Christmas Around The World

Yesterday, our homeschool group H.E.A.R.T. celebrated "Christmas Around The World". What we decided to do this year was a progressive celebration. In case you have never heard of this before, I will explain what it is! There are five families in our support group.  Each family was given 45 minutes to share their country project and serve a food item at their home. Then, everyone piles into their cars and we travel to the next family's house, where they do their project. This continues on until we have visited all 5 homes!

We began at our house and the country we chose to represent was Mexico. Our children have been working on this project since November and it was so exciting to see it all come together. Our journey to Mexico began in our front yard, where our oldest explained the tradition of Las Posadas, the nine days of re-enacting the story of Mary and Joseph searching for a place to stay in Bethlehem.  Our other 2 children played Mary and Joseph and found the inn where they would stay.

Then, we all went inside where my oldest played Silent Night on the piano while my younger daughter sang it in Spanish. It was so beautiful!  Next, each of our children presented a project about Mexico. They also had several craft samples on display that they worked on, as well as some authentic Mexican items such as dolls, money, and blankets.

Once completed, we all sat down to a delicious meal of beef enchiladas.

Soon, it was time to depart to our next destination- Japan! In Japan, we were treated to a meal of chicken and rice, soup, and dessert sushi.

Next came Italy, where we were treated to a scrumptious bowl of Irish stew and soda bread, as well as cookies.

Our 4th destination was Germany. We learned all about the Christmas Markets, played a guessing game about famous German inventors, and ate potatoes, sauerkraut, and pork. Saint Nicholas even visited before we arrived and left all of the children special treats.

Last but not least was Italy. Unfortunately, I forgot my camera in the car and so I have no pictures of our visit there, but it was just as wonderful as the four previous presentations. The children presented their projects and then we ate meatballs, baked ziti, pizza, and bread. Yummy!!! This truly was such a fantastic experience for both the children and the parents. What a neat treat to see how each family did their projects differently and gave their own personal touches to it. I can not wait until next year's progressive Christmas Around The World. My kids enjoyed this activity so much, they are already discussing what country we should choose for next year!