perfect.

I used honeycrisp apples we had in the pantry to create a centerpiece. Look at all of the darling plates! I used kraft paper for a runner and a random collection of mason jars and glasses.

Our farm-worthy feast included oven-fried chicken, grilled corn on the cob, and salad.

Of course the corn was an excuse to use my pig corn holders!

Movie night is all about the treats. For dessert I served strawberries dipped in orange chocolate on a bed of crushed Oreos. It looked like a sweet little carrot patch. Just stick Oreos in your blender and you’ll have “dirt” in no time. I thought this turned out to be such a charming little treat for this movie.

The Biggest Little Farm is big on heart, brimming with cute baby animals, and will leave you amazed at how God created all the earth’s plants and creatures to work together. It will warm your heart!

Movie Night: Twelve

It’s Friday night and that means movie night is up to bat! This one not only delivers an encouraging message, it’s the perfect excuse to eat hot dogs for dinner… which is a home run after a busy week.

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Our movie is called Twelve and follows a young boy as he learns about hard work, patience and sportsmanship through baseball. This movie contains a couple of crude jokes (that don’t completely cross the line), but I consider it to be clean and family-friendly. It starts off a little slow, but by the end it offers a valuable message and will have you cheering.

Of course the one of the best parts of watching sports is the food. We dined on cheddar brats with baseball cheese puffs and root beer. Baskets with paper liners made us feel like we were at the ballpark. I had peanuts in the shell on hand for snacking as well.

Just like our movie, the meal had a sweet ending. My kids aren’t big on Cracker Jacks, so I tried to think outside the traditional baseball treats for dessert. I ended up picking up some Bundtlets from Nothing Bundt Cakes and calling them “bunt cakes”… because who doesn’t love a good pun? Or cake?! Baseball napkins completed the look.

This movie night was a way to come together, eat an easy but delicious dinner, and cheer on the good sportsmanship we saw in this movie. If you have baseball players or any kind of little athletes in your home, I recommend Twelve.