If you’ve been following me for any length of time, you know I am a huge Brandon Sanderson fan! I read my first book by him (Way of Kings) when I was 19 and devoured the 6 books he had out at the time. He is an auto-buy author for me, and I always read his new releases almost immediately.
While I don’t think he’s ever written a book I didn’t enjoy, my favorites by him tend to be the Cosmere books. Many of his fantasy books take place in the same universe, though they can be read independently of each other (similar to Marvel).
In December of 2024, the 5th book in his Stormlight series (an epic fantasy series set in the Cosmere) comes out and I am beyond excited! To prepare for it and for fun, I am doing a Cosmere rereadathon this year. If you would like to reread the Stormlight books and/or any Cosmere books, or read them for the first time, you are welcome to join along!
I am not planning on reading Allomancer Jack or White Sands (because they aren’t my favorite) and I am also not reading any of the secret projects from 2023, because I have read them so recently.
Here is a rough schedule of what I am planning to read and when. I’ll be posting onInstagram stories about my progress and talking some about them as I read through them.
January – The Final Empire
February – The Well Ascension
March – Hero of Ages, Mistborn: Secret History, and The Eleventh Metal
April – Alloy of Law and Shadows of Self
May – Bands of Mourning and The Lost Metal
June – Warbreaker
July – Elantris, Hope of Elantris, and Emperor’s Soul
August – Way of Kings
September – Words of Radiance and Edgedancer
October – Oathbringer and Dawnshard
November – Rhythm of War
December – Sixth of Dusk and Shadows for Silence in the Forest of Hell
January
The Final Empire
I wanted to start with Mistborn, one of Sanderson’s first series. It is still one of my favorite series of all time and I’m excited to revisit it.
February
The Well of Ascension
This is the second Mistborn book. These are long enough books that I’m trying to keep it to one book for the month. If I finish early, I can start the next book in the series early.
March
Hero of Ages
This the final book of the original Mistborn series.
Mistborn: Secret History
This is a short novella that should be read after the original series (because it has spoilers for the final book). It’s short enough that I don’t mind including it with the final Mistborn book.
The Eleventh Metal
This is a companion short story to the original series. I don’t remember a lot about it and am excited to reread it. It’s a short story, so it doesn’t matter too much where I put it in the schedule, and I liked the idea of finishing up the original Mistborn material in March.
April
Alloy of Law
Shadows of Self
These are the first two in the Wax and Wayne series, books that take place in the same world as the original Mistborn series but hundreds of years later. They are shorter than the Mistborn books and I needed to double up on them in order to finish the Cosmere books this year.
May
Bands of Mourning
The Lost Metal
These are the last two of the Wax and Wayne series. If I were reading the Allomancer Jack stories, this is where I would have put them.
June
Warbreaker
This is a standalone (with potential for more books) that has big tie-ins with the Stormlight series. It has been many years since I read this book and am feeling very ready for a refresh on the characters that cross over.
July
Elantris
This is another standalone novel and was Brandon Sanderson’s first published novel. I have always loved the romance in this one. It is also the one that has been longest since I’ve read it.
Hope of Elantris
This is a companion short story to Elantris that I remember very little about.
Emperor’s Soul
This is a novella that takes place in the same world as Elantris. Because of that, and because Elantris is shorter than Warbreaker, I thought it would be good to include it in July.
August
Way of Kings
This is the first book in the Stormlight Archive (the series that the new release is a part of). I have reread this many times (at least once before any new books came out and then again with each new release) but it has so much to it, that I don’t think I’ll ever be able to reread it too many times. I am especially looking forward to the ending, as it is one of my favorite endings ever.
September
Words of Radiance
This the second book in the Stormlight Archive.
Edgedancer
This is a novella that takes place between Words of Radiance and Oathbringer. It is a “novella” but is actually fairly long. If I don’t have time to read it in September, I’ll read it at the beginning of October before jumping into Oathbringer.
October
Oathbringer
This is the third book in the Stormlight Archive and the one I am most looking forward to. It’s my favorite book in the series (Dalinar is my favorite character, and I will never NOT cry at his big moment in this book).
Dawnshard
Dawnshard is another Stormlight novella and takes place between Oathbringer and Rhythm of War. I remember loving it when I read it and am especially looking forward to a refresh on some things after reading the fourth secret project.
November
Rhythm of War
This is the fourth Stormlight novel and I really, really need to reread it as I’ve only read it the one time when it first released.
December
Sixth of the Dusk
This is an earlier novella by Brandon Sanderson, and it has been a long time since I read it. Because December is a busier month and the fifth Stormlight book comes out early in the month, I wanted to pick a quicker reread (or two).
Shadows for Silence in the Forest of Hell
This is another novella in the Cosmere. These two reads combined will not take a lot of time to read and will be easily doable in December.
I am very much looking forward to a deeper dive into the Cosmere next year and to the release of Wind and Truth!
Are you a Cosmere fan? What is a new release you are looking forward to in 2024? I’d love to hear from you in the comments below!
2024 is already here! We were sick the last three weeks of December and the first week of January, so Christmas felt like it flew by and suddenly the new year is here! Despite our slow start on the year, I am really excited to start a new year and set some new goals.
A few of my goals for 2024:
Go outside every day. I won’t get outside every single day of the year because I didn’t start this goal until the 4th, but I want to get outside for at least 10 minutes every day. This will often mean a walk (we have a short loop around the neighborhood that the kids and I love) but other times it might mean going to the park, riding bikes, or even just sitting outside with the kids. In the summer, this goal will be fairly easy for me, but it will definitely stretch me in the winter. I can already tell from two days of it, though, that it will be very good for my mental health and motivation.
Do pickleball drills with my husband. My husband has gotten very into pickleball this last year and loves to play with me. We don’t have an easy way to go play together often until the kids are old enough to watch themselves, but we have a set up in the basement for drilling. We want to go down and do drills together regularly, both for fun and to get better at the game.
Paint the house. Last year when we paid off the house, I got excited about painting the rooms in it. When we first moved in, we did a single color to save on money and never got around to painting anything ourselves. At the end of last year, I painted the girls’ room and love it. I’m excited to paint the rest of the house. Our living room and kitchen are going to be a lot of work, so I don’t know if I’ll finish the whole house this year, but we’re starting with our son’s room and I want to get at least a few rooms done throughout the year.
Post to Instagram weekly. I would love to start up a business using Instagram as a way to build an audience, writing blog posts and maybe books for those followers. I’ve started writing blog posts and now I am going to focus on actually making posts for Instagram to see what people like and what works. The biggest thing with this goal is that I want to make reels. That is a goal that will stretch me as well, because making reels is very intimidating.
Go to the temple each month. I am a member of the church of Jesus Christ and temple worship is such a fortifying and beautiful experience. I don’t get to the temple enough, even though we have one just ten minutes from our house. This year, I want to go to the temple with my husband at least once each month.
Do an adventure with the kids each month. After paying off the house last year, we wanted to do something as a family to celebrate and decided to go to Disneyland. After talking with our kids, though, we realized we wanted to us the money we would have spent on Disneyland to do some other experiences closer to home. We are going to do a “year of celebration” and do different things each month. In January, we are having a party where we each pick a present for ourselves and unwrap the present at the party. Then during the year, we’ll do a different activity together each month. We got a Get Out Pass for some of those activities, a pass to Thanksgiving in Point (which is about 3 hours from where we live) and have plans to do a lot locally where we live that we don’t normally do. The kids are very excited for the things we have planned, and I think it will be fun to proactively do more together!
Those are my main goals, starting the year off. I’m sure I will make other goals throughout the year and my husband and I need to do a planning meeting still to plan out my writing and his game development plan for the year. I’m very excited to see what this next year will bring!
What are your plans for 2024? I’d love to hear some of your plans or goals for the next year in the comments below!
We are so blessed and Christmas is a time that I really feel it! Not only are we blessed to be able to do the things we want at Christmas, but we are also surrounded by friends and family who bless us with presents and their presence.
To make sure I don’t go overboard at Christmas (which is really easy for me to do!), we have some traditions around presents. We get our kids one big present each from Mom and Dad as well as a combined present for all of them. We also have stockings, which we have a budget for that I try to not go over, as well as a Christmas Eve present for each family member.
Today I wanted to share the presents I’m giving to each family member.
Ashtyn, age 9
This year, Ashtyn saved up and bought her own Nintendo Switch. She bought a used one without joy cons off of eBay and then bought a Nitrodeck to play it in. For Christmas, we are getting her anSD card for her Switch so it can hold more games and a Nintendo eShop gift card so she can buy some games.
Parker, age 7
Parker is really into tumbling and gymnastics right now and really wants a gymnastics mat to practice on at home. We are getting her a 4′ by 8′ by 2″ mat off of Amazon.
Rylee, age 5
This year, Rylee has consistently wanted a play kitchen. She loves to play with pretend food and has loved using play kitchens at friends’ houses. I got this one from Amazon during a sale.
Oliver, age 2
Because Oliver is the fourth child, I wasn’t sure what to get him. We decided to go for an open-endedclimbing toy, that I got from Amazon during a sale.
Combined Gift for Kids
We like to give the kids a combined gift that they all share. We’ve done things like Switch games, magnet blocks, and experiences. This year, we are thinking of giving them a pet leapord gecko lizard. Growing up, my brothers and I had one and loved it. My mom still has all the stuff for one and is willing to give it to us. Our kids really want a pet, but we aren’t quite ready for something like a cat or dog. I think they will love this if we decide to do it.
Benjamin
Ben can be particularly difficult to buy presents for. This year, I had the brilliant idea of getting him a nice stainless steelwater bottle that he has been wanting. It’s the perfect price for our Christmas budget and he is excited (he likes to pick out his present rather than being surprised). As an extra little gift, I have another surprise for him that’s more of a sentimental gift. During the latter half of this year, I’ve been working on writing out the birth stories of each our children in story form. I want to finish those up (I’m almost done writing our third child’s, so I think I can finish in time) and put them in a binder for Ben. He doesn’t know I’ve been writing them and I think he’ll love reading through them.
Charly
For my present this year, I picked out a small bookshelf for Oliver’s room upstairs. We haven’t had enough bookshelf for our kids’ books for a long time and have used various solutions. Right now, we stack the board books against the wall in Oliver’s room and I’m really excited to be able to arrange them on a bookshelf in there.
Christmas Eve
Ben didn’t grow up with the tradition of opening a present on Christmas Eve, but I did and I love continuing it with our kids. We like to give our kids their Christmas pajamas after Thanksgiving so they can wear them all season long, so instead of pajamas, we’ll open a new blanket. I love these blankets from Amazon! They are soft and thick and the right price for me.
Stockings
I like to both fill up our stockings and also get quality items for our stockings. To fill them up, I like to get things like underwear or socks and candy, which usually does the trick. This year, I also got some pickleballs for my husband since he’s really into pickleball.
This year, Ashtyn is asking for video games for her switch, so her main present from Santa is going to be a $25 Nintendo eShop gift card. I also am getting her some crochet things because she’s been learning to crochet this year. I plan on getting her some nice scissors, a pouch to hold her crochet hooks, and some new yarn. I also have candy, new underwear, a newwater bottle, adrawing pad, and anew dress for her stocking.
Parker is asking for acamerafrom Santa. I also found her a tintea set that I think she will love. Like Ashtyn, I have candy, new underwear, a newwater bottle, adrawing pad, and anew dress for her stocking.
Rylee is asking for acamera and a crown from Santa. I found this adorable crown that sounds like it is great quality. And like her sisters, I have candy, new underwear, a newwater bottle, adrawing pad, and anew dress for her stocking.
Oliver is asking for a toydrill from Santa and it’s probably the gift I’m most excited for (he loves when Ben gets out his drill). The other toy Oliver is getting is this cool buildingbath toy. He also has candy, new socks, adrawing pad, awater bottle, and a new outfit.
For my stocking, I wanted to get some new kitchen things. I’d had thesebowls with lids on my list for a long time and got them when they were on a big sale. I also need new measuring cups because my children have somehow lost my 1/3 cup measuring cup, so I found these teal ones (I love teal!). I’m also getting a calendar, a book, awater bottle,socks, someNorwegian chocolate caramels, and a box of cereal.
For Ben’s stocking, I’m getting him a neck and shouldermassager. I got this one when it was also one sale and it will be more of a surprise for Ben. I also got him awater bottle for his hot chocolate in the morning,socks, softpickleballs, the chocolates, cereal, and beef jerky from our local meat plant.
A tradition I love is having my kids make a gift for each other. I’m going to wait one more year before adding Oliver in, so this year I’ll have Ashtyn make a gift for Rylee, Parker make a gift for Ashtyn, and Rylee make a gift for Parker. I haven’t decided yet what they’ll do for each other, but I usually help them pick something from my Pinterest board.
The kids also love to make a gift for Dad. My idea this year was for them to draw a picture of the family or of themselves with their Dad and I’ll laminate it for them.
I love Christmas and am enjoying the anticipation of gifting these things to our children! I know they will love the presents and I feel we’ve picked gifts that they will get a lot of use out of during the upcoming new year.
I would love to hear what you are planning for your family’s Christmas! Let me know in the comments below!
I love all things Christmas and especially all the Christmas movies. Today I wanted to do a post sharing what Christmas movies we watch and where we watch them (as of 2023).
Disney+
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
Narnia is one of my favorite movies to watch after Halloween but before we officially start Christmas. It has the Santa section and feels wintery but isn’t truly a Christmas movie.
Miracle on 34th Street
Miracle on 34th Street is such a classic and for good reason. I love both the older version and the newer version (on Google Play) for different reasons, but I think this older version is my favorite because of the post office part of the plot.
Olaf’s Frozen Adventure
Olaf’s Frozen Adventure is a cute and short video about Christmas traditions, prominently featuring Olaf. I love that we get to see more of Anna and Elsa coming together as a family and the sweet ending.
Once Upon a Snowman
Once Upon a Snowman is Olaf’s origin story. It’s a very short and perfect for cuddling up to watch on a winter night.
Home Alone
Home Alone is one of my kids’ absolute favorite movies. It is about a boy who accidentally gets left home alone as his family goes on vacation at Christmas time. As his family is frantically trying to get home to him, he defends their home against two robbers. The kids find the end, when the boy sets traps for the robbers, hilarious. I like the movie, though there are a few things I don’t like (there’s a little humor I don’t appreciate, a couple of swear words, and the family does not act kindly toward each other at the beginning. We also usually watch Home Alone 2, though we’ve never watched any of the other Home Alone movies.
The Santa Clause
The Santa Clause is a fun movie and I remember watching it each year growing up, but I am actually torn about it now as a parent. Because it has Tim Allen in it, the humor isn’t always my kind of thing, but we watch it occasionally.
A Muppets Christmas Carol
A Muppets Christmas Carol is such a classic. We love watching Muppets and this story is perfect for the Muppet format.
Nutcracker of the Four Realms
Nutcracker of the Four Realms is a newer favorite in our family. We watched it for the first time last year and my two oldest wanted to watch it again before the Christmas season was over. It is a more serious movie with some scarier elements, so it is a good one for older children.
Mickey’s Christmas Carol
Mickey’s Christmas Carol might be my favorite version of a Christmas Carol. I love Mickey Mouse and I think it’s the perfect introduction of the story for kids.
Belle’s Enchanted Christmas was a movie I loved as a child! As an adult, I’m less impressed, but my kids love it now so I let them watch it each year.
Winnie the Pooh, A Very Merry Pooh Year
A Very Merry Pooh Year is a cute Winnie the Pooh collection of movies about Christmas and the New Year. We love Winnie the Pooh at our house, so this is always a big hit.
Prep and Landing
Prep and Landing is a short little movie about high-tech elf team who prepares the houses for Santa on Christmas. There is more than one movie, and my kids think they are fun.
While You Were Sleeping is not a movie I watch with the kids. I usually watch it on my own each year as I’m wrapping presents. It has some jokes that aren’t the cleanest, but I have a nostalgia of watching it with my mom and I love the characters and the story.
Netflix
Klaus
I love the story and message of Klaus. We get Netflix at Christmas time basically for this movie. The song at the end is my favorite.
Spirit Riding Free: Spirit of Christmas
Spirit Riding Free is a really well done, cute movie about the characters of the Spirit Riding Free at Christmastime. My kids and I both love the show and this movie.
Angela’s Christmas and the sequel, Angela’s Christmas Wish
Angela’s Christmas is a little bit of a sadder Christmas movie (or more serious is maybe a better word), but it has a sweet message.
Llama Llama Christmas episodes
Llama Llama is a super cute show and I love the Christmas episodes!
White Christmas
White Christmas is such a cute movie, but it is pretty long. Usually, my kids start watching it with me, but get bored before the end and I end up finishing it by myself.
Dash and Lilly
Dash and Lilly is a fun and adorable series that my husband and I love to watch. It’s very Christmasy and good to watch together when the kids are in bed.
Annie is not a Christmas movie, but so much of it takes place at Christmas, it gives a Christmasy feel. It’s perfect to watch before Christmas officially starts when I’m wanting to start watching some Christmas movies.
Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer $
Rudolph is such a favorite with the kids that we always end up watching it multiple times each Christmas season. I’ve also found this one on YouTube before we owned it/when it was unavailable digitally.
The Little Drummer Boy $
The Little Drummer Boy is such a strange movie, but it’s a classic with a sweet message and we watch it each year. We’ve watched this one on YouTube as well, when we didn’t own it.
Santa Claus is Coming to Town $
Santa Claus is Coming to Town is another classic, centered on Santa Claus. Our kids love it, they think it’s so funny. This DVD seems to be a little harder to find than the other classics, but you can still find it at most stores. We’ve also watched this one on YouTube before.
Frosty the Snowman$
Frosty the Snowman is another movie that my kids love to watch over and over again throughout the Christmas season. It’s a cute one and it’s nice and short. My kids always want to watch the sequels (especially Winter Wonderland, where Frosty gets a wife) and we watch them occasionally, but they aren’t my favorite.
Franklin’s Magical Christmas Special $
Franklin’s Magical Christmas Special is a movie that we stumbled upon on YouTube once because of autoplay and we’ve watched it every year since. It is a cute story about family and the magic of Christmas, and my kids love it.
The Ultimate Gift is not technically a Christmas movie, but the fact that some of it takes pace over Thanksgiving/Christmas and the theme of the movie give it a Christmasy feel. This is one that I watch without the kids. It is included with Prime.
It’s a Wonderful Life
Growing up, my family watched It’s a Wonderful Life every year on Thanksgiving. We don’t have that tradition with my own kids, but I still love this classic.
Google Play
Over the years, we’ve collected quite a few videos on Google Play for Christmas. Some of them might not be available to buy digitally anymore, but most of those are still available to buy on DVD.
A Charlie Brown Christmas
A Charlie Brown Christmas is one of the first movies I bought for our family, because I love it. I managed to buy it and the Thanksgiving one before they were unavailable digitally, but had to buy the DVD of the Great Pumpkin movie. It looks like you can get the DVD at most stores and it’s available on Appe TV.
Tom and Jerry: A Nutcracker Tale
A Nutcracker Tale is a fun movie with extras in it. Tom and Jerry is just fun for kids and I like this Christmas version.
The Swan Princess Christmas
The Swan Princess Christmas is not the most well-done movie, I have to admit. I usually wait to turn this one on for my kids until I am busy in my room or something because it can be a little cringy to watch. My kids love the Swan Princess though, and really love having a Christmas version to watch.
The Polar Express
The Polar Express is a little bit of a creepier movie, because of the way they did the animation, but it’s a fun one with a cute message and great music. We always do a movie night party to watch it in pajamas with hot chocolate.
How the Grinch Stole Christmas
How the Grinch Stole Christmas cartoon is one of my favorite Christmas movies. Everything from the animations to the music is so cute!
The Grinch
I’ve never been a fan of the live action Grinch movie, but I loved the animated Grinch when we saw it and we’ve watched it every year since!
Elf
Elf is a movie that I didn’t grow up watching, but I watched it with my kids one year and they’ve loved it ever since. There are a couple of jokes in it that I don’t appreciate it, but I don’t mind the movie overall.
Christmas in Connecticut
Christmas in Connecticut is an old Christmas romcom that I absolutely love. I usually watch it with some girlfriends or my husband rather than my kids, until they’re older and can appreciate it more. It is so funny and Christmasy!
Barbie in the Nutcracker
Barbie in the Nutcracker is another movie that holds a lot of nostalgia for me and since my girls love Barbie movies, this is a must watch each year.
Barbie: A Perfect Christmas
Because my girls love the Barbie movies so much, we bought the other two Barbie Christmas movies. This one is about Barbie and her family trying to have a good Christmas despite a change in their plans for a perfect Christmas.
Barbie in a Christmas Carol
Barbie in a Christmas Carol is my least favorite of the Barbie Christmas movies, but it’s not a bad one and my girls like it. There are simply a lot of Christmas Carol movies and this one is not as good as some of the others in my opinion.
YouTube
The Christ Child
The Christ Child is my favorite thing to watch with the kids for Christmas. It is an enactment of the Christmas story and brings the Spirit every time I watch it.
The Nutcracker Prince
The Nutcracker Prince was one of my favorite Christmas movies growing up and I love being able to share it with my kids. It’s really hard to find, it’s not available to buy digitally. I ended up buying a DVD of it off of eBay, but until then we watched it on YouTube.
The Nutcracker Ballet
The Nutcracker Ballet is so fun, but since we live in a small town where it isn’t easy to attend in person, we watch it on YouTube.
I love filling our home with Christmas movies and music this time of year! What are your favorite Christmas movies to watch? I’d love to hear about them in the comments below!
I love doing holiday-themed activities with my kids and this year I decided to choose one Halloween-y topic to dive deeper into with my kids! I picked skeletons and we had a lot of fun with it.
Books on Skeletons
The core of our unit studies are always books. Here are the books we read together:
Understanding Muscles and the Skeleton by Robert Snedden
This book has a lot of information spanning the skeletal system. Because my kids are young, I didn’t read all of this with them, but rather picked out the parts that were the most interesting. I liked that it had so much information in it.
Amazing Body Systems – Skeletal System by Karen Latchana Kenney
We read everything in this book together and the kids learned a lot from it. I really liked the way the graphics went with the text and the “Did You Know” sections that gave interesting little tidbits.
Your Skeletal System Works by Flora Brett
This was similar to the previous book and had some overlapping information, but not all the information was the same and I think it’s good to repeat the information at times. My favorite part of this book was a graphic that showed a human skeleton and highlighted/labeled the different joints.
Bones by Steve Jenkins
This was a fascinating book to read together. It teaches about each different part of your skeleton and shows to scale how our skeleton compares to other animals. It includes the skeleton of turtles, storks, elephants, and even dinosaurs. Of the books we read about skeletons, this was my favorite.
Bone by Bone by Sara Levine
This was another book comparing our skeleton to that of other animals, but it went about it slightly differently. It starts with a human skeleton and then asks what kind of animal we might be like if we had a different skeletal makeup. The kids can guess and then you turn the page to find out. It’s a great way to learn the differences that make up all the different animals and I actually learned a lot that I didn’t know before. It was a really fun book to read together.
Dem Bones by Bob Barner
I always like to include some books that aren’t purely nonfiction. This was a great in between book. It goes through the song (and we sang through the book once as well!) but each page also gives facts about that bone.
Halloween Hustle by Charlotte Gunnufson
This is a fun story about a skeleton who wants to do the “Halloween Hustle” but keeps falling apart. It’s not realistic at all (they glue him together at the end of the book, which obviously wouldn’t allow movement) but it’s a fun little story and my kids enjoy it.
I Spy a Skeleton by Jean Marzollo
We also got this book from the library because it features “Skeleton” in the title. It doesn’t have a lot to do with skeletons, but my kids had fun with it, and it does have some skeletons and bones in it.
Videos on Skeletons
We also love to supplement with YouTube videos. We only watched a couple for this topic:
SciShow Kids – Your Super Skeleton
We love SciShow Kids and this video was great. It has an overview of your skeletal system in a way that keeps the kids interest.
PeekaBoo Kidz – Bones
This video goes through the different parts of your skeleton and gives some facts about it.
Happy Learning – The Human Skeleton: Amazing Facts
This video shares five different facts about the human skeletons that aren’t facts you normally hear about.
Magic School Bus Episode
I also like to find some sort of show to watch that relates. For skeletons, we watched the Magic School Bus episode Flexes Its Muscles (in season 2). It shows the kids making a robot and delves into how a body works together to move. I thought it was the perfect way to tie up what we’d learned about the skeletal system.
Skeleton Learning Activities
Q-Tip Skeletons
After learning about skeletons, we did a couple of activities. The first one was the kids favorite. We made little skeletons out of Q-tips. While we made them, we listened to the song Dem Bones.
Paper Skeletons
Then I found these paper skeletons that the kids cut out and glued onto black paper as a Halloween decoration. As we did, we learned some of the technical names for different bones. I also printed an extra and laminated it so the kids could play with it over and over again. When they were first putting it together, they went and found a picture of a skeleton in a book to make sure they were doing it right.
Twigs and Rocks Skeleton
The final activity was making a skeleton out of rocks and sticks outside. It was a more active one because we first had to find the twigs and rocks. I love any activity we can do outside, and the kids had a lot of fun with it!
Overall, this mini unit study was a short but fun way to learn more about the skeletal system and it was perfect for Halloween time!
Movie adaptations can get a bad rap, for good reason, when compared to the original book they were adapted from.
There are some I can think of (like The Tale of Despereaux, Eragon, or Ella Enchanted) that are just hard to watch. But there are others that our family has enjoyed as much as or even more than their books.
Matilda
I grew up watching and LOVING this movie and I didn’t actually read the book until I was an adult. The nostalgia may be part of why I love it so much, but it’s also such a well-done movie. When I read about the making of it, it made me love it even more! While I enjoy the book, the movie will always keep a special place in my heart.
Howl’s Moving Castle
This is another moving I watched several times as a teenager. I didn’t read the book until I was an adult (and didn’t even realize there was a book until then!). While I loved the book, I really liked the changes they made in the movie and the movie is so beautiful that it is a work of art. While they did make plot changes, I felt that the movie did a great job staying true to the characters.
Kiki’s Delivery Service
Unlike the first two, this isn’t one I grew up watching or reading. I actually read this with my kids and then we watched the movie together. The book and movie are pretty different from each other, but both have things I really like about both. The book is more episodic and has a charm to it that my girls really loved. The movie has more of a character and plot, which is really fun, and of course the artwork is beautiful.
The Help
I read this book as a teenager before they had even made the movie and absolutely loved it. I liked it so much that when I went to the movie in theaters, I remember being very nervous about not liking the movie. I was pleasantly surprised with the movie, though, and really enjoyed it. There are of course differences (especially with how the mother-daughter relationship is resolved) but again, I felt they stayed true to the characters and did a great job bringing out the same emotions. While I don’t like the movie more than the book, I still love it.
Lord of the Rings
Lord of the Rings, for me, goes way back. My mom started reading the books aloud to me when I was about 8 or 9. Right after that, the movies started coming out. I was pretty young when I went to see them in theaters. I remember, as a child, being very put out by some of the changes they made. The two I remember most are the first movie not including Tom Bombadil and the third movie ending without the last battle in Hobbiton. Of course, it was worse in theaters because those were not the extended editions.
I didn’t actually read the books again as a child after that, but I watched the movies more times than I can count. I have a lot of nostalgia and a deep love for the movies. As an adult, I decided to revisit the books and was a little disappointed. I still love the characters and the world and the plot that JRR Tolkien created, but his writing style is not my favorite. I love the way the movies took the characters and expanded on those and the way the plot of the movie was tightened up. I also love the actors and actresses of the movies. I will always appreciate the books and I will always like the movies just a little bit more than the books.
What movie adaptations do you love? What movie adaptations do you hate? Let me know in the comment section below!
Hot chocolate is a favorite drink at our house, especially at Christmas time or when it’s colder outside. We actually love drinking it every morning, though, even in the summer, and I came up with a recipe that has added protein and a better sweetener.
I make it each morning as part of my routine. We all love it and I honestly look forward to it every day. Today, I wanted to share that recipe.
I use a hot chocolate maker. I use this one, though they stopped making it and it’s getting harder and harder to find. Our recipe makes enough for two adults and four children. The children get less than my husband and I.
Healthier Hot Chocolate
4 cup water
1/4 tsp salt
2 tbsp cocoa powder
3 generous tbsp pure maple syrup
1/2 cup beef gelatin
3/4 cup powdered milk
We use Himalayan salt, I usually buy it from Amazon. I use Dutch cocoa powder (I got it in bulk once and haven’t been able to go back), which I buy from Walmart. I get our maple syrup from Costco, though you can easily substitute sugar 1:1.
Beef gelatin is similar to collagen. It is very low calorie and high protein (it has 9 grams of protein in one tablespoon). It isn’t a complete protein, but because we pair it with the milk which is an animal protein and because we get other protein sources throughout the day, it’s not concerning to us. I buy it from Amazon or Vitacost.
*We’ve used unsweetened whey protein powder in place of beef gelatin before and the hot chocolate still turned out yummy. I buy my protein powder on Amazon.
I always use cold water, so that the gelatin will dissolve before the water heats up in the hot chocolate maker. Despite it being called beef gelatin, it has no taste in the hot chocolate and only serves to make the drink silkier!
I like this brand of gelatin and buy it on Vitacost. You can also buy it on Amazon, but Vitacost often has a coupon, and sometimes has sales on food items that makes it cheaper there.
I buy my powdered milk through the online LDS store here. I believe you can also get it in person at most LDS canneries, but since I don’t live near one, I always just get it online. They are great for food storage as well, because the pouches last 20 years.
It’s a really simple recipe, made even simpler with hot chocolate maker. I’ve been looking into buying an industrial one (so it’s big enough as our family grows). Making it and then doing the dishes while it mixes has become a simple part of my morning routine and I look forward to sitting down and drinking it every morning!
What is a favorite part of your morning routine? I’d love to hear about it in the comments below!
I had a great reading month in September! I participated in 30 Books in 30 Days and Series September and had so much fun with both readathons.
I also had a lot of five star reads, so I’ll jump right in!
Sammy Keyes by Wendelin Van Draanen
I read the last five books in the Sammy Keyes series and all five were 5 star reads for me! I love Sammy and her friends so much and was so sad to see the end of the series, though I loved the ending!
A Ben of All Trades by Michael J Rosen
This is a short book highlighting earlier aspects of Benjamin Franklin’s story. I loved learning a little more about Benjamin Franklin and liked the book’s focus on how Franklin’s exploration early in life helped him become the man he was. I listened to the audiobook, but I read that the illustrations are well worth reading the physical book.
The Terrible Two by Mac Barnett
This middle grade book about two boys who love to prank people was funny and a wild ride. I loved the themes and I can see my kids loving it when they are just a little older.
Dumb Witness by Agatha Christie
I read at least one Agatha Christie book a month as I’m working my way through her many novels and they are often my favorite reads of the month. This Poirot mystery was no exception and was such a fun read.
Mighty Jack by Ben Hatke
The kids and I read the first Mighty Jack book last month and the Zita the Space Girl books earlier this year. This month, we finished both graphic novel series (the series have the same book as the final book in their series) and absolutely loved them both! The finale was so well done and really showed the growth of the characters from both series.
Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones
I grew up watching this movie with my friends and have always loved it, so when I found out that there was a book, I had to read. The book had its differences from the movie, of course, but I loved it. It’s great in its own way, just as the movie is.
Murder by Invitation Only by Colleen Cambridge
This series follows the fictitious housekeeper of Agatha Christie as she solves mysteries that seem to occur in her presence. I loved the first two books and was happily anticipating this new release in the series. It was just as enjoyable a read as the others and I can’t wait for the next release!
Enola Holmes and the Mark of the Mongoose by Nancy Springer
Enola Holmes is another series I’ve loved for a long time. I didn’t realize until recently that there was a new book in the series out, but when I did, I devoured it. It is so fun to watch Enola solve mysteries and get herself out of tight predicaments. It was a highly enjoyable read.
Zoey and Sassafras by Asla Citro
My kids and I listened to volumes 1-6 on Audible and all loved it. It follows a little girl who loves science and can see magical creatures. It was the perfect combination for my own girls! The narration was also well done and the story cute.
Apples Never Fall by Liane Moriarty
I love Liane Moriarty’s writing style, I think she is so good at giving just enough information that the reader is then dying to know more. It works particularly well with the thrillers she written, which this one is a thriller. It’s a wild ride.
Diana: Princess of the Amazons by Shannon Hale
This middle grade graphic novel follows Diana, the only child on the island of the Amazons, as she tries to find a friend. The illustrations are lovely, the story is fun, and the characters are all likable. I also read the sequel and rated it 5 stars, though I think I liked the first book in the series more.
Fairest by Gail Carson Levine
This was my only reread this month. I read it aloud with my kids and it was so fun to share a childhood favorite with them. They loved it and literally squealed at the marriage proposal at the end. It was a fun way to finish the month!
What did you read in September? I would love to hear about the books you loved in the comments below!
One of my favorite traditions (that encompasses most of our other traditions) is our Book Advent. This is a tradition we have where the girls unwrap one Christmas picture book a day from after Thanksgiving to Christmas. We read the book and do an activity together (I do my best to match the book with the activity). It’s a countdown we have in addition to their countdown chains, and we all have so much fun with it.
I start our countdown the day after Thanksgiving, though I know many people who wait until December 1st to start. I also am very flexible with our countdown, changing days around when needed or even changing the activity for the day.
A note about the books we unwrap: I have spent years collecting the books we use in our countdown. Until I had collected more, I used the books we had already (even when they didn’t match the activity) and used a lot of library books.
Here is my plan for the 2024 Christmas season!
Friday, November 24th
Book to unwrap: Bear Stays Up by Karma Wilson
Activity: Holly Days
We love Karma Wilson’s bear books and this one is all about Bear finally experiencing Christmas after years of sleeping through it. It’s a great one to start off the Christmas season with.
Our community has a big event the day after Thanksgiving each year called Holly Days. They have activities going all day, including free bounce houses, popcorn, hot chocolate, hayrides, and train rides. When we stay in town for Thanksgiving, I love to take the kids for a few hours in the afternoon before going home for movie night.
We’ll clean up the house in the morning to get ready for decorating and then getting out of the house will keep it clean for the next day!
Saturday, November 25th
Book to unwrap: The Mismatched Nativity by Merrilee Boyack
Activity: Decorate for Christmas
The Mismatched Nativity is a cute book about a boy who moves to a new place and doesn’t have friends. A church teacher helps the class befriend the new boy by sharing different pieces of their nativities with him, until he has a full nativity. I love reading this book as we bring out our own nativity and other decorations.
I love decorating for Christmas, though we usually keep our decorations fairly simple. My favorite part is the atmosphere the white lights create. I love decorating as early as possible, while not overwhelming my husband too early, so waiting until after Thanksgiving is the perfect balance for our family.
This is a cute little story of the nativity and it comes with a puzzle that pops out and in. My kids love it!I love this story of Christ’s birth. It touches on all the different parts of the nativity and includes a section of what happened in the Americas at Christ’s birth, as told in the Book of Mormon.This cute book spins the 12 Days of Christmas song to go through the nativity. I like reading it to the kids about once a year and then I’m done.
Sunday, November 26th
Book to unwrap: Why Christmas Trees Aren’t Perfect by Richard H. Schneider
Activity: Decorate the Christmas Tree
Why Christmas Trees Aren’t Perfect is a cute little book about a Christmas tree that gives up its perfect shape to serve the creatures in the forest. The tree theme makes it a perfect read for when we decorate our tree.
We always try to wait for a weekend to decorate the tree to make it easy for Ben to join in. We keep it simple, just turning on Christmas music and let the kids cover the tree with our ornaments while I try to turn off my perfectionism.
Monday, November 27th
Book to unwrap: Little Blue Truck’s Christmas by Alice Shertle
Activity: Decorate Kids’ Tree
We are big Little Blue Truck fans at our house and my kids love the Christmas one! In the book, Little Blue Truck is delivering Christmas trees to his friends, and it finishes with light up Christmas lights.
Once we decorate our tree downstairs, we don’t want the kids touching the ornaments, so we set up a tree upstairs in their room for them. They are allowed to move the ornaments around all they want with it. The day after decorating our tree, we pull out a few “kid” ornaments we don’t want on our tree downstairs and then spend the morning making paper ornaments to put on their tree.
Tuesday, November 28th
Book to unwrap: The Last Straw by Paula Palangi McDonald
Activity: Draw Names for Secret Service
The Last Straw is a book about a family who brings the Christmas spirit to their home by doing secret acts of service for each other, and when they do an act of service, they get to add a piece of hay to the manger for Christmas Eve. There’s a twist at the end that makes me tear up every time I read it.
A few years ago, my father-in-law helped me make a wooden manger for our own secret service tradition. Before that, we used a cardboard box. For “hay”, we actually use felt cut into strips while our kids are young, and it is so easy to clean up every time the toddler empties it out.
Each family member picks a name out of the hat and does secret acts of service for that person during the week, putting a piece of straw in the manger for each act. At the end of the week, we draw new names. My oldest daughter loves this activity each year and is in charge of helping us pick new names each week. The kids love trying to make the manger as full as possible for baby Jesus (who gets laid in the manger on Christmas Eve).
Wednesday, November 29th
Book to unwrap: The Not Very Merry Pout Pout Fish by Deborah Diesen
Activity: Christmas Shopping
We have a daughter who loves the Pout Pout Fish, so I had to get the Christmas version when I saw it. The story follows the Pout Pout Fish as he goes Christmas shopping, trying to find the perfect present for each of his friends. That fits really well with doing our own Christmas shopping.
We don’t actually do a lot of in-person shopping, so a lot of this is window shopping. The girls and I like to go to Walmart (the only big store in our area) and look at their Christmas set up. It’s also a good time for me to replace any Christmas lights that have gone out and buy more wrapping paper.
Thursday, November 30th
Book to unwrap: C is for Christmas by Tonya Skousen Arenaz
Activity: Make Countdown Chain
C is for Christmas is a beautiful and poetic Christmas book. It has the most beautiful illustrations. I always pair with our countdown chain activity because it covers so much of Christmas that it feels like the perfect read as we’re anticipating the Christmas season.
I love having a visual countdown for the kids, I think it really helps them understand how long until the big day. I usually cut the paper strips in advance (we use green, red, and white paper). Then the kids get to pick what pattern they want with the colors and put their own chain together. We enjoy making the paper chain and then we hang them by our back door as a sort of decoration.
Friday, December 1st
Book to unwrap: The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg
Activity: Host a Polar Express Party
The Polar Express is a classic that we love reading every year! We purposely do this activity on a Friday so that we can watch the movie for movie night. We invite cousins, wear pajamas, and I prepare our own “train tickets” to punch. Then we have a spread of treats and hot chocolate while we watch the movie. The kids look forward to this party all year and it’s a pretty simple event to put together.
Saturday, December 2nd
Book to unwrap: The Broken Ornament by Toni DiTerlizzi
Activity: Make Ornaments as a family
The Broken Ornament is a story about a boy who wants Christmas to be as big as possible, but in the process, he accidentally breaks his mother’s special ornament. To make things right, he has to learn the true meaning of Christmas. I love to pair this one with our tradition of making a new ornament every year.
When I was growing up, my mom bought us all an ornament each year. When Ben and I were newlyweds, we hardly had money for a gift for each other, much less buying things like ornaments. We decided to make an ornament together. My mom gave us the ornaments her grandmothers had made years ago and our tree became covered in beautiful, homemade ornaments. We’ve continued making new ornaments each year with our own children instead of buying ornaments and we’ve made such fun memories together doing so (though I also love other people’s tradition of buying ornaments that have special meaning!).
Sunday, December 3rd
Book to unwrap: The Gingerbread Girl by Lisa Campell Ernst
Activity: Gingerbread Houses
Other Christmas books that we love:
The Gingerbread Girl is a simple twist on the original story–with a girl instead of a gingerbread man. With three girls, it’s popular at our house!
We have tried many ways of making gingerbread houses from making our own gingerbread to using premade kits to cutting up graham crackers. For us, graham crackers are by far the easiest method. Ben cuts the same pattern out of the graham cracker each year for me. Then I cut a base from a cardboard box, wrap it in tinfoil, and use my great grandma’s frosting recipe (which makes the houses practically indestructible when it dries) to put the houses together before the kids come. Then we dump candy into bowls, get out store frosting for them to decorate with, and let them at it.
We also like to include an upside-down ice cream cone in the “yard” of each house and green (food-colored) frosting to make Christmas trees as well.
Book to unwrap: Corduroy’s Christmas Surprise by Don Freeman
Activity: Writer Letters to Santa
I have to admit that Corduroy’s Christmas Surprise is not my favorite Christmas book, but the kids enjoy it and we’ve read it every year since my oldest was a toddler. I love to pair the book with writing to Santa because throughout the story, Corduroy writes many different letters to Santa.
I like to try to get letters to Santa in nice and early, so there aren’t any surprises right before Christmas (which has happened to us before!). This year, I’m going to use one of these letters to Santa templates. Then I’ll put them in an envelope that has their name on it to keep in my folders to look at in the future. Then we can do some Santa themed activities together.
Tuesday, December 5th
Book to unwrap: A World of Cookies for Santa by M.E. Furman
Activity: Christmas Around the World
This is actually a new book for us this year, so I’ve never read it. I love the idea of the book, though, with Santa visiting many different places around the world and tasting their Christmas treats.
Last year, we tried having a day where we learned about Christmas traditions in different places around the world. I printed off some different papers and worksheets, and the kids liked it at first, but then they quickly lost interest. This year, we want to make it more hands on. I’ve chosen one different tradition from a few places to experience, though I’m still learning! I’ll set up different areas of the house as different places and then visit those places with the kids to experience the tradition.
The traditions I want to try this year include:
Germany – Star Singers (stern singer) and candles in the window
Mexico – A Christmas pinata
Netherlands – Treasure hunt to find a gift left in their shoes
Italy – Befana bringing gifts in a stocking
Philippines – Parol, or a lit-up star on a stick
Ireland – Christmas cake and pudding
These are traditions that I can learn more about as I prepare them and then the kids and I can learn more about them together as well. We can choose different traditions or even countries to focus on in future years.
Wednesday, December 6th
Book to unwrap: The Gingerbread Doll by Susan Tews
Activity: Make Gingerbread Cookies
The Gingerbread Doll is a darling book we ran across at the library last year. It is set in the great depression, when a little girl’s mom can’t afford the doll she wants, so instead she makes one from gingerbread. It’s a cute little story and perfect for when we make gingerbread cookies.
I am not actually the biggest fan of gingerbread, but my girls love it and we make and decorate them every year. I use my great-grandmother’s recipe and buy special decorating things like icing bags, Christmas M&M’s for buttons, and sprinkles that look like eyes. We are not professional cookie decorators by any means, but we have fun with it.
Thursday, December 7th
Book to unwrap: The Year of the Perfect Christmas Tree by Gloria Houston
Activity: A Service Activity
The Year of the Perfect Christmas Tree is touching story about love and sacrifice at Christmas and the illustrations are beautiful. It’s a great story to read to get us in a serving mood.
I’m not sure what service project I want to do yet. Some ideas I have are to take some gingerbread cookies and cards to our fire station, make blessing bags for the homeless, donate food and goodie bags at our local food bank, or make goodie bags for children’s hospital.
Friday, December 8th
Book to unwrap: How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss
Activity: Grinch Day
We read How the Grinch Stole Christmas every year, but this is my first year trying a “Grinch Day”. My idea is to have some themed activities and food, read the book, and watch both the cartoon and the animated Grinch movie (I am not a fan of the live action, so we never watch that one, but we love both the others).
One activity I want to do is Grow the Grinch’s Heart science. You put a red heart on a green balloon, put baking soda in the balloon, and then put the balloon over a water bottle with vinegar in it; when it reacts, the balloon fills up and the heart “grows”. I also want to make grinch pancakes for breakfast and write letters to family members telling them something we love about them (and connect it to the heart growing three sizes). We can learn how to draw the Grinch and later in the day, we could have Grinch Rice Krispie Treats.
Saturday, December 9th
Book to unwrap: A Birthday Party for Jesus by Susan Jones
Activity: A Birthday Party for Jesus
The book follows a little rabbit who doesn’t know what to give Jesus a gift as all the animals prepare to celebrate his birthday. Along the way, he learns what is truly important to give.
A birthday party for Jesus is a tradition I’ve brought from my own childhood, and I love the chance to focus on Christ. We always have a treat, like cupcakes or pie, to put a candle in while we sing Happy Birthday to Jesus. Then we each decide on a gift (something we want to change or a way we want to be better) and write them down. I found a present craft, with Jesus in the middle, that I really like and a poem. We end the night with watching The Christ Child on YouTube.
Sunday, December 10th
Book to unwrap: An Orange for Frankie by Patricia Polacco
Activity: Make Gifts for Extended Family
An Orange for Frankie is a touching story about giving and a family coming together for Christmas.
When my oldest was four or five, she wanted to make a gift for a lot of her extended family members. The next year, she and her younger sister wanted to, and it’s become a tradition since then. They always have an extensive list of people they want to give to, so in the past, it’s been a job getting all the gifts ready. This year, my plan is to let the kids write a story, illustrate it, and then photocopy it for everyone on their list to make it easier.
Monday, December 11th
Book to unwrap: A Christmas Dress for Ellen by Thomas S. Monson
Activity: Ninja Elves
If I had to pick one favorite Christmas book, this would be it. I can’t make it through the book without crying several times. The story is about a destitute family and service that is given to them to bring them a Christmas miracle. I love reading this book as an introduction to talking to my kids about the way we give to a family in need.
One year, my husband’s family decided that we didn’t want to exchange gifts and wanted to instead use the money to help a local family in need. After we read the book, we talk about the specifics of the situation of the family we chose to help and the way they were helping them (in giving up extra gifts they didn’t need to give that money to someone who really needed it). Every year, the kids have wanted to add money from their own piggy banks as well, and my heart loves to see the generosity of children. Once we’ve gathered the money from all the families, we let the kids be “ninja elves” and doorbell ditch it to the family. It’s one of my very favorite traditions.
Tuesday, December 12th
Book to unwrap: The Nutcracker by Valeria Docampo
Activity: Christmas Science
One of my daughters went through a phase of being obsessed with the Nutcracker. This book follows story of the ballet and has beautiful illustrations. It’s a bit of a stretch to connect this book and the activity, but Grandfather is an inventor and I think it works.
I’ve never done a Christmas science day, though we’ve done some small science experiments. I’m excited to do a few Christmas-y science activities with my kids this year, because I know they’ll love it.
The Christmas Wish is such a fun book! The story follows a little girl who is trying to find Santa to be his helper, and she has a lot of animal friends help her along the way. The illustrations are photographs and really bring the book alive.
Our kids always love to visit Santa. This is one of the activities where we have to be flexible. Because I like to plan our Christmas countdown so early, the library and city haven’t announced their dates for free Santa visits yet, but we usually just switch with another activity. We always have a lot of different options, so we can always find a date that works well.
We also have some Santa-themed activities that we can do, and my kids often like to make a little present or note to take to Santa. My two oldest understand about Santa (it happened a lot earlier than I had wanted) and they still love visiting Santa.
Thursday, December 14th
Book to unwrap: Christmas Day in the Morning by Pearl S. Buck
Activity: Make Cookies for Neighbors
I remember hearing this story when I was a child and loving it. It’s a sweet story of a boy who learns how to serve and truly show love to his father at Christmas time. I like reading a story about giving and serving on the day that I make neighbor gifts.
I love making Christmas cookies and I love doing neighbor gifts, so I love taking a day to make Christmas cookies to gift to neighbors. I take the whole day (and usually mix up some cookie dough to chill overnight) and make several batches of several kinds of cookies and then distribute them to gift bags. I like to get out coloring pages for the kids and watch some Christmas movies while I bake. The next day, the girls help me deliver cookies.
I usually make green cookies with Christmas M&M’s (I use my chocolate chip cookie recipe and just replace the chips with M&M’s), red chocolate chip cookies with white chocolate chips, snickerdoodles, peanut butter kiss cookies (rolled in sprinkles), and homemade Oreos with red and green frosting. I make big batches of all of them so I can do about 50 bags to deliver.
Friday, December 15th
Book to unwrap: Mouse’s Christmas Gift by Mindy Baker
Activity: Make Christmas Cards for the Beehive Home
Mouse’s Christmas Gift is a beautiful book about how Mouse’s small act of caring brings a community together for Christmas. I love the story, message, and artwork of the book. I like to pair it with making cards for our local Beehive Home, because that’s a small act that my kids can do to serve our community.
Saturday, December 16th
Book to unwrap: Merry Christmas, Little Pookie! by Sandra Boynton
Activity: Pajamas and Christmas Poems at Breakfast
We love the Pookie books (and all Sandra Boynton books) and this one is no exception!
I saved this activity for a Saturday so we could do it as a family and not be rushed. It’s a new activity that we’ve never done before, but I’m excited for it! The idea is to have a slow, unrushed breakfast in our pajamas while we read Christmas poems. There are lots of poems online, though I recently bought a book from a thrift store that has Christmas poems in it, so we’ll probably read out of that this year.
Sunday, December 17th
Book to unwrap: The Little Drummer Boy by Bernadette Watts
Activity: Caroling at the Beehive Home
I really like the story and illustrations of this version of the book, based on the song. I really like pairing the story of the drummer boy, someone who gifted his musical talents to Christ, with caroling. Our girls love to go caroling and we like to do it at the Beehive Home because it is warm and the residents love it.
Monday, December 18th
Book to unwrap: The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry
Activity: Make Sibling Gifts
The Gift of the Magi is such a traditional story and I love it. The one we own has beautiful illustrations and uses the original text, so the old-fashioned language can be a little hard for my kids to follow. I help though, and they always light up when the twist at the end comes. Because of the focus on giving, it feels like the perfect book to pair with making gifts.
Having my kids make gifts, rather than buy them, for each other is a tradition I got from my aunt, and I love it. With four kids, we now have them draw names and make a gift for just on sibling. They love making the gift and get really excited about it, and usually the gifts are the kinds of things that we don’t need to keep forever.
Tuesday, December 19th
Book to unwrap: The Legend of the Candy Cane by Lori Walburg
Activity: Candy Cane Hunt
The Legend of the Candy Cane is a cute little story that ends with teaching how the candy cane symbolizes Christ. I love the story and the message of the book.
We always do a “candy cane” activity when we read this book. We start with a candy cane hunt–I hide candy canes around the house and then the kids search for them. Then they can eat one of the candy canes while I read the book to them. Then we do other activities. We’ve done some science experiments, measured candy canes, made paper candy canes, or made butter cookies into the shape of candy canes. This year, I want to be “candy cane bombers”, where we leave a nice note with a candy cane on people’s windshields.
Wednesday, December 20th
Book to unwrap: Llama Llama Jingle Bells by Anna Dewdney
Activity: Jingle Bells Day (magnets, tower, dancing)
We like the Llama Llama books and this one is pretty cute. We also really like the show on Netflix and they have some cute Christmas episodes. I paired it with this activity because of the title.
Book to unwrap: Harold at the North Pole by Crockett Johnson and Snowmen at Christmas by Caralyn Buehner
Activity: Snow Day
This is the only day we’ll open more than one book and it’s because I love both of them so much. I love doing a Christmas-themed snow book for our snow day!
Because I can’t control the snow and I like to plan ahead (and some years, it doesn’t snow where I live until Christmas Eve/Day), our snow day involves indoor activities like making paper snowflakes and playing with fake snow. My favorite thing is to make each person’s name into a snowflake. When we’re done with the snowflakes, we hang them on the ceiling of the kids’ rooms. Some years, like last year, it lines up and we have real snow to play in as well!
Friday, December 22nd
Book to unwrap: You Are My Miracle by Maryann Cusimano Love
Activity: Look at Christmas Lights
I love the poetic feel of You Are My Miracle, and the way it reminds me to treasure each of these moments with my own kids.
Driving around looking at Christmas lights is a tradition my kids all look forward to. I try to look up beforehand some neighborhoods that go all out or houses that have dancing lights. We also often will pair it with dropping off some Christmas gifts farther from our house or stop for a treat somewhere.
Saturday, December 23rd
Book to unwrap: Christmas Cookie Day by Tara Knudson
Activity: Make Sugar Cookies for Santa!
Christmas Cookie Day is a cute but simple book about a Mama Bear and her son who make sugar cookies together. We always save this for when we make sugar cookies.
We always leave sugar cookies for Santa, and I like to make them the day before Christmas Eve, so we can spend Christmas Eve morning relaxing. I make it manageable to have the kids help me by doing one kid at a time. They take turns rolling out and using cookie cutters with the dough and then I finish up after every child has had a turn. Then I let them decorate their own plate of cookies with store frosting and sprinkles and decorate the rest myself.
Sunday, December 24th
Book to unwrap: The Night Before Christmas by Clement C. Moore
Activity: Christmas Eve Traditions
This is my favorite version of this traditional story. I love the illustrations in it, and it follows the traditional poem. Most of the other books we open in the morning or afternoon as we’re doing the activity, but we always save this book for right before bed on Christmas Eve.
Our Christmas Eve traditions start in the morning. We play games in the morning, especially video games like Mario Kart or Mario Party. We love to have the morning relaxing since our evening is busier.
In the afternoon, we go to our in-laws house for an early dinner. Some years we have done a fancy dinner and other years, we’ll do the fancy dinner the Sunday before Christmas and do something like soup for dinner on Christmas Eve. After dinner, we act out the Nativity scene, one of my very favorite Christmas traditions.
Then it’s usually time to go home. At home, we open one present. Right now, our tradition is to each get a new blanket (we get our Christmas pajamas after Thanksgiving so that we can wear them all season long). After getting on pajamas and snuggling in our blankies, we read The Night Before Christmas. Then we set out cookies for Santa and get the kids in bed.
*Another Christmas activity we love to do is Operation Christmas Child through Samaritan’s Purse. You pick a shoebox and fill it with things like a toy, school supplies, and hygiene products. Then you can pick an age group and gender for your box and Samaritan’s Purse delivers the boxes to children in need around the world. It’s a neat experience for the kids to pick out the gifts for the box. We do it before the countdown begins because you turn in the shoeboxes earlier in November.
Our Christmas traditions are something that I love and look forward to every year. This sort of countdown is something that my personality as a mom thrives on. I would love to hear some of the traditions you as a mom thrive on and love! Let me know in the comments below!
When I was a teenager, I read voraciously and without any real pattern. There was a lot of organic discovery at the library, no tracking whatsoever (I’m still sad about all the books I read that I’ll never remember and therefore never be able to mark on Goodreads), and so much rereading of my favorite books.
As I’ve gotten back into reading as an adult and found bookish communities online, it’s been delightful. Goodreads is amazing (and maddening), I have a bookish bullet journal that I love (and would have loved in high school if I’d known it was a thing), and I have also discovered seasonal reading, which very much fits my personality and is super fun for me.
Today I am sharing what types of books I tend to read at different times of the year, and giving a recommendation for each category.
January
The start of a new year is always exciting. There’s a fresh-page feel to everything you do. Probably because of New Year’s and the focus on goals, one of my favorite genres to read is nonfiction self help books. I think I am extra motivated in January to make changes to my life, so self help books are more exciting then.
I also love to read Agatha Christie in January. My goal is to read one book a month by her throughout the year, but I get extra nostalgic about her books during the first month and often will read multiple by her.
January is also a month that I love to get a good start on my reading goals, by knocking out some of faster reads on any of my lists. This is especially true of my goal to read all the unread books I own in January by the end of the year. Finding quicker reads on that list to get through is a fun way for me to start off my reading year strong.
Self Help Book Recommendation:
Atomic Habits by James Clear
Atomic Habits has been my number one spot for their nonfiction self help for years now. The information in it has been life changing for me, and it is a very accessible read with a lot of fun stories in it. I also get more out of it every time I reread it.
The number one thing that has been helpful for me from the book is the idea of small habit changes–you don’t need to make these huge changes in order for your life to get better. As you make small course corrections, your identity begins to shift. As your identity begins to shift, you begin making more changes in that direction, which then affects your identity and it’s a cycle. When I am struggling in an area of my life, I often look at small changes I can make to my behavior or to my environment that will make big differences to my trajectory. I also have started small with habits when I first read this book (such as reading in my scriptures) that I am still going strong on now–and they aren’t as small as they were when I started!
Agatha Christie Recommendation:
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd is not Agatha Christie’s most famous book, but it’s up there. It is my favorite because I had such a great experience with the whodunnit journey. I loved not knowing who had done and coming up with theories and then when the reveal happened, I was very surprised. And yet, looking back, it all made sense to me.
I also really enjoyed the format of the story and I tend to really like the mysteries with Poirot.
Other favorites have been And Then There Were None, Murder on the Orient Express, A Caribbean Mystery, One Two Buckle My Shoe, and any of the short story collections.
Fast Read Recommendation:
What Does It Feel Like by Sophie Kinsella
What Does It Feel Like is a three hour audiobook, so very short and quick, but very hard hitting. It follows a famous author who wakes up in the hospital with no memory of how she got there, until they inform her that she had brain surgery because of brain cancer. She then has to work through memory issues, recover from the surgery at Christmas time, and get used to her new life as things are much different now.
Despite being short, the story packs in a lot of emotion. I have to admit that I bawled through it. It is partially autobiographical (in that Sophie Kinsella went through a lot of the same experiences as the main character, though she made some things up and the characters are fictional), which only made it more powerful and emotional of a read for me.
February
With Valentine’s Day being in February, I often focus my reading on romance books. This includes regency, YA contemporary, and romcoms. The only caveat I have with romance books is that I avoid any books with open door scenes and only read clean romance.
Regency Recommendation:
A Game of Hearts by Joanna Barker
I tend to enjoy regency romance books sparingly, but I do enjoy them. Joanna Barker is one my favorite authors for the genre and my favorite book by her is A Game of Hearts (though A Heart Worth Stealing is a close second).
A Game of Hearts follows Marigold, who loves archery and wants women to be able to compete as well as men and especially wants to beat out her long-time rival Tristan. The book starts off with my personal favorite romance trope, hate-to-love, and then moves to a marriage-of-convenience trope by the end of the book. Both are executed on very well and are fun to read. The characters have great chemistry and the story is believable for the time frame it takes place in. I loved it from beginning to end.
YA Contemporary Recommendation:
Love, Life, and the List by Kasie West
Kasie West has a large backlist of clean and sweet YA romances (her newer adult romcoms are not clean). I have enjoyed many of them and this is one of my favorites.
In Love, Life and the List, Abby has an unrequited crush on her best friend and a desire to be a “real” artist. To improve her art, she sets herself a list of ten things to do over the summer to get out of her comfort zone and really experience life–but finds she must change herself along the way. I love the relationships, both the romantic friends-to-lovers and her relationship with her friends and Grandpa. The character arc is very satisfying and the romance has a sweet conclusion to it. If you enjoy YA contemporary, Kasie West is a great author to check out.
Rom Com Recommendation:
Hello Stranger by Katherine Center
Adult rom coms are some of my favorite books to read as an adult reader, but I also love clean romance books. Katherine Center is one of my favorite authors for clean rom coms and my favorite book by her is Hello Stranger.
Hello Stranger follows an portrait artist who experiences a rare complication from a minor brain surgery–face blindness. She can see, but faces are all a jumble to her. As she struggles to hang onto her artistic dreams, she also has to deal with family issues, health issues with her beloved dog, and a love triangle with two very different men. I loved the whole story, from the very beginning, but the ending was my favorite–there is a plot twist I never saw coming, but looking back, was very well foreshadowed. I loved it and wish I could read it again for the first time.
March
With Middle Grade March, I mostly read middle grade books in March. I love focusing on middle grade books across different genres and participating in the readathon with others.
Middle Grade Recommendation:
Framed! by James Ponti
One of my favorite middle grade authors is James Ponti (he also wrote City Spies and Sherlock Society) and my favorite book series by him is Framed!
Framed! is a series that follows a boy named Florian and his friend Margaret who use a TOAST, the Theory of All Small Things–a tecnique for solving mysteries small and large. Using this theory, Florian get involved with an FBI case and eventually begin working as a secret FBI consultant. Between his schoolwork, of course.
The plot is full of mysteries and action, the themes involve friendship and growing up, and there is a strong family base to it all. I love the way Florian and Margaret solve the mysteries with TOAST and I loved the themes and growth of the characters throughout the series. My kids all loved the series as well.
April
April is when Spring starts teasing us with warm weather just to get cold again and it’s also the month of my husband and I’s wedding anniversary. This time of year, I love to read romances and classics. I read other genres as well, but those tend to be ones I’m drawn to around this time.
Romance Recommendation:
The Secret Bridesmaid by Katy Birchall
The Secret Bridesmaid was one of my favorite books in 2025. It is a contemporary romance following Sophie, whose job is a “professional bridesmaid”. People hire her to be their bridesmaid, to both plan the wedding and pretend to be their friend for the wedding, as their bridesmaid. She gets hired by the parents of a rich and spoiled girl to be a bridesmaid, but the girl doesn’t want her and does everything she can to make Sophie’s life miserable. I loved the hate-to-friendship relationship there and of course, the romance that made the whole situation even more tricky. I also appreciated how clean the book was.
Katy Birchall is a new author to me, but I enjoyed this book so much, I want to try out her other books and love recommending this book to anyone who enjoys clean romance.
Classic Recommendation:
The Blue Castle by LM Montgomery
I have many classics that I love and most classics are very well known and talked about. I wanted to pick one that I haven’t heard a lot about but that I loved–The Blue Castle. LM Montgomery is most famous for Anne, but I’ve loved many of her other books.
The Blue Castle is actually my favorite by her. It is an adult romance following Valancy. Valancy is 29, unmarried, and feeling stuck until some shocking news from her doctor spur her to make some changes in her life. The book has a romcom feel to it, with misunderstandings, character growth, and an adorable romance. I had never even heard of this book until a couple of years ago and didn’t know such a gem existed!
May-July
From May to July, as I am enjoying all the warm weather with my kids and family, I love to read fun and light books. I tend towards contemporary books (particularly ones that take place in the summer) and chicklit type books during these months.
Contemporary Summer Read Recommendation:
The One with the Kiss Cam by Cindy Steel
A really fun summer contemporary book is The One with the Kiss Cam. Cindy Steel is another of my favorite authors for romance and this one is the prefect read for summer time.
It starts off with two strangers ending up on the kiss cam together–and spending the rest of the evening together. They go their separate ways and it’s as if their spur of the moment date never happened … until years later, when the main character Nora starts a new job and bumps into her “kiss cam date” in the elevator. Life didn’t exactly take her where she had wanted to go over the years, he’s dating someone else, and she’s a rule follower while he’s more of a throw the rule book out kind of guy. I loved the book from beginning to end, and especially the ending.
Chicklit Recommendation:
Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarity
If you could magically read one book for the first time again, what would it be? Mine would probably be Big Little Lies. I devoured it the first time I read it and I love rereading it (especially when I listened to it with my husband, that was really fun), but it is the kind of book that is best on the first read.
Big Little Lies follows three kindergarten moms as they become friends and live their lives, all leading up to … something. A murder? An accident? We’re not sure exactly what happened, but Liane Moriarity gives the reader just enough information to know something big happened and desperately want to know what happened, all while getting heavily invested in each character and hoping most of the theories you’re coming up with are wrong. I love the way Liane Moriarty writes characters and the way she handles tension. This was my first book by her and remains my favorite.
August
With summer wrapping up, August often feels like a turning point in the year, with the end of the year coming fast. For that reason, August is often a month in which I take a look at my reading goals and make significant progress in areas where I’m lacking. This is is especially true of any big books on my TBR, that I know I’ll need more time to get through, since September is my month for shorter reads and then it’s onto the holidays.
Big Book Recommendation:
The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson
If you are looking for a reading investment–whether that’s because you want to get your money’s worth out of a credit or you simply enjoy reading larger books sometimes–The Stormlight Archive series is a great pick.
It has a bit of a steep learning curve right at the beginning, but then once you get into the book, the characters are amazing. The ending of The Way of Kings is one of the best I’ve ever read (only surpassed, in my opinion, by the ending of the third book in the seires, Oathbringer). Despite its size, this book is one I’ve come back to and reread time and time again. This is also a great time to pick up the series, because it is going to have ten books in it, but the series’ arc is split in two and the first arc just finished up with the release of book 5.
September
Because I love to participate in 30 Books in 30 Days, a readathon where you do just that and read 30 books in September, this is a generally a month of short reads for me. For the readathon, short stories and novellas count, but I also love to read some actual novels that are quicker reads, especially ones on my TBR list. I’ll save short books all year for September.
Short Read Recommendation:
The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion
I love this series, and in my opinion, the farther you get into it, the better it gets (my personal favorite is book 8!). The first two books in the series are very quick reads–the audiobook of the first is a little over three hours and the audiobook of the second is four and a half hours. After that, they get longer (six to nine hour audiobooks).
I actually love that the first two are shorter–it allowed me to read them when I wasn’t as invested yet, and feel like I was making good progress on a new series. The first especially would have been harder for me to get through if it had been longer, but by book three, I was already invested and ready to read the books no matter their length. By book 8 (the last one released, though book 9 is expected to release this year), I was devouring it and wishing it was longer, despite it being the longest book yet (a twelve and a half hour audiobook).
Short Read Recommendation:
Agatha Christie plays
I love Agatha Christie and actually, a lot of her books are quicker, shorter reads. If you really want to get a quick read–the kind you can read in a day or one sitting–then her plays are the perfect pick. Because they are formatted as a screenplay, they are mostly dialogue. I think it usually takes me 1-2 hours at most to read through them.
My favorite plays by her are The Unexpected Guest, Mousetrap, and Spider’s Web. They are all quick reads but they still have characters that draw you into the mystery and twist endings that feel fun and satsifying, whether you guess them or not. Reading her plays are also a great way to get a taste of what her writing and stories are like before committing to reading her longer novels, something that can be daunting if you aren’t as used to the old fashioned language.
October
October is the start of all things spooky, but in a fun way. I’m not as into hardcore horror and definitely not gore, but I still like to get into the spirit of Halloween. In October, I love to read Mystery, Thriller, Horror Fantasy/Fantasy, and Witch or Magic Books (including Harry Potter).
Mystery Recommendation:
Murder at Mallowan Hall by Colleen Cambridge
Colleen Cambridge has become one of my favorite mystery authors over the last few years and my favorite series by her is Phyllida Bright.
Murder at Mallowan Hall follows Phyllida Bright, the fictional housekeeper to Agatha Christie. Phyllida is very efficient in all areas of her life and loves Christie’s books, especially Poirot. When a murder takes place at Mallowan Hall, Phyllida feels it is her duty to investigate. She uses Poirot as a role model as she balance her housekeeping duties with her attempts to catch a dangerous killer. The series blends the detective plot with a Downton Abbey-esque subplot really well, as well as a romance that I love and great mysteries.
Thriller Recommendation:
Mother-Daughter Murder Night by Nina Simon
I love thrillers, but I don’t love heavy language, sexual content, and gory violence. It can be hard to find thrillers that I love that aren’t too much for me, but this one hit the spot.
In Mother-Daughter Murder Night, it follows a grandmother with cancer, a mother, and her daughter. It’s described as Gilmore Girls but with murder, which is an apt description. I love the dynamics between the three generations and the way the relationships between all three of them grow and change throughout the book. The grandmother is such a fun character to read about and the mystery of the thriller is a compelling one.
Fantasy Recommendation:
Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson
I read first read Mistborn almost 15 years ago and it has remained my favorite fantasy book through all that time. Every time I reread the book, I just love it more.
Mistborn combines amazing characters with a really cool magic system, secrets in the world to uncover, and a heist feel (in the first book, the main group of characters are pulling a heist and in the rest of the series, they are dealing with the fallout of that heist). The first book is great on its own, but the ending to the series is the best part. I love the twist that is revealed at the end, as well as the way everything is wrapped up. This series is also great for Halloween time–it isn’t a gritty fantasy, but it also isn’t a lighthearted one and the feel fits into fall in the perfect way.
Magic Book Recommendation:
A Pinch of Magic by Michelle Harrison
If you are looking for a fun-filled book revolving around magic for Halloween, A Pinch of Magic is a great choice.
A Pinch of Magic is a middle grade fantasy book following three sisters who inherit a “pinch” of magic each, but also a live with a curse. In attempting to break the curse, they get themselves into a dangerous situation and have to use not only their little bit of magic, but their own wits and each other to get out of it.
The book is a fun middle grade that has strong family relationships, a cool magic system, and atmospheric world. It does a really good job of setting up an impossible problem and then solving that problem in a satisfying way.
November
November is that awkward time between Halloween and Christmas, at least for me. There’s Thanksgiving–a holiday I love–but there aren’t really ‘Thanksgiving books’. What tends to happen for me is the first half of November ends up being a continuation of October-ish reads and the second half of November leads up to December. And once Thanksgiving is over, I dive into my Christmas books!
November Recommendation:
The Lost Man by Jane Harper
Jane Harper is one of my favorite authors, though it suprised me how much I enjoyed her books when I first started reading them. She writes slower paced, character driven thrillers set in Australia and I devour her books each time I pick one up.
The Lost Man is a stand alone following a family living on a cattle property in outback Queensland. The land is harsh and unforgiving. The three brothers are grown with their own families and lives when one of them is found dead on the land. If he didn’t lose hope and leave himself there to die, there are few suspects that could be responsible. The book combines mystery, family drama, survival in a harsh land, suspense, and a dash of romance. I was gripped throughout the entire story and couldn’t stop thinking about it when I finished reading it. It is my favorite of Jane Harper’s books so far.
November Recommendation:
The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion by Beth Brower
I know I already recommended this series, but that just goes to show how much I love it. There’s something about the atmosphere of this series that feels perfect for November.
The series has festivals and celebrations, a Christmas (I think Christmas happens in the fifth book), grief, friendships, and a love of reading and books. Whether you are reading this in November as a lead up to Christmas or just to get through that cold but not yet festive time of year, it is perfect. I also feel the themes explored throughout the book are very appropriate for Thanksgiving and the time of year that focuses on being grateful for the relationships and blessings in our life.
December
December is my most seasonal read-heavy month of the year as I mostly focus on Christmas books leading up to the holiday. My favorite thing is sitting in front of the tree while reading whatever Christmas book I’m in the middle of. I don’t focus on reading goals and often don’t read as much because of how busy the season is. Once Christmas is over, I finish up any last minute books for my reading goals and I also love to finish off the year with a romance book or two.
Christmas Book Recommendation:
The Complete Christmas Books by Lucy Maud Montgomery
I read this story collection last year and with one exception (The Red Room), I was delighted with every single one! I loved how wholesome and service oriented each story was, it really brought the spirit of Christmas into my home as I read them.
They are broken up into two sections–Christmas stories and New Year’s stories. The stories in both sections have a similar feel to them, of uplifting each other, sacrificing for others, and focusing on those around us rather than ourselves. I read the Christmas ones leading up to Christmas and then read the New Year’s ones between the two holidays and really enjoyed both. I am planning on reading most of the stories with my kids next year during the holiday season.
Christmas Book Recommendation:
Christmas Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella
I like Sophie Kinsella, but I actually didn’t love Confessions of a Shopaholic as much as other people do (I preferred the movie). I was pleasantly surprised when I ended up loving the Christmas sequel to the novel.
In the book, Becky adores Christmas. But this year, she’s in charge of hosting and things are not going well. It was so fun to read all about her antics and the problems she got herself into along the way, but also her determination to get herself out again. There was a cute Christmas message and the ending was so heart warming, it brought me to tears. It was a delightful read that got me right into the holiday mood.
Romance Recommendation:
The Key to my Heart by Lia Louis
Lia Louis is a new author to me and I want to read more by her after this book. The Key to my Heart deals with grief, friendship, and romance in the best way.
Natalie’s husband passed away two years ago, but she’s struggling to move on with her life. Then someone mysteriously starts leaving sheet music of her husband’s favorite songs for her. As she tries to solve the mystery of who could be leaving the sheet music, she meets new friends and begins to wonder if maybe she could find new love for herself again after all.
The book deals with grief in a very touching way and I loved the way the book handled all the different relationships, from old friendships to new friendships to the romance. The writing actually reminded me of Sophie Kinsella, but with a more serious tone. I loved the book and can’t wait to try more from this author.
Those are the different books I tend to read throughout the year–some months more seasonal, others less so. I have found a lot of joy in reading more seasonally as I’ve gotten older! Do you read seasonally? What types of books do you like to read at different times of the years? I’d love to hear from you!
