The Christmas Tree...

We like to put up the tree and decorate it the weekend or Monday after Thanksgiving. I don't know what it is this year but I guess I've been some what of a Scrooge. I just can't seem to get into the excitement of Christmas. So Monday rolled around and we went and looked at some Christmas trees that the Shelley High School had decorated for an auction and then went and looked at the house with the Christmas lights that go to music and then came home and we dug out the tree and started putting it up. We even had on White Christmas - my favorite Christmas movie!!! After we got it up I just didn't feel like decorating it. And so it sat... 5 days - bare, undecorated. No other Christmas decorations up in the house. Well, on Thursday we had a special Pack Meeting that the cub scouts had done alot of work for.

We like to do a service project for Pack Meeting in November because we don't have Pack Meeting in December. This year we had decided to make Christmas wreaths for the widows and elderly at The Gables here in Shelley - it's an assisted living place. I wanted all the wreaths to be different from each other so that they could hang them on their doors of their rooms and have something that was just theirs. Well, I called and found out that there were 15 residents - kind of a big project but we did it! I had to find wreaths that the boys could do, that looked nice and that were about $5 - $6 each. This is what we came up with and how they turned out. (I was in a hurry and taking pictures at the Church before we left for the Gables so the pictures aren't the greatest.)

Felt Snowman Wreath - one of the boys actually stitched these cute little snowmen!

Paper Loop Wreath - loved this one!

Heart Candy Cane Wreath - this was supposed to look different but the candy canes kept breaking and so this is what it turned out like.

Tissue Paper Wreath - lacking a little in the fluffing department but still cute! :)

Glass Ball Wreath - this one was really easy, just gluing on glass balls - one of my
favorites though.

Plastic Bag Wreath - this one was fun but kind of time consuming cutting out all the plastic bag strips. Turned out really neat though - another of my favorites!

Pipe Cleaner Snowflake Wreath - the poor boy that was doing this one had such a hard time doing a twist in the pipe cleaner but when it was all done he said, "This is really fun. I like
doing this!"

Cotton Ball Snowflake Wreath - also LOVE how this one turned out!

Curled Candy Cane Wreath - this wreath was done by Bryson. He had learned to do these candy canes last year in school. Turned out pretty cute!

Fabric Wreath - easy one for the boys to do and it turns out great!

Frosty Fuzz Wreath - this I think was my most favorite. Just pom poms in different textured yarn. So fun!! I think I'll make one for my own house! :)

Present Wreath - the boy doing this one was so proud of his wrapping job on each little present.

Ribbon Wreath - lots of different Christmas Ribbon. This is the one that Dillon did. The picture doesn't do it justice - it was one of the cutest ones! He was so funny - when he first started on it he kept saying, "Mom, I don't know how to tie." Which he does because he can tie his shoes but I think he was a little overwhelmed but once he got going he was liking how it was turning out.

Paper Scrapbook Wreath - this one was huge but still cute!

Quilled Candy Cane Wreath - this one was really time consuming but I love how it turned out!

I just loved how all the wreaths turned out! The boys did such a great job on them and I think they liked seeing what their work had turned into. David and I stayed up and made over 100 Christmas cookies and we put them on plates with an orange for the residents at the Gables the night before. We took everything over to the church where all the scouts and families got to look at the wreaths and eat some of the cookies and make a tag for the plates that said "Merry Christmas from Pack 58".

While we were at the church some awards were given out and we welcomed Dillon into our pack. Wow! I can't believe he is 8 years old this month!

So we headed on over to the Gables. We had asked Mariann Frost if she would help do some Christmas Songs with the boys and all of us. It was so much fun! We sang some classic Christmas carols and some different fun ones - with a ukulele and bells that the boys rang. Then her father in law was up visiting and plays the harmonica and that was awesome! We also did that song that they sing on You've Got Mail - "The clarinet, the clarinet, goes doodle doodle doodle det... " It was so much FUN and the residents were loving every minute of it! Then came time to give them the wreaths and cookies - they were to draw a number from a bowl and the boys would bring them the wreath that matched that number. It touched my heart to see how excited and happy and appreciative they were. I could tell that we had definitely brightened their evening. The boys were so excited to see how appreciative they were over the wreaths and how much they loved them and said that they were so pretty. It was kind of funny because one of the boys went over to the lady that got the wreath he made and she was just saying how beautiful it was and he said, "Um... be really careful with that wreath. It's really fragile." "Oh, I will honey! I will! It is so beautiful!" It was so cute.

We then took some into the rooms of the residents that can't get out of their beds. It was such a special night. It is amazing what doing something for someone else can do to yourself! That night I came home and was definitely filled with the spirit of Christmas. What a special time of year - and the neat thing is that we can have the spirit of Christmas all throughout the year - not just in December. Saturday we got the tree decorated, watched White Christmas all the way through and I enjoyed it so much more this time. Then the next night we watched Polar Express with the boys and they slept out by the tree.

Love this time of year!! :)