Gifts for You and Pickles from JC

The holidays are upon us, and I have to share two of my favorite things in the world right now. One is old and one is new. And just to be clear out of the gate, no one’s paying me jack to write any of this.

First the old.

The Jacquie Lawson Advent Calendar

If you haven’t gotten this, you’re soooo missing out. It’s just adorable. A friend got it for us one year, and now we look forward to it for 11 months.

You may already know Jacquie Lawson for her animated Christmas cards. The Advent Calendar is like the cards on crack. Last year was a whole Upstairs/Downstairs Edwardian experience (which you can still get).

This year it’s a Christmas market.

They always include games, puzzles, and decorating activities. The music is lovely, and it gets you in the mood to stare out at the snow and drink hot chocolate. They of course toss in the occasional religious reference, but we just look at it as part of the “culture.”

It starts on December 1st, but no biggie — you can always catch up. It costs $2-$4, depending on how many you buy. Anyway, because I love you guys so much, I’m giving away a calendar to the first 10 people who leave a comment (I know — I’m such a big spender). Don’t stick your email in the comment — it’ll show up in my settings.

Now for the new…

PickleWeasel Picture Riddles

From the amazing and talented JC Little, a new book for 8-12 year olds (although I don’t see why the rest of us can’t read it too). JC has been drawing her PickleWeasels for years. He/she/it even had an app at one point. Anyway, now there’s a whole book of witty, zany little riddles that feature this crazy character.

JC’s book is so clever. You put your thumbs on the bottom corners to hide the answers — there’s even a drawing of a thumb if you’re too dumb to figure it out. And in the upper corners, she’s drawn illustrations that become animated when you flip the pages.

Anyway, perfect stocking stuffer. I know my kids love to bring this sort of thing to school. Get it at Amazon or Create Space. It’s also coming out in Kindle with extras.

That’s all I’ve got. If you have a moment, stop by Housewife Plus and thank Sarah Cottrell for running my “Would Your Kid Survive the Mommy Wars” post. I love that post. I can’t help it. I’m just sorry I didn’t illustrate it.

Thanks for reading!