Wednesday, January 9, 2013

Advent Bingo

     I’m so sorry.  I realize that I have been missing in action for quite some time now.  It was a much needed break.  My doctor said to put “NO” at the top of my vocabulary.  That really is a difficult word for me to say.  I still had plenty of commitments to keep and, unfortunately, blogging is one of those things to be put off by the wayside :(  It’s not as though I wasn’t crafting and I have tons to show.  Most of my crafting was holiday goodies and/or cards.  Seems a bit late to be showing you those now.  However, I will post the most significant projects.  Things I think you could do any time throughout the year…simply change up the theme :)  Or, you can tuck the idea away for next holiday season.  I miss blogging and I hope to get back into the swing of things quickly.  Enjoy!

     Every year since my oldest was old enough to understand (about 4…he’s 13 now), we have done an advent calendar to countdown the days until Christmas.  Every morning, he would call his grandmother and together they would open that day’s advent “window”.  It was fun to see just what picture was hidden and if they were the same…well, that was just special.  It was something my mom had started since she was missing her grandbabies…a way to get to talk to them every day.  As my youngest grew, he too got in on the fun.  We now include my sister who has moved away to yet another state.  You may remember, last year I made Peek-a-boo Frames advent calendars for everyone.  This year, was just a little different but, I have to tell you, so much fun!!  

100_5666     Being in the pinch that I was, I came up with this super-quick-to-make advent calendar.  We called it Advent Bingo.  Using the Jolly Bingo Bits set, I randomly stamped the images onto a bingo grid that I had done up on the computer.  The “free space” is the Merry Christmas stamp from the Mixed Medley hostess set that was in the Holiday Catalog.  Then, I randomly stamped on the numbers 1 – 24.  Again, I made four of these (one for each of my boys, one for my mom and one for my sister).  The rules were simple and printed on the back of each card: 

One number will be randomly drawn each day.

Phone calls will be made to see just what picture you get.

There are games within the countdown.

· First to get five in a row (BINGO)

· First to get a double bingo

· First to get four corners

· First to get an “X”

· First to get outside square

· First to get inside square

Of course, we all will completely cover our cards on the same day.

     We had SO much fun playing this each day!  The boys looked forward to “Bingo Time”!  We would three-way call so all of us could be on the line together.  We will do this again next Christmas.  Only, I think I will have to make a card for my husband, my dad and my brother-in-law too!  Oh…and I had little handmade prizes for each “winner” as well (I’ll leave those for another posting).  Truly, we are ALL winners!  We were able to spend quality time together…even though we are hundreds of miles apart.  I miss my family and this sure helped to bring us all close together every day even though it was only for a short while!  Adam said to me midway through the month, “Mom, I really like this game!”  Isn’t that “beast” coming from a 9 year old!

     I’ll leave you with words from my little one, “Is it bingo time yet?!”  I hope you’ve been inspired to create some fun.  Perhaps start a new tradition in your family.

Hugs,

Leslee

Supplies are Stampin’ Up! and can be purchased here.

1 comment:

  1. Happy New Year Leslee. What a beautiful way to arrange quality time with relatives far away. I love the idea of the bingo game. Keep well.

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