I can hardly believe that Christmas is now less than 2 weeks away. We don’t necessarily celebrate Christmas in the traditional sense like a lot of people do. In fact, each year, our celebrations have been widely different than other years’ activities!
This year, we’ll be celebrating Christmas with my mom and grandma the weekend before Christmas. This is my kids’ favorite thing ever because it means lots of grandma slumber parties and ridiculous amounts of sweets, treats, video games, movies, and craziness!! My in-laws live close and have invited us over for Christmas. We’ll likely do that for lunch or dinner. My dad recently moved closer to us, so I’m sure we’ll spend some time with him, but probably after Christmas day.
Christmas Shopping!
At some point in the week leading up to Christmas, I’ll take each of my 3 oldest kids out individually (they are 4, 6, and 8) to purchase a gift for their siblings. In the past, we’ve done this at Dollar Tree, and I may keep it that way just to keep costs down! I also let them buy for me and for their dad as well. They always get a kick out of picking out something special for each person and then coming home to secretly wrap them and decorate the package up. It gives them a sense of pride, accomplishment, and even a little bit of mystery.
I’ve gotten pretty much everything I need to gather up for the kiddos. I’ve had some unfortunate co-op purchases that aren’t going to be making it, so I’ve had to improvise – but I’m happy with what I’ve pulled off in a short time frame. 🙂 I still need to do something for grandparents’ gifts.
My husband’s birthday is in a week, so I still have to buy for him! Michael has asked to get his daddy some new shoes (which is an awesome idea!), so we’ll be buying his standby New Balance sneakers. Ross has asked for a new video card, too, so I’m sure that will be picked out and purchased within the next few days. As far as Christmas for him, I am stumped! What are you getting your husband for Christmas?
I bought myself some dorky items. I bought some (affiliate link) over the door hanging organizers for my linen closet for toiletries and one for each kid’s closet door for their toys. I also got (affliate link) a back of door shelf system for my pantry and (affiliate link) an under shelf basket for things like foil and parchment paper so I can quit trying to stuff them in a drawer! Yes, these are totally dumb presents, but they are practical. I rarely buy frivolous things or anything too fancy for myself, because in a house of kids ages 8 and under (3 of whom are BOYS!), it’ll just get ruined anyway. 🙂 Practical is sensible and sensible keeps me sane.
Thankful for my Family
Overall, I just feel blessed and grateful for each day I have had with my sweet family. Over the past few weeks, I have been seeing more and more what a blessing they all are to me. Just when I think I’m going to LOSE IT and want to get the heck out of here for some peace and quiet, someone says or does something that touches my heart and I cannot imagine being anywhere but here.
What are you thankful for this year?