Merry & Bright: What to Expect at our Christmas Meeting!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas at MOPS!  Our next meeting is a BIG one, so let's jump right in!

Thank Yous for Moppettes Workers

We'd love to encourage everyone to bring a little thank you rememberance for your child's Moppettes teachers.  It doesn't have to be big!  Just a note would be appreciated.  To make it a little easier, we've got a list of our Moppettes workers names by room:

• Dolphins: Tammi and Eli
• Kangaroos: Rebecca, Zach and Charlie
• Lady Bugs: Danielle, Rosalie, Dana
• Caterpillars: Joanna, Ellen
• Turtles: Dorianne, Alejandra, Loni
• Bunnies: Holly, DeAnna, Anna

Gingerbread House Competition

Our annual gingerbread house competition is this meeting! Steering will provide the gingerbread house kits, but you need to bring all the extra candy, frosting, and decorations you'll need to make your house the most amazing!

Watch for an email from your DGL to coordinate what you should bring. FCC staff members will be our "celebrity" judges—and, oh yes! There will be prizes!

What to Expect:

It's going to be a BUSY meeting!  We'll be doing a fun craft, the mommy and kiddo book exchange (see below!) and the gingerbread house competition! Some moms like to bring gifts for everyone at their table, but it's certainly not required.  Be sure to check out the Don't Forget list below to make sure you're ready for the FUN!

Don't Forget:

• Bring one grown-up book and one kid book (gently used is fine!) for our book exchange.
• Bring your supplies for the gingerbread house.
• Bring a little thank you note for your Moppetts workers.
• Food tables for this week are White, Blue, and Green.

Photo Credit: Wendy Copley via Compfight cc

Successful Operation!

Ladies, I can't tell you how much it warmed my heart to see all those Operation Christmas Child boxes lined up after our meeting today!  I'm sure Kendra will have an official count, but I counted 23 boxes after our meeting.

That's 23 little souls who will know someone loves them this Christmas.  (I am getting all verklempt just thinking about it!)

And, not to brag or anything, but SEVEN of those boxes came from the amazing ladies at the orange table! We just had too much love to contain in two boxes.  ;)  

ALSO!  You can click here to download the amazing resources from Jennifer, our amazing Frugal Family Fun speaker today! Leave me a comment if you have any troubles downloading.

Have a happy Thanksgiving!  And we'll see you in December.

Frugal Family Fun at our Nov. 12 Meeting!

I don't know about you, but I am ALWAYS looking for fun, inexpensive things to do with my family—especially with the holidays coming up and expecting extended family in town!

At our next meeting, our speaker will be giving us tons of ideas for frugal family fun in and around Arvada—and I hear she brings handouts with the full list! :)

What to Expect:

In addition to our speaker, we'll be putting together our Operation Christmas Child boxes—look for an email from your DGL this week about what to bring!  We'll also be talking about our super fun Christmas party meeting, with a gingerbread house competition and a book exchange! You don't want to miss it.

Don't Forget:

• Session dues are due this week, so bring your checkbook.
• Bring your contributions for your table's Operation Christmas Child box.
• Our food tables this week are pink, yellow, and purple.

 Photo Credit: kenteegardin via Compfight cc

Christmas Craft Ideas

Looking for something to keep the kids occupied in this last week before Christmas? Here are some fun Christmas craft ideas for preschool or early elementary children.

Each picture is clickable and will take you to the original website or blog for more information or instructions on how to complete the craft.

Thumb Print Christmas Lights 

Source: meetthedubiens.blogspot.com via Amber on Pinterest

Christmas Tree

Source: meetthedubiens.com via Amber on Pinterest

Handprint Rudolph

Source: meetthedubiens.com via Amber on Pinterest

Christmas Tree Ornament

Source: ahomeschooljourney.blogspot.com via Amber on Pinterest

Snowglobe

Source: whattheteacherwants.blogspot.com via Amber on Pinterest

Candy Cane Reindeer

Source: chadamberhiggins.blogspot.com via Amber on Pinterest

Homemade Handprint Ornaments

Source: onceamonthmom.com via Amber on Pinterest

Snowflake Ornament

Source: playathomemom3.blogspot.com via Amber on Pinterest

Handprint Tree

Source: ucreatewithkids.blogspot.com via Amber on Pinterest

I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas. I look forward to seeing you at our next MOPS meeting in January!

November 8th MOPS Meeting

Our next MOPS meeting is Tuesday, November 8th.

We have a wonderful speaker lined up for you - Janna Widdifield. Janna has spoken with our group in previous years and she always has great tips on how to make holidays fun and meaningful for your children. You won't want to miss this!

If you want copies of some of the ideas Janna will be sharing with us, you can print the documents below:

• Advent Countdown
• The Three Gifts
• Favorite Christmas Books

Janna's blog is Mustard Seeds. If you visit, be prepared to be inspired!

After Janna is done sharing, we will be packing our boxes together for Operation Christmas Child.

Christmas Website

I stumbled upon Merry-Christmas.com today and thought that the rest of you might find it useful.

Have you run out of gift tags? Print your own.

Are you looking for Christmas tradition ideas? There are 31 to read about.

Do you want to listen to Christmas music or read the lyrics? Listen to mp3's.

Are the kids getting bored and need something to do? They can email Santa or print a coloring page.

If you answered "yes" to any of these questions, take a look at Merry-Christmas.com.

Talented/Skilled Moms

[caption id="attachment_285" align="alignright" width="160" caption="courtesy of Megan Kreitzberg"][/caption]

It is now the middle of November and most of us have begun our Christmas shopping and preparations. Our MOPS group has some very talented moms with some very special skills. For example, you may knit/crochet, scrapbook, sew designer baby clothes/accessories, design cards such as announcements, invitations, holiday cards, sew mother/daughter or son aprons, make jewelry, etc. The list could go on and on. Therefore, for the benefit of our MOPS moms, please comment and share your talent/skill with the rest of us.

**Only FCC MOPS moms' comments will be approved.**