The fifteenth day brought a little Christmas party for a famed Minnesotan cartoonist on this 50th anniversary of his most famous work!
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Who had some ties to my family
(Villella is my maiden name) |
But first, Marshall had to go to school. When Brad dropped him off at his classroom his teacher had a very special surprise for him! Last Saturday we went to Marshall's school festival and I very briefly mentioned some of the things there and said there was a raffle. Each child filled out a little card with their name and phone number on it and then could choose a specific bag for one of five prizes. Marshall chose to put his card in for a paw patrol play tent and he said that Violet wanted her card in for a Lego set. We assumed neither child won since we never received a phone call- but to our surprise Marshall won and his teacher presented him with his very special prize upon arriving at school today. Paw Patrol is his absolute favorite- it even has a character that shares the name Marshall!
The teacher sent the prize home with Brad so Mads wouldn't be distracted during class. But in 'super dad' fashion, Brad set it up right away so that it was ready and waiting for Marshall to get home.
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| Marshall's awesome prize! |
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He was so excited to take a picture with the box- he didn't realize that the tent was
already set up in his room |
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| Surprise!! Paw Patrol is always about doing good deeds and helping those in need- things we try to instill in Marshall. Now he has his very own lookout tower to watch out for good deeds to be done. |
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| Looking out for trouble with his special scope |
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| He has a few friends in there- Dingmans stick together! |
The boys also had to drop off the cookies that we made for the fire department and police department. Marshall was so excited to drop off his handy work!
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| He was so proud to drop off the goodies |
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| The fire department even let him check out the trucks |
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| What kid doesn't love to play heroes and with lights? |
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| "Driving" |
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| He even got his own little fireman's hat |
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| Marshall to the rescue! |
After all the unexpected fun of his prize and getting to play in fire trucks, it was time for our Peanuts party! Charles Schulz, one of the most famous Minnesotans, created Snoopy and the gang 50 years ago. Being back in Minnesota and it being an anniversary year, it only seemed appropriate to have a Charlie Brown Christmas party.
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| "I never thought it was a bad little tree. It's not bad at all, really. Maybe it just needs a little love." |
Of course, it wouldn't be complete without Charlie Brown's Christmas tree. Brad went out and grabbed a scraggly branch from one of our trees outside and then pushed it through a hole in two slices of cardboard- super simple and free! We grabbed a red ornament from our big tree and it was complete.
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| Not complete without Snoopy & Woodstock though |
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| Howling Christmas carols |
There wasn't much for party supplies at the store, so we improvised. I grabbed some yellow plates and cups and made a quick black zig-zag pattern to mimic Charlie Brown's shirt.
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| Voila |
What movie is complete without a snack though? With snoopy in mind- and a peek at a post on Pinterest- we made a Charlie Brown themed party mix.
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Using some chocolate we had in the pantry. I got bored with Charlie's zig-zag
pattern so I made a chocolate of each child's nickname and a 50th piece |
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| Puppy chow peanuts party mix |
It was finally movie time. The kids have never seen the Peanuts before but they loved it. Marshall kept asking for more!
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| Little Woodstock watching her first Christmas cartoon |
I like to try to make things with both kids when I can. Marshall calls himself "Master Chef Jr" and loves to cook and bake with me in the kitchen; obviously our little Violet isn't capable. So her and I made her own little Charlie Brown tree.
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She loves to try to grab the paper when we do handprints. Crafts with a 4 month old
can't be perfect. |
The night closed in and it was soon time for Snoopy & Woodstock to go to sleep. We had such a fun time of playing and learning about Charles Schulz and The Peanuts. The kids enjoyed doing crafts and cooking up some goodies and it was just an all around great day of giving (cookies) and receiving (a raffle prize). We look forward to more wholesome family days together in the future. For now, we're tucking in tight as the snow blows in.
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| Asleep in his new tent |
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