Tag Archives: Christmas

Countdown Calender – Adventkalender

I wanted to share this special post written by an au pair in my cluster a few years ago. If you want to make an Advent calendar for your host child(ren) you should probably get started now.

A post by special guest blogger, Alex from Austria:

Countdown calender – Adventkalender

advent calendar

The Christmas countdown starts on December 1! :)
To make it sweeter, funnier and not that long for kids, we in Austria (guess so in Germany too) have an “Adventkalender.”  That is a calender with 24 little gifts (mostly sweets) and you can open one number every day till the 24th of December!

I always love that and my mom still buys one for me, so I want to share that tradition with my hostchild!

The easiest way is to go to the shop and buy a ready made one with small little chocolate treats, but of course it is more fun for the kids to get a homemade one! I did that this year and it was fun for me too!

  • I bought some sweets and small presents like a pen, warm socks, a cd or a toy (–> go to dollar tree, you can find cute stuff there and just for $1 ) and wrapped them into paper.
  • Then write the 24 numbers on the little gifts.
  • You can also make a number 25, but we in Austria open our presents on the 24th.
  • I pinned my packages on a big carton that we can hang the calender on the wall and decorated it!

I made a Christmas tree with all the packages under it and some stars, but you can make something else too. Maybe a snowman and the gifts all look like snowflakes or what about the crib with mary and the baby and the stars are the gifts.. Whatever you want! – be creative and make an awesome Adventkalender! :)

It is very easy and it does not take very long and I guess it is a really nice gift for my little girl!

Try it too, I bet the kids love it :)
Have fun and Frohe Weihnachten (Merry Christmas)
Alex 🙂

Holiday Lights Displays in the Maryland/DC Area

train

Here is a list from About.com of local places with beautiful Christmas light displays:

ZooLights at the National Zoo
Rock Creek Park. Washington, DC. November 23-December 9, Friday, Saturday and Sunday only. Open nightly December 14–January 1 (except Dec. 24, 25 and 31). The National Zoo presents a seasonal display of thousands of sparkling animated lights, winter-themed crafts, ice sculpting demonstrations, choral groups, and storytellers. See Photos of ZooLights

Festival of Lights at the Mormon Temple
9900 Stoneybrook Dr., Kensington, Maryland. (301) 587-0144. November 30, 2012 – January 1, 2013. Dusk to 10 p.m. nightly. Nativity scene is open each evening from 6 to 9 p.m. Live musical performances begin at 7 and 8 p.m. See Photos of the Mormon Temple Festival of Lights

Winter Festival of Lights at Watkins Regional Park
301 Watkins Park Drive, Upper Marlboro, Maryland. Friday, November 23, 2012 through Tuesday, January 1, 2013. HOURS: 5-9:30 p.m. daily. $5 per car;  $10 for multi-visit passes for cars and vans (good for three visits). The festival is FREE on December 25. You may bring canned food items to donate to local food banks for the holidays. Winter Festival of Lights is Prince George’s County, Maryland’s spectacular drive-through Christmas light display featuring more than a million twinkling lights. See Photos of Winter Festival of Lights at Watkins Regional Park

Symphony of Lights in Columbia
Symphony Woods, Merriweather Post Pavilion, Columbia, Maryland. (410) 740-7840. November 19, 2012 – January 6, 2013. Hours: Open 7 days a week from 6-10 p.m., including holidays except CLOSED December 31st for the Midnight at 7 event. $20 per car. Symphony of Lights is a spectacular drive-through display of more than 75 animated and stationary holiday lights. All proceeds from the Symphony of Lights benefit the services of Howard County General Hospital. See Photos of the Columbia Symphony of Lights

Lights on the Bay at Sandy Point State Park
Route 50, Annapolis, Maryland. (410) 481-3161. November 19, 2012 through January 1, 2013, 5-10 p.m., 5-10 p.m. An annual scenic drive through holiday lights show sponsored by the Anne Arundel Medical Center. Drive along the shore of the Chesapeake Bay and see more than 60 animated and stationary displays illuminating the roadway. $14 per car. See Photos of Lights on the Bay

Celebrate the Holidays Safely

I hope you all have a wonderful time celebrating the holidays.  I just want to remind you to please make good safe decisions.

New-Year-Champagne-Greetings

Don’t drink and drive.

  • Take public transportation -metro, bus or a cab.
  • Metro and buses will run until 2 am on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day. View the holiday schedule HERE.
  • One friend can be the designated driver (and not drink alcohol, so she can drive everyone home safely.)
  • Sober Ride Home – Take this number with you in case you find yourself without a safe ride home. 1-800-200-TAXI
2011 Holiday Sober Ride program will be offered nightly from 10:00 pm to 6:00 am beginning Friday, December 16, 2011 and running until January 1, 2012. To receive a free cab ride home (up to a $30.00 fare), please call 800-200-8294 (TAXI) or #8294 (TAXI) on your AT&T wireless phone.    You must be 21 or older to use the SoberRide service.
All calls must originate in Montgomery and Prince George’s Counties in Maryland; the Cities of Rockville, Bowie, College Park, Gaithersburg, Greenbelt and Takoma Park in Maryland; the District of Columbia; Arlington, Fairfax, Prince William and Eastern Loudoun Counties in Virginia; and the Cities of Alexandria, Falls Church, Fairfax, Manassas and Manassas Park in Virginia.

The offer is good for fares up to $30. The service is available through the SoberRide phone number: 800-200-TAXI. You cannot call a taxi company directly to get the free ride.

Don’t Drink Alcohol if You are Under 21 – It is against the law and if you are caught, you will have to purchase your own ticket and return home.

If You are Over 21, Drink Alcohol Wisely – Know your limits and don’t drink to the point of becoming ill.

Keep Your Eyes on Your Drinks – Don’t let someone you don’t know get a drink from the bar for you.  When you order a drink take it straight from the bartender and keep it with you.  If you leave your glass sitting where you can’t see it, someone can put a drug in your drink.  If you

Protecting Your Personal Health & Safety – It is safest to be together with friends.  Be careful not to put yourself in dangerous situations with people you don’t know.  Consider carefully what information you give to people you have just met.

See Waterskiing Santa on Christmas Eve

Tired of shopping mall Santas? Looking for a unique family holiday experience?
On the banks of the Potomac River, the 26th Anniversary of this exciting, one of a kind Washington, D.C. tradition…

Waterskiing Santa

December 24, 1 pm Sharp
The show will go on in rain, snow or shine

National Harbor
100 American Way, National Harbor
http://www.waterskiingsanta.com/

Au Pairs Working as Santa's Helpers

P1180121Rockledge Elementary had their Annual Holiday Shop on Friday, 12/9.  Au Pair in America sponsored the arts & crafts activities: providing the craft supplies as well as some volunteers to assist the children.  Three au pair volunteered: Alex from Austria, Šárka from the Czech Republic and Sabrina from Germany. The students kept us busy! One of the volunteers, Šárka said,  “I´m glad I was there, it was a nice time with the kids.”

You can see more pictures from the Holiday Shop here in the article on the Bowie Patch.


Christmas is Tomorrow

We have host families from a wide variety of backgrounds and faiths.  Some celebrate Christmas, some Chanukkah, some Kwanzaa and some celebrate more than one of those or none of the above.

If your host family celebrates Christmas and you don’t, I would encourage you to take part and experience the customs of another religion.  This can be a great opportunity for culture sharing.  The same is true, if you are a host family and your au pair celebrates a different holiday than you.

Here is a simple explanation from History.com:

Christmas is both a sacred religious holiday and a worldwide cultural and commercial phenomenon. For two millennia, people around the world have been observing it with traditions and practices that are both religious and secular in nature. Christians celebrate Christmas Day as the anniversary of the birth of Jesus of Nazareth, a spiritual leader whose teachings form the basis of their religion. Popular customs include exchanging gifts, decorating Christmas trees, attending church, sharing meals with family and friends and, of course, waiting for Santa Claus to arrive. December 25–Christmas Day–has been a federal holiday in the United States since 1870.

Here is a list from About.com of local places with beautiful Christmas light displays:

ZooLights at the National Zoo
Rock Creek Park. Washington, DC. December 4, 2009 – January 2, 2010, 6 to 8:30 p.m.(Closed December 24, 25 and 31). The National Zoo presents a seasonal display of thousands of sparkling animated lights, winter-themed crafts, ice sculpting demonstrations, choral groups, and storytellers. See Photos of ZooLights

Festival of Lights at the Mormon Temple
9900 Stoneybrook Dr., Kensington, Maryland. (301) 587-0144. December 4, 2009 – January 1, 2010. Dusk to 10 p.m. nightly. View more than 450,000 lights and a live outdoor Nativity scene each evening from 6 to 9 p.m. Live musical performances begin at 7 and 8 p.m. See Photos of the Mormon Temple Festival of Lights

Winter Festival of Lights at Watkins Regional Park
301 Watkins Park Drive, Upper Marlboro, Maryland. November 27, 2009 – January 3, 2010. HOURS: 5-9:30 p.m. daily. $5 per car; $15 for mini-buses and limos; $25 for buses; $10 for multi-visit passes for cars and vans (good for three visits). The festival is FREE on December 25. You may bring canned food items to donate to local food banks for the holidays. Winter Festival of Lights is Prince George’s County, Maryland’s spectacular drive-through Christmas light display featuring more than a million twinkling lights. See Photos of Winter Festival of Lights at Watkins Regional Park

Garden of Lights at Brookside Gardens
1800 Glenallen Avenue, Wheaton, Maryland. November 27, 2009 through January 3, 2010. (Closed December 24 and 25) HOURS: 5:30 to 9:00 p.m., last car admitted 8:30 p.m. $20 per car Fri-Sun, $15 Mon-Thurs. Pedestrians cannot be admitted due to safety regulations. (Visitors must drive to the entrance gate, paying at the gate, drive into the parking lot, park their car and walk through the light show display. Garden of Lights Hotline: (301) 962-1453. This illuminated outdoor winter garden walk includes a whimsical monster, an enchanting persimmon tree, a walk through kaleidoscope caterpillar, an animated flying cardinal, and swimming geese over sparkling water. See Photos of Garden of Lights at Brookside Gardens

Symphony of Lights in Columbia
Symphony Woods, Merriweather Post Pavilion, Columbia, Maryland. (410) 740-7840. November 23, 2009 through January 3, 2010. Hours: Every night, including holidays 6-10 p.m. $20 per car. Symphony of Lights is a spectacular drive-through display of more than 75 animated and stationary holiday lights. All proceeds from the Symphony of Lights benefit the services of Howard County General Hospital. See Photos of the Columbia Symphony of Lights

Lights on the Bay at Sandy Point State Park
Route 50, Annapolis, Maryland. (410) 481-3161. November 21, 2009 to January 3, 2010, 5-10 p.m. An annual scenic drive through holiday lights show sponsored by the Anne Arundel Medical Center. Drive along the shore of the Chesapeake Bay and see more than 60 animated and stationary displays illuminating the roadway. $12 per car. See Photos of Lights on the Bay

Holiday Cluster Meeting Photo Montage

Here is a montage created with all the photos my wonderful au pairs sent me.  I left my camera in our suite at the hotel when we visited ICE, so I didn’t have any pictures.  My au pairs helped me out and sent me a whole lot of nice pictures to post here.  Enjoy!

You can find most of these photos on our Cluster Photobucket Album.

Please vote in our Holiday Cluster Meeting Photo Contest.