Day 5: Murray Christmas
Day 5 is here with Murray Christmas by by E. G. Keller (Author)
(This post contains affiliate links, which means I may receive a small commission, at no cost to you, if you make a purchase through a link)
Any pet owners/dog lovers out there!? This is the book for you! I laughed out loud as I read this one because it reminded me SO much of our family dog, Roo. Roo had a VERY difficult time with Christmas her first few years of life. Chewed through the Christmas lights on the tree, pulled down the tree, tipped over flower pots, chewed up the boxes of a few presents, etc. etc.
In Murray Christmas, Murray is becomes a super guard dog when he is put on high alert due to all the changes Christmas is bringing! A tree in the living room? Who’s this guy‘s face that’s everywhere? What will Murray do when this guy actually shows up? Santa vs Murray? :) Read to find out!
(This story is LGBTQ+ friendly :) )
So where will my kiddos find Pete on Day 5…
In our pet dog’s stocking of course! (with a doggy treat!) So if you don’t have a dog and/or a doggy stocking, you will have to get creative. Maybe they find their elf in another creative way on Day 5. Just have fun with it!
Since this book’s main character is a dog, I’m going ALL doggy with this day. :)
Activity for today: Make doggy Christmas treats!
My kids love baking, so what a fun, new way to get them in the kitchen with me to make some little treats for our pup (and our neighbors pups!). If you don’t have a pup, maybe you just make them and deliver to loved-ones who do? Neighbors? Friends?
We will be using this recipe: Dog Treat Recipe
***This recipe uses peanut butter
And, I purchased these doggy cookie cutters: Dog Treat Cookie Cutters to add some fun shapes!
How cute and fun will these be to use!?
Steps for Day 5:
Hide elf in doggy stocking or maybe in dogs kennel
Read the book Murray Christmas
Make Christmas Dog Treats with your kiddos using recipe above or your own
Deliver dog treats to family/friends with dogs
Complete free printables below
All things doggy! For little, littles, let them just enjoy coloring it. :) For older littles, ask them to find the matching Christmas dogs and color them the same color.
Copy and paste into a word doc or download the PNG here!
This is definitely for the older kiddos. I encourage you to read the story more than once and then have your kiddos complete this with you. For characters, I plan to have my 5yo draw the two main characters: Murray and Santa. Then for the setting, draw a house (I am of course going to encourage him get to these conclusions on his own first, but help as needed). Then my plan for the beginning, middle, and end is to have him tell me what happens through the story and I will write it out for him. Depending on your kid’s ages and abilities, do what works best for them.
Copy and paste into a word doc or download the PNG here!
I hope your pet loving kiddos enjoy this story and activities!
Stay tuned for Day 6 with Dasher by Matt Tavares!
