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Today I thought I would share The Top 5 Christmas books that you should read this holiday season to your children.

I have to send out a huge thank you to the librarian at my son’s school for this list. This is actually her 5 favorite books.

A moving retelling of the Christmas story as seen through the eyes of one little cat “Everything was silent. It was as if all the animals held their breath. We looked at the baby, and the baby looked at us.” A long time ago in a faraway land, a cat lived in a barn. He had to share it with the other animals: cows and goats, chickens and . . . mice! But that was all right; he was a good mouser. Then one wintry night the door flew open and in came a man and a woman to take shelter from the snow. Soon the cat heard the cry of a new baby. Visitors came to kneel before the family. In the crowded barn, every face was turned to the tiny infant. Through the eyes of one small cat, award-winning author/illustrator Michael Foreman retells the wondrous story of the first Christmas.

This is the first time I have heard of this book and it was a beautiful retelling of the Christmas story. The story is told in the point of view of the barn cat. I think kids will truly appreciate the story so they know how important animals are in this. The illustrations are very pretty.

From two extraordinary talents, a beautifully crafted picture book for the Christmas season. The three wise men, or the three kings, are familiar figures in the Christmas tradition. Newbery medalist Linda Sue Park has taken the brief biblical references to the three as the starting point for a new story. In it we meet a boy who is learning his father’s trade; a man who gathers resin from certain trees; a merchant in the marketplace; and three strangers in brightly colored robes who are shopping for a gift for a baby. Illustrated by Bagram Ibatoulline with exquisite paintings, this simple, moving tale of ordinary people involved in an extraordinary event brings new resonance to the well-known gift list of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Includes an author’s note.

This is another new book for me but one I happy that the librarian shared with me. The illustrations are beautiful. At one point they looked like real pictures. The story begins with a boy going out with his father who collects and sells resin myrrh (which is referred to as tears) for a living. If you remember the myrrh is the third gift given. So this story is about that third gift.

A kindhearted king plays a bigger role in the Nativity than he realizes in this ode to unsung heroes everywhere. Once upon a time, three kings came out of a distant land and followed a star across the desert. You may know them as the Wise Men, or perhaps the magi-bearers of gold, frankincense, and myrrh for a newborn child. What few know is that another king set out on the long and difficult journey, a king named Mazzel who, unlike the well-sung trio, arrived too late and empty-handed. First there was the frightened nomad girl who needed rescuing from a sandstorm, then the lost merchant caravan in need of a guide, and more crises along the route. What was Mazzel to do? Based on the short story “The Other Wise Man” by Henry Van Dyke, this enchanting fable from artist Ted Sieger is a heartening, universal tale that reminds us all of the meaning of Christmas.

I think this had to be one of our favorites out of the five books.

Wombat loves everything about Christmas, but he especially loves the Nativity play. He’s wanted to be in it for as long as he can remember. At last, he’s old enough to try out. But at the auditions, the first part goes to someone else. So does the next. And the next…. Will there be a part left for Wombat? Sure to find a place alongside the most beloved classics of the holiday season, this tender Christmas story will have readers applauding for Wombat from the moment they meet him.

This is such a cute story that I am sure kids will love. I feel in love with Wombat and was so happy that even though he was to big or to small from some parts he got the best one of all.

A hilarious cast of distinctively Canadian characters populate these Twelve Days of Christmas! Christmas, as only Canadians can celebrate! Where else do Mounties frolic, squirrels enjoy a fine game of curling, and hockey players mark the season as lords-a-leaping? This hilarious, tongue-in-cheek re-setting of the popular Christmas carol is the perfect gift for Canadians new and old, young and young-at-heart.

I saw this book last year in the school library and instantly feel in love with it. This is one of my favorite Christmas books. This is the Canadian spin on the 12 Days of Christmas. Gotta love that. Its filled with all kinds of Canadian magic and all things Canadian such as the mounties, the Stanley cup, the Toronto Maple Leafs (even though I am not a fan) and so many more. This one is on my definite list of books you should purchase.

What are some of your favorite picture books to read this holiday season?

I don’t think I have ever done a birthday post on my blog and not sure why. But anyways, its Happy Birthday to me today.

This birthday is super special and no I’m not pregnant or turning 50 (although I will be there soon enough) because I will tell you in a bit why its special.

Any ideas why its so special? The hint is in the above photo. Any ideas yet?

I have been given the go a head and I will be going to New York City in May 2013. I was surprised with this cute little Statue of Liberty card and coin purse of various New York City landmarks.

When I had mentioned it earlier in the fall, the answer was no because my mother-in-law wants us to go to Hungary (Budapest) in the summer of 2013 (she wants us to go over before its too late, health wise) and we have been scoping out flights and man its expensive to fly to Hungary with two adults and one child. Thankfully we just have to pay for our plane tickets and a rental car since we would be staying at my mother-in-laws house. So I left it at that until we got to talking about it again and I was asked how much would it cost to go again and was told well we will see how the budget works out.

This will probably be my last time going to NYC and BEA since we are planning a disney trip and perhaps a southern state trip in 2015/2016.

I am super excited to be going again and I have to say I think I like that it will be towards the end of the week instead of in the middle so that I can get more sight seeing in.

Do you have plans on going again in May? I know its early but its nice to ask just the same.

I am so happy to be able to take part once again in the Virtual Advent Tour. Be sure to check out the  Virtual Advent Tour Blog to see daily posts and the stops on the tour.
(I have to apologize for this going up late but for some reason this didn’t post on the original date the 4th and I have been busy)

I was trying to figure out what I could share with you guys and I thought I would talk about one of our favorite traditions to do each and every year and that is opening Advent calendars. What better way to countdown till Christmas. Plus its nice to get a little goodies each day.

This year we have added to our Advent calendar pile. Every year Michael gets

He has been doing this advent calendar for a few years now and he loves this. What kid wouldn’t love being able to open this and have a new Lego piece every day? Granted the cover leaves nothing to the imagination once you get older because you realize everything they are showing on the picture is something you will get to open throughout the month.

This year this is new to me and I only heard about it last year and missed out on it completely. So this year my plan was to stalk David’s Tea on facebook and as soon as they announced this I was going to run and buy it and that is exactly what I did. Its David’s Tea 24 Days of Tea. How neat is this idea? Every day you get to sample a new kind of tea. I love this idea and its a great way to sample a tea you might not normally try.

This is definitely something I would make sure to have again next year. I am enjoying the selection so far.

Today is one of those days that I am super thrilled to be part of a cover reveal for a book.

When I actually got the email asking me to take part I think I did a little scream (okay it was something like this OMG OMG OMG how did I not know about this?)

I am super thrilled to be able to share this with you:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Today officially starts the countdown to Christmas. Are you ready?

We started the day with the opening of our advent calendars. Its also so much fun because you never know what you are going to get inside them.

For the past several years Michael gets his favorite Advent calendar every year.

His Advent calendar in case you didn’t know is the Lego City. He loves being able to open a new door each day to find out what hidden treasure is inside. Today’s toy is this little mini figure.

This year I added something new to my Advent calendar along with my Lindt Advent calendar. Its the David’s tea 24 days of tea. I missed out on this last yeat so when I heard they were out I quickly ran to my local David’s tea to pick it up.

Just like the chocolates every day you get to sample a different kind of tea and I believe in each of the tin cups there is enough for at least 3-4 cups. (I could be mistaken but there is quite a bit in the tin.)

Yo ho ho-conut Hot buttered rum is so delicious we want it all day long. Unfortunately, most employers frown on workplace drunkenness, so we came up with this rich and creamy alternative. Toasted coconut and vanilla beans mingle with black tea in a caramelized caress of flavours. Decadent hot or iced, it also blends perfectly with dark rum, brown sugar and a dash of milk – so go ahead and indulge your inner pirate, off the clock. (MK Kosher)

I really enjoyed this tea and the flavor of it. Normally I don’t drink alot of herbal teas because I have to have my milk and sugar in it so its nice to step outside my comfort zone and try something different. The only thing I did when I made it was I put a little bit of sugar in it and one ice cube to cool it down a bit.

I recieved this glass cup from a friend and I am so happy that I am able to use it finally. I love that there is a little strainer on the cup to hold back the leaves so you can enjoy it. I am thrilled that there is enough tea to have a second or third cup after the holidays.

I also love that you can do other things with this tea like they said above in the description. I will definetly try the brown sugar with some milk.

Now its time to share with you the mocktail I made tonight. You might remember yesterday I told you about a lady I know from a Facebook group I am a part of had written this book Mocktails & More.

When I heard about it I quickly bought an ecopy of it and I spent quite a bit of time going through it trying to figure out what I was going to make first.

I was thinking do I just follow the recipes in order or should I “mix it” up? I figured that I would “mix it up” only because I told Julie that I was going to do this as a countdown to Christmas. So as a surprise to her she won’t know what mocktail I am going to make until the day.

There are so many great recipes to choose from so I went with the ones I actually had the stuff in the house for because I don’t do groceries until Monday and I planned the week out and will buy the items I need for those then.

So today’s mocktail is Eggnog. It was super easy and I had all the ingredients on hand. The only thing I did was cut the recipe in half because no one here likes eggnog and I wasn’t sure if it would keep in the fridge for long.