hello my friends

as i did the last 2 years, my christmas present for you will be an advent calendar, full of surprises.i know it's a bit late, but i wasn't home and i had a limited access to internet.
but you will receive all the first 10 presents as well as the rest, that's a promise. give me only this weekend

so, let's start.
the gift for today: some ideas for handmade ornaments. with imagination and christmas spirit you can make some wonderful thins for decorating your home or even give as presents to your dear ones.
http://www.allfreecrafts.com/christmas/nutty-critters.shtml
this is my choice, but you can find more, just search on this website

ho-ho-ho

i wish a was little handy so i can do fun things in the house but i am not but i will go buy some

i have a wonderful gift for today. it's a story written in 1902 by frank baum, the author of the wizard of oz, about santa claus, with fairies, nymphs, elves and demons:
the life and adventures of santa claus.
illustrations by mary cowles clark
http://digital.lib.umn.edu/clr-baum/assets/baulife.htm


from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Life_and_Adventures_of_Santa_Claus
i really hope you will enjoy it. i just read it a few days ago and it got me in the christmas spirit right away

Thanks for that lovely book Elena - you spoil us every Advent!

net problems….i’m really sorry, i’ll do my best for you to receive all your advent gifts
i would like to share with you one episode of one of my favourite tv series, kommissar rex, in which the action takes place on christmas time. - Ein Engel auf vier Pfoten (An Angel on four Paws); unfortunately, i found it only in italian. but i hope you will still enjoy it
some bad guys want to kidnap the son of a wealthy family, but rex, as always, solves the case
I part
http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=C90EED307BD7AB36
II part
http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=9874C33D346DCB9A

from http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/513399H0V9L._SL500_AA280_.jpg

what about a christmas quiz?
try this one http://www.riversongs.com/christmas/quiz.html and tell us how many good answers you had

this is one of my favourite christmas songs:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JxJ7xOb4Bwg&feature=PlayList&p=5AA06726C756B688&index=1
emmanuel - blackmore's night

oh come oh come emmanuel
and ransome captive israel
who mourns in lonely exile here...
until the face of god appears
rejoice rejoice emmanuel
will come to thee, oh israel...

oh come thou day spring, come and cheer..
thy spirits by thine advent here
and drive away the shades of night
and pierce the clouds and bring us light
rejoice, rejoice emmanuel
will come to thee, oh israel...
lyrics from www.blackmoresnight.com/index2.htm

christmas is near and we want to make all our friends happy, even just by sending them some ecards....well, here you can find an advent calendar with ecards

http://www.alighthouse.com/25days.htm

enjoy

Elena, it's so nice of you that you're making this advent calendar for us, thank you very much!!!

some games to feel the christmas fun
http://akidsheart.com/holidays/christms/chmahjong01.html


from http://3pts.files.wordpress.com/2008/12/christmas-eve.jpg

i hope you've read frank baum's book, because another gift for you is....the life and adventures of santa claus - the cartoons
http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=DB09412F8B1355DF

have fun watching it
from http://g1b2i3.files.wordpress.com/2008/12/christmas-santa-claus-2.jpg

i just saw it's a problem with the videos...but you can find them here:
http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=96B15A88FE348649&search_query=the+life+and+adventures+of+santa+claus#

some christmas riddles...do you know the answers?

1. What did the Gingerbread Man put on his bed?

2. What is Frosty the Snowman's favorite breakfast cereal?

3. Why did Santa have three gardens?

4. What do you have in December that you don't have in any other month?

5. Spell "hard water" with three letters?

6. What two letters are used by the elves to describe Santa's bag the day after Christmas?

7. Which two letters describe a slippery sidewalk?

8. What do elves learn in school?

9. What do you call a snowman on roller blades?

10. What do you get when you cross an archer with a gift-wrapper?

11. What's the most popular wine at Christmas?

12. Why is it so cold on Christmas?

13. What do you get when you mix a snowman with a vampire?

i'll put the answers and the source for the riddles in a few days

now let's see how gifted are you....

http://akidsheart.com/holidays/christms/bellschrstms.html


from http://g1b2i3.files.wordpress.com/2008/12/20030414132318.gif?w=200&h=144

my favourite christmas story of all times is dickens' a christmas carol. have you seen the 1935 movie?
if not, you can watch it here:

just give one hour and a half from your time to be haunted by the christmas spirits

how can we bring the christmas spirit to our life when we are in front of our computer working? nothing more simple than a christmas screensaver...
you can find your own right here:
http://www.christmasscreensavers.net

from http://g1b2i3.files.wordpress.com/2008/12/santa-claus-coming1.jpg?w=470&h=352