December is almost here, and it´s time for a new free -bee wallpaper calendar. Just click the picture, and you´ll see a bigger version.

Tomorrow I´ll start the family activity advent-calendar, and you are welcome to join us!

For more ideas, and loads of ideas on how to celebrate December, click on the picture below.

“On November 11th, 11.11.11, across the planet, documentary filmmakers, students, and other inspired citizens will record the human experience over a 24-hour period and contribute their voice to the second annual global day of media creation called One Day on Earth. Together, we will create a shared archive and a film.

Founded in 2008, One Day on Earth’s first media creation event occurred on 10.10.10. The collaboration was the first ever simultaneous filming event occuring in every country of the world. It created a unique geo-tagged video archive as well as an upcoming feature film.

Together, we are showcasing the amazing diversity, conflict, tragedy, and triumph that occurs in one day. We invite you to join our international community of thousands of filmmakers, hundreds of schools, and dozens of non-profits, and contribute to this unique global mosaic. One Day on Earth is a community that not only watches, but participates.”

The above quote is from One Day on Earth´s website, and I think it´s a very good idea! Documenting the everyday of the earth´s now 7 billion people! I´m looking forward to participating in this event. Join me!

Maja sew all the buttons in a pair of pants, and then she made me this wonderfully sweet card with a self-portrait! I think it´s pretty freaking adorable! The text says ” I am sewing costumes and I think it´s really fun!!!!”

And in my own workspace I whipped up this dull greyish-green “poor-mans-dress”.

When I finally got home, this beautiful handmade postcard was waiting for me. My wonderful and candy-colored Artfest-friend Regina sent it to me. I love getting postcards in the mail! Especially artmail!!! Thank you so much!

And finally: Happy birthday to Miss Crazy-cool-Sweet-sixteen!

If you click on the picture, it should take you to a bigger version.

For more way to celebrate every day, check out the Celebrate-calender below.

Click on the picture for a big calender.

(Sorry I had to do it this way, but I still can´t figure out this cyber-space-stuff)

Hope you like it. And if you don´t know what to do with your days, check out the Celebrate July-post

Yes, I know, there´s no tacos on the picture. But who says you can´t serve a healthy dessert? Cut up mangos, melons, pears and bananas, add grapes, blueberries and strawberries. Pierce the pieces on thin wooden sticks, and use half a melon as a “pin-cushion-serving-tray”.

I really do appreciate all of you visiting of my blog, (especially those who take the time to leave comments! ) and that´s why I started this free-stuff/goody give-away wallpaper-calendar. Click on it twice, and it becomes really big! Big enough to fill the entire background of your Mac or PC.

This month the background is partly a big painted page in one of my journals, and partly part of a sewn image on one of my girly-girl-bags.

And if you really want to celebrate May, click on the picture below. Lots of fun ways to add laughter and a little crazy into every day of May.

If you have  any suggestions on how we all best can celebrate life everyday, don´t hesitate to send me suggestions!

1. Today is share-a-smile-day. Now isn´t that a nice way to start the week  Let´s start using our creativity this month to make a beautiful postcard, and send it to your mail-man! Show the him and the people at the post-office that you appreciate the job they´re doing.

2. March is also women´s history month. Go to the library, and borrow a book on a strong women through the ages. Read up on Mary Magdalene or Marilyn Monroe, Queen Elizabeth 1 or Mother Theresa, Cleopatra or Madonna. Or read a bit about all of them, by for instance this book: Women Who Changed the World

3. Doll festival in Japan: Hinamatsuri. This might just be a great day to try sculpting your own doll. You might want to try using DAS modelling material, like I did when I made this little dog.

4. March 4th is the only day of the year that is also a command! You can use this day to celebrate your achievements and set new goals. Oh, and don´t forget to wear a flower in your hair! Flower does wonders for the soul in the cold, dark winter.

5. Today is the day Da Vinci invented the parachute. Two of my great-aunts got married right after WW2, and made their own wedding-dresses from papchute-silk, as fabric was really hard to get hold of. Inspired by my aunts, I think today should be recycle-a-piece-of-clothing-into-a-beautiful-new-garment-day!

6. Play young-me/now-me! Recreate that special Kodak-moment. Find a copy of your favorite childhood-photos, and make a new version of the picture, with the same people, only older. Oh, this is gonna be fun! I can just feel it!

7. The telephone patent was granted today. I think we can celebrate the invention by calling a friend we haven´t talked to for a long time, maybe even two. But hey, it´s Sunday, so we need to do more tan just talk on the phone. Let´s crochet! It´s impossible not to be inspired by Lucy´s colorful work at Attic24! Make your own throw or pillow or dress or maybe something else. Once you get the hang of it, you might even be able to speak on the phone while you´re crocheting! Two-in-one!

8. Working womens day. It is a major day of global celebration for the economic, political and social achievements of women. Make a gold-medal or two (media of your own choice) and give it to someone who really deserves it: a hard-working woman who isn´t always appreciated as much as she should be. Check the local news-paper to see what arrangements, gatherings, seminars, etc are held on this day, and join at least one of them.

Today´s song: “Sisters are doing it for themselves” by Aretha Franklin & Annie Lennox

9. Well, what do you know?! Barbie is 52 years old! If you have a little girl in your family-circle, I am sure she´ll be very happy to receive a beautiful handmade (by yourself) garment  for her Barbie. So that´s today´s creative task. You can knit or sew. But high-fashion in a mini-size it is!

10. First paper-money was issued this day in 1862. Find an old, or at least not too valuable note, and blend it into a collage. (Sorry about the reflection in the picture)

11. Have you seen the “Angels and Demons”-movie, based on Dan Brown´s book? The Illuminati have 4 anagram-branding irons, for each of the four elements. So today, find your calligraphy pen, and try to make an anagram of your name! (Did you know the main character in his book, Robert Langdon, is named after the professor who made the anagrams for the book/movie?) I´m still struggling with mine, but I did make a fairly good one of Axel´s name.

12. Plant a Flower Day is a day to get a little dirt under your fingernails. Take a few minutes to plant a flower today. If you live south of the snow, plant outside, if you live in the North, plant inside, and give the baby-seed a chance of survival before it is let out into the wild (garden). How about planting flowers you can use in decorations later on in the summer? Oh, and while you´re at it, have a pot ready for some seeds, so that the next time you eat  red pepper, put some of the seeds in the pot, and water it. They make beautiful green plants, and I´ve even gotten the cutest little red pepper for my sandwich from a homegrown plant.

13. The Good Samaritan Day. Well, there´s lots to chose from. How about taking a few hours off to visit an elderly people´s home. How boring is it to just sit there not being able to do much, and every day being the same. And how much wouldn´t a visit be appreciated. Bring a game, or a bottle of wine, or a good book to read out loud from, just as long as you bring yourself and your good company!

14.  March 14th is a relatively new holiday in modern culture. It is also known as “Male Valentine’s Day”. Ladies, if your man treated you right on Valentine’s Day, return the favor by doing something special for him on March 14th.

15. Enjoy this day with an incredible kid. Do something wild and wacky. If you don’t have an incredible kid of your own borrow one and let them know how special they are.

16. Summer is getting closer every day (I hear). And since this is clean-your-closet-week, maybe it´s time to find your summer-wardrobe. Sort through it: wash, give-away-to-charity, fix. After you´re done with the fixing, write a wish-list for new garments that you need.

17. Let´s celebrate St. Patrick´s Day by making a picture (or a journal-page around these Irish blessings:

May the road rise up to meet you.

May the wind be always at your back.

May a rainbow be certain to follow each rain.

May the rain fall softly upon your fields. And the sun shine warm upon your face.

Today´s song:  Sinead O´Conner´s “Famine”

My plans for the day are not Irish at all, I´m going to the opening night of “Marilyn” and a big party afterwards. Yay!

18. First walk in space in 1965. Let´s learn the moonwalk! I mean, Michael Jackson´s moonwalk. We dance far to seldom. And we should do something about that! Seriously! Nothing can make you happy like dancing wildly to a real feel-good song!

19. This is the American Chocolate week. YUM! I think we should make this a world celebration! It´s been a while since I saw “Chocolate” with Johnny Depp- I think tonight might be a good option  And instead of eating popcorn, I´ll be eating… chocolate!!! Maybe I should make chocolate chip cookies? Or brownies? Or chocolate fondant!!! (I need to take a break… I´m getting hungry!)

20. First official day of spring! YAY! Celebrate by burning the snowman in your garden! Sounds weird? Apparently it´s a tradition in Switzerland… Hm! Wonder how…

Moving ever so swiftly along… It is also the national Quilting day. So let´s whip out the sewing machine, and find some leftovers and make magic! It´s on my 42-list, and I´d love to do something about that soon…

21. Find things you don´t really need anymore, or that you know others would be really happy to receive, and give away one thing every day for the next week. That will mean, making at least 7 people happy!

22.  Make marbled paper by dripping drops of silk-paint into a flat plate filled with shaving foam. Mix the colors up with a tooth-pick, and drag the paper across. This is a (relatively) no-mess version of making marbled paper. If you want to do it the good old-fashioned way: mix oil-paints with white-spirit, and carefully drip it on to a water-filled plate, mix the pattern with a toothpick or brush. Once you get the hang of it, you´ll be making Christmas-gifts for your whole family before you know it! It´s great for making beautiful edges on envelopes, etc. It can also be really cool to use in your journal.

Afterwards, take a well-deserved bubble-bath!

23. Change your perspective. Take your camera with you and go on a path you know really well, like around the house, the neighborhood, or to work. Take pictures of things you pass on the way, but from a frog´s view. If you have stilts, do the tour once more!

24. Opening night of “Fiddler on the roof” for me. And I invite all you around me to join me at Stord tonight. If you´re not around here, you should watch the film. It´s an interesting insight into jewish tradition.

Self-portrait night! We´ve done that before you say? Oh, but that was last year. It´s a brand new year now, and we need the practice!

25. Greek Independence day. Make Mosaka for dinner, invite your favorite friends and learn to dance the Zorba by finding tutorials on Youtube.

26.

Make your very own peanut-butter-nutella. Careful, it´s very addictive! You can find the recipe here at Gail´s blog Shedding the wolf.

Learn encaustics! Last year I took an encaustic-class. It´s highly recommendable!

27. Today is Earth hour! Earth Hour is a global event organized by WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature, also known as World Wildlife Fund) and is held on the last Saturday of March annually, asking households and businesses to turn off their non-essential lights and other electrical appliances for one hour to raise awareness towards the need to take action on climate change. So find your candles and light them, and have a family evening without the TV. It´s about time you whipped out the old games, and had a game-night. Remember Life? Trivial Pursuit is also always a hit with my friends.

Today is also the World Theatre Day. So if you´d rather go see a play than play life, swap the game for another night.

28. Go Bollywood! India is such a wonderfully colorful country! Find your hot pinks and burnt orange acrylics and make a Indian-inspired painting. Or maybe you want to have a go at mosaics? You can use broken mirrors or ceramics, stones and beads, glass or plastic. Listen to Rahmann´s Chaiyya, Chaiyya for inspiration. (My favorite!! Only in India will you find an entire dance-company on the roof of a moving train)

29. Buy a dozen eggs, and carefully make tiny holes at the top and bottom, and blow out the yoke and white. Make something delicious in the kitchen with it, scrambled eggs for breakfast, cakes, desserts. The egg-shells are now free to be decorated. If you don´t want to paint them, try a different version this year. Boil them together with the outer onion-leaves(?) for a warm yellow tone, with red cabbage for an almost purple hue, and tea for warm pinks and oranges. Place them gently in a moss-covered plate. You might also want to decorate with small branches from some of the garden-trees. Keep them in water, and the leaves will come out with promise of spring!

30. Alaska was purchased from Russia in 1867. What do we know about Alaska other than it being the home of Sarah Palin and grizzly bears, it´s cold and wild and far away . So maybe now´s the time to read up on this state.

31. Make pancakes for dinner. With boiled potatoes and fried bacon on the side. I promise: it´s super-yummy!!! Then send me a comment with suggestions on how we can celebrate April!

1. A new year has arrived. The celebration of the new year is the oldest of all holidays. It was first observed in ancient Babylon about 4000 years ago. The Babylonian new year celebration lasted for eleven days. Each day had its own particular mode of celebration.

Time to reflect and contemplate. Sum up all the good things that happened last year, and leave the bad things behind. Make a list of what you want to do this year, before your next birthday! For ideas,click here!

Learn a new dozen words, all starting with the letter Z! It´ll come in handy the next time you play scrabble. Or you can just weave the new words into a conversation when you want to impress someone.

2. Clean and organize your workspace. This way, clutter won´t get in the way of your creativity in this fresh start of a year.

Science fiction day. Sew a soft monster. If you need inspiration, look at Michelle´swonderful creatures!

3. Still snow? Go out and play! Make a snowman with a real carrot-nose! Remember to take pictures! When you come back in, relax in a comfy chair in front of the Christmas-tree and enjoy it with a big cup of hot chocolate.

First day of work in the new year. Cold? Dark? Tired? Add 8 drops of rosemary pure essential oil in the shower, turn on the water, and step in. The burst of freshness will invigorate your body from top to toe. Put on something brightly colored to cheer yourself up! You´d be amazed how much colors actually affect our mood!

4. January is hobby month. Maybe we should learn a new technique and explore it during the month.

Eat spaghetti for dinner today! Watch  Disney´s “Lady and the Tramp” while you eat.

5. Find a recipe for a good healthy granola and make it yourself, then add some freshly sliced fruit and enjoy a bowl for breakfast. Try to eat simple and light for a week or two and drink lots of water.

Bird day´s project: make a birdhouse! Check out Harmon Country Crafts,A Country Way and Door County Woodworks for inspiration! Or have a look at my version in tomorrow´s post

6. Today is the 13th-Day-Christmas, which traditionally means the end of Christmas, so in other words, time to start taking down the decorations.

Three Kings Day, end the holiday celebration with a Three Kings party. Invite your friends and exchange small gifts. Then take them out snow-grilling. Coal or logs, wieners on sticks and ketchup, and you´re in for a lot of fun with your favorite friends!

7. Make use of one of your Christmas-presents!

The typewriter was invented. If you´re lucky enough to have one, make use of it. Type a letter to a friend. If you don´t have one, make a piece of jewelry with parts of a typewriter, like one of the keys. They can be bought online, and will make the coolest, unique art-jewelry.

8.”A little less conversation, a little more action!” What do know, it´s Elvis´ birthday! Celebrate by dancing to this fun piece of music.

End the day with a lovely bubble bath. Soak in a warm tub. Think of your bathroom as a haven of pure relaxation and set the scene by dimming or turning off all of the lights, put on your favorite relaxing tunes, and light some candles. Soak for a full 20 minutes.

9. Enjoy weekend breakfast in bed. Eggs, bacon, bread, the whole lot!

This is the day you get to blow up a balloon with lots of helium, stick a note in it with your name and phone number, and let it ascend into the sky. Let’s hope whoever finds it is single (and cute).

Dance day. Be inspired by Matt!

10. Rummage through your old childhood collections. Remember all those stickers and idol-pics and napkins and stamps and bottle-tops and what-nots? Pick a couple and use it in a little art-piece or scrapbook-page or your art-journal.

My old Scratch´n sniff stickers from New Orleans. We were crazy about them in the early eighties. Do they still exist? Anyone knows?

Go green. Turn the lights off and live by candlelight for the day.

In Japan this is the coming of age-celebration, called seijin no hi. Men and women who turn 20 is celebrated on this national holiday. Twenty is the age considered as the beginning of adulthood. If you have a twenty-year old in your circle, show extra appreciation today!

11. It´s the international Thank-you-day. Make a couple of cards, painted or collaged, and send them to someone you owe a thank.

Amelia Earheart day. Find your own high-flying dreams to reach for!

12. Make three handmade and personal birthday-cards for upcoming birthdays. Homemade cards are much appreciated, even if they don´t look like they´re from Hallmark 

Feast of Fabulous Wild Men Day. I like it! I’m sure that you ladies will think of some way to enjoy this day.

13. January 13th is New Year’s Eve in 2011, according to the old, or Julian calendar. Celebrate Old New Years’ with a second chance to make your New Year’s resolutions – maybe a bit more realistically after two weeks have passed. Several countries still celebrate this date as New Year.

Play snow-frisbee! Ha, ha, ha… this could turn out a lot of fun!

Make your dream come true day. Well, this one speaks for itself, doesn´t it?!

14. Start planning your summer-holiday. It´s not too early to dream! We´re thinking about renting a house in Tuscany in Italy. I´ve already checked the map. Four of the seven mini-states are within reach for a day-trip: The Vatican, Liechtenstein, Monaco and San Marino. A very hot tip is Shanghai, China. From May 1st to October 31st they are hosting the World Expo! I would LOVE to go there!

15.  Wear you favorite hat today.

Rent an old Carmen Miranda-movie, and have tacos for dinner!

16. Appreciate a dragon day. Dragons need to be appreciated, too. And, yes, they do exist.

Religious Freedom day. Learn more about the five big world religions. Religion is often used as an excuse for wars. The key to peace is understanding.

17. Today is Martin Luther King Jr birthday. Listen to his “I have a dream”-speech, and make a page in your art-journal.

Invite good friends over for a nice afternoon-dinner. And play Twister afterwards! You don´t have the game? Sew it! A big blanket with colored spots on . Now all you need is a dice, right?

18. Jazz day. Be inspired by this AMAZING bass-player!

The author A.A. Milne was born in London and created the most lovable of all characters Winnie the Pooh. Throw a Pooh party! Serve honey sandwiches, carrot sticks and Eeyore punch (blue juice).

Time for the monthly self-portrait (although we´ve been kind of forgetful about them lately… ups) This month, try sketching yourself on news-paper or phone-book paper. (This is an old one, it´s high time I have another go at it!)

19. Start a secret flirt with your spouse/dear one! (Secret between the two of you. Pretend no one should know about it.) Send each other coded text-messages, or e-mails, trying to make a date. Be shy!

Popcorn day. How can one celebrate popcorn day without a movie to go with it?!

20. Sort all your books either by color, theme or alphabetically. And while you´re at it: dust a bit. And by all means, DO get lost in a book, without even a tad of bad conscience!

Penguin awareness day. Have you seen “Happy feet”? If not, now is the time. This cute little movie about penguins and the importance of dancing is worth seeing!

21. Start reading a real-life adventure book: Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts orThree cups of tea by Greg Mortenson.

It´s hugging day today. Take the time to give hugs all around. You´ll be amazed to see how little it takes to brighten up somebody´s day. Yay!

22. Go to the library and check out their section on DVDs and CDs. They have more than books, you know. Films that have won (or have been nominated) an Oscar for best foreign film, are usually very good. (Boy! There are a lot of movies to bee seen this month, huh!?!)

Go to a concert or a theatre show. Hopefully you were able to get your secret date from the 19th to go with you 

23. Measure your feet. See how far apart you can stretch your toes. Then take them for a walk. Outside. When you´re home again, give them a foot-bath, a massage and a good creaming.

National Pie Day! Well, why not? Pies have always been a sweet treat to warm the cold winter days and with the holiday celebrations a fading memory, this is a great way to warm up a January cold snap.

Knit mittens! Or maybe you want to make a muff?!

24. Shower people around you with compliments today. It´s so easy to forget to say those nice things we think about. Simply don´t put it off. Compliment others´ effort.

And in the afternoon its´family-day! Go out and have fun! Remember to dress warmly, it´s cold outside! Make a snow-man! Build a snow-ball-hut for a candle! Pack a picnic of peanut-butter-and-jelly-sandwiches! Laugh till your belly shakes!

25. Find all the clothes that need mending, and do something about it! Play you favorite 80´s music while you work.

26. Go blog-hopping! Start with a blog you know (like mine, since you´re already here  ), click on a link on the righthand side, After looking at that blog, pick another link from the last one you visited, and so on. You never know where you´re going to end up. It´s a cheap way to travel the world 

Australia Day is a national holiday in Australia celebrating national pride and culture, and an opportunity to recognize and enjoy accomplishments. Many Australians use this day to explore and learn more about their national identity and culture. Celebrate your Australian friends. If you don´t have any, find an Australian blog-buddy. You can start by visiting my Australian blog-buddy Andrew Finnie.

27. Listen to the music of Pink Floyd. Make a picture inspired by what you hear.

National chocolate cake day. Guess how I´m going to celebrate this one

Mozart´s birthday. If you haven´t seen the film “Amadeus”, today is a great opportunity to get to know the era of pastel decorations and high, white wigs, and this life-loving young genius!

28. Sort out your freezer. Bring a note-pad and a pen. Afterwards, make a menu for the next couple of weeks, using some of all that food. There´s a lot of money to be saved by eating it, instead of forgetting it, and tossing it because it´s too old.

Find your old kazoo. Bring it to work. See if you can bring out some smiles at lunch-hour

29. Walk around your house with a digital camera. Take pictures of all your reds. Mix them together in a collage on your computer. You now have the perfect background for a page in your art-journal.

Make a beautiful painting, let it dry and take a color-copy of it. Glue it down on an old puzzle. Once the glue is dry, carefully cut along the lines from the back with a scalpel, and you have a new and personal puzzle. You can also use a photograph of course.

Freethinkers day. Now this is worth celebrating! Without the liberty of thought and speech, how would the world evolve?!

30. Weekend-project: find an old frame that you don´t use anymore. Make a soft wooden plate the size of the opening (on the back-side), dress it with a layer of soft fiber-filling, then your favorite textile. Hang it up in your bathroom, or bedroom, and you have a great place for your ear-rings to rest when you´re not wearing them.

31. Well, if you ask me, there´s good reason to celebrate: the coldest month of the year is over!  And let´s celebrate by making brownies! Yay! Remember to send me suggestions on how to Celebrate February!

Inspire your heart with art-day! Isn´t that just a lovely way to celebrate a day?!

1. Yay! Finally! You can open the first present in your Advent-calender. Find your Christmas decorations and decorate a little bit every day.

Buy fruits and make a big bowl of fresh fruit. Get mandarins! The smell is enough to get me in a Christmas-mood any day! And they taste so yummy!

Then invite friends over for a creative Christmas-making event. It might be a good idea to have this planned ahead, so everyone knows what to bring. Tonight I´ll be making hearts with some of my neighbors:

2. Make a list over all the Christmas-gifts you have to buy or make. A good list is a job half-done. Almost…

Buy tulip- and hyacinth-bulbs, put them in water, leave them in a relatively cool room and they´ll be ready for Christmas.

Initiate a Christmas-ornament swap group with some of your creative friends! Oh, the joy of receiving handmade ornaments from good friends made with love and affection!

3. Check at the local post-office when the deadlines for Christmas-cards to arrive in time are.

And find all your red clothes, and have them ready-to-wear!

Start your own Christmas-journal, where you write lists for presents, cards and cookies-recipes.

4. Put up all the decorative lighting outdoors, while wearing brown shoes. But be careful not to fall down anywhere!

Write your very own wish-list for Christmas and hang it on the fridge. You think you´re too old? Nope! Isn´t it better to receive things you really want and need, rather than yet another nice “thingy” for the shelf? It´s not being selfish and un-modest, it´s being environmentally friendly. And in addition, it´s nice to dream, so you´re allowed a couple of really, really expensive things on the list. You see, wishing is free!

Photography was invented in 1877. Why don´t you have a date with your camera, and make your very own Christmas around the house documentary photo-book?

5. Second Sunday in Advent. Light the two candles.  Today is Nicolas-mass, named after St Nicolaus, patron for children and sailors.

Plan the Christmas-parties, send invitations and plan the menus. Light the fire-place and listen to some of your favorite Christmas-music.

Rehearse Christmas-carols while you bake the first batch of Christmas cookies. December is a month of song, so sing out loud with your most personal instrument, your voice!

6.  Take a walk in the nature and collect pine-cones funny branches and other elements you can use in your decorations.

Make and write a couple of Christmas-cards. Oh, and write something personal, like what you appreciate about the receiver.

7. Go to the post-office, and buy postage for all your Christmas-cards. Buy different ones, to make the cards/envelopes cheerful!. Like this package I got last year from Japan. In addition, you can add stickers and use your own home-made stamps.

Bake dry cookies and fruit-pies that need a while to mature. Let the children join in the fun!

8. “Mary-in-waiting”-day, referring to the virgin Mary waiting for Jesus to be born..

Make a new tradition: every year one new ornament for the Christmas-tree. A self-made one. By making a new ornament every year, your tree will become a tradition-bearer in a new sense of the word. You can make several, and give to your friends, along with other presents. I love hearts, and decorate my whole house with them for Christmas. That´s what it´s about isn´t it? Love?

Or invite a couple of your favorite creative friends over, and make one ornament for each present, and swap between yourselves afterwards. What fun!

9. Decorate the entrance, maybe you can make a big wrath of some of the things you picked up on your walk on sunday? Make a part of the house ready for the Christmas-cards. How can you display them, so they can be enjoyed the whole month? Today is actually Christmas-card day. So how about making a few of them? Self-made cards are always the ones mostly appreciated!

Find some things you don´t need anymore, wrap them and give them to a homeless shelter.

10. Make edible gifts, like caramel-candy or jams or sugar-coated almonds. Write a letter and find a gift for your adopted child in a third-world country. If you don´t have one already, check out SOS children villages. They do a great job!

Today is Human Rights day. So another option would be to look into Amnesty International, and their work. In Norway, they have a great SMS-service for signing petitions.

11. Make your own candles! Get a kit at the local craft-store, and have a fun night with the entire family! And while you´re at it, get the christmas-plants. If you wait too long, there will be just left-overs. And then they´ll help you decorate tomorrow when you…

Let´s all join Teri in her December-celebration: One thing I want to do in December is to make a handmade item to give away annonimously.  It may be to a total stranger left in a public place to brighten someones day.

12. Third Sunday in Advent. Invite lots of friends over for a light-feast! This is the darkest time of year, still a couple of days to go, before the sun turns. So light candles inside and outside if you can, and celebrate the light! Then listen to the song of the Vienna Boys choir. It doesn´t get much more christmassy than that!

Wise words from Melissa: – It is nice to recieve, but, even nicer to give….
Sometimes we get so caught up in the holiday season, whatever religion anyone is… that we forget about giving. I am a firm believer in PIF (Paying it forward) … maybe coming up with a way that you and your family or you and your friends can get involved in making someone else smile, selflessly!

13. Saint Lucia-day, in memory of the saint who died a martyr in 304 in Sicily. Wake up early and bake rolls, add cream and wake everyone up singing the Santa Lucia-song. Light three candles.

Tammy´s decor-suggestion: I just covered styrafoam pears in plaster cloth, then painted them to go with my xmas colors (silver and robins egg blue) Pretty and will look dreamy nestled in their pine bough bed on my table ) Don’t forget the glitter!

14. Make a ginger-bread house and decorate it with the kids. Be creative and unfold your inner architect!

15. If you haven´t already, now is the time to get hold of wrapping-paper, and ribbons, make labels. Get candles and napkins too. Take extra care in wrapping presents. Be creative in how you decorate them. Add a little ornament or a candy-cane with the ribbon and label. I´ll be back with lots more suggestions and tips.

16. Christmas-workshop with the kids. Or friends. Make a gift. Maybe you should try making that painting you´ve been thinking about.

17. Buy the Christmas-tree and wreaths and candles for the graves of your lost loved ones.

Seriously cleaning! This is the day. This is the weekend. By the end of it, the house will sparkle!

18.  Keep cleaning. When you´re done: Spa-day! Take a long, bath with scented oils, take a hot-mud-mask and a glass of red wine by the tub. Have girls-night-out with your friends, and dance the night away!

19. Fourth Sunday in Advent. Thomas-mass. Light all four candles. Make a fire in the fireplace (or light lots of candles) and enjoy a good book.

20.   Take a walk outside and forget all about Christmas for a little while. Visit older friends or relatives, and bring some cookies or snacks.

Or maybe you should go caroling? It´s such a nice tradition. In Norway, usually this happens after new Years, but why not before Christmas?

21. Check all your lists, to make sure you´ve remembered it all. Make a couple of extra gifts to have in case someone drops by unexpectedly 

22. Make the sour-kraut (surkål) and polish the silver. Then make a treasure-map with a small edible treasure at the end! Like … brownies!!

23. Decorate the Christmas-tree. Use ornaments that make you happy, even if they don´t match your sofa. The corky Santa your nephew made in kindergarden, the Eiffel-tower key-ring souvenir from Paris, and your newly made decoration of the year. All while playing Christmas songs on the CD, and singing along. Have an open house, with friends dropping by, invite them in for egg-nog /gløgg.

24. Christmas Eve. Set and decorate the table in the morning. Go to church and light the candles on the graves. Let the peace silently unfold around you.

25. Christmas Day. The big family day. Or to be more specific: the day you spend with your loved ones.

26. Another peaceful day. Maybe time to spice things up a bit? Find the games and play Monopoly or Life or Chinese checkers. Make a family-tournament! Light the fire and stay warm and cozy!

27. Time to visit friends. Or maybe you can invite them to your house. Invite old friends who come home for Christmas, that you only get to see a couple of times a year.

28. There are lots of concerts these mid-season-days. Go out and have some fun!

And if you´d rather stay at home, find some cards, and get social the old-fashioned way

29. Make a list of things you like to about yourself. Keep it and look at it on blue days. And while you´re at it. Make a list for some of your loved ones too. It will certainly put a smile in their heart 

30. Go outside and make a snowman. Or if there is no snow, go outside and sing in the rain!

31. New Years! Yay! Make a nice table in silver, and smile, dance and be happy! Forget about resolutions – you´re already great just like you are!