There are so many great, fun things to do with the kids during the holidays. If I were a kid I would want to live in the Darwin house because most of these ideas are from Stacy. Please leave your ideas in the comments section. Merry Christmas!

So here is the top ten countdown:

10. Call Santa 1-800-972-6242

9. Gather with the kids friends to make holiday treats

8. Participate in all of the local celebrations (if you are in our area here are some suggestions: http://www.celebratechristmas.us/, http://www.dallasarboretum.org/Events/Holiday_at_the_Arboretum.htm, and http://texaslesstraveled.com/polarexpress.htm)

7. Adopt a family in need

6. Make hot chocolate and drive around to look at Christmas lights while listening to christmas CD's

5. Take the kids around caroling and delivering gifts in the neighborhood

4. Deliver gifts to a retirement home

3. Study about Christmas traditions around the world http://www.santas.net/aroundtheworld.htm

2. Elf Magic http://www.elf-magic.com/about.htm This is really great! You can order your elf or buy one of your own and these little guys create havic while the little ones sleep. They are deliverd from the North Pole to sit under your tree in the day to watch over the kids so that he can report to Santa about behavior. At night they come to life (by sprinkling elf dust) and the next morning your kids get to find the fun things that happened while they were sleeping. Some examples of the havic are; he gets tangled in the lights on the tree, he makes a snow angel on the kitchen counter (in flour), he falls asleep in the freezer because he was missing home, he plays in the bathroom and got wrapped up in toilet paper, and anything else you can imagine. On Christmas Eve, you leave him out for Santa to take home till next year.

1. This is my favorite new tradition The Jesse Tree - It has been adapted a bit at our house http://www.crivoice.org/jesse.html Call me if you are interested. There is too much good stuff to write it all.

Have fun celebrating!

So that's all from this day in the life of mommysmart!