Actually despite all that it was good times.
Best Gift Ever.
That Uncle Dave and Auntie Mel were here with us for four days! A lot of their visits lately have been of the one day variety so the kids were thrilled to have them here for so long to play board games, go for walks and just generally be available to be sat upon.
Easiest Christmas Ever
This was the nicest, easiest, and most stress free holiday we've ever enjoyed. For the first time in many years we didn't go anywhere Christmas day and instead everyone came to us. Dinner came together pretty dang easy in large part thanks to Auntie Mel and Michael. Maya even ate it in her jammies.
Surprise Gift!
For me, I got an ice cream maker!! What?! I have been coveting one for quite some time, but Mike has always poo pooed the idea. He claims that I have too many kitchen gadgets that I don't use, which is completely untrue. I am not a kitchen gadget junkie by any stretch of the imagination. There are no slap chops in my kitchen. I can't wait to make my first batch of ice cream. Kind of surprised I haven't yet? Yeah, I was that sick.
Board Game of Christmas
Blokus! I'd never really heard of it before this year, but we picked it up to take advantage of Zellers buy one get one free board game deal they had on before Christmas. Mom had three games in the buggy and me on the phone trying to pick another one since it would be free. Board games are always a big Christmas present for me because I know they give much more back than another polly pocket. This one was a hit across all ages groups. I could see it generating a lot of trash talk if we were to pull it out for game night with adult friends.
Less is More and it's the Thought That Counts Christmas
Epic! Really! Well Mike and I thought it was anyway. That is a picture of our tree after Santa had been and the kids presents from Mike and I were under there. The stockings were by the coffee table. That was it and the kids were happy with what they got.
Cool Gift of Christmas
Goes to Auntie Mel and Uncle Dave. They gifted the kids with needle felting kits, each in their own storage boxes. It was so cute to see them both go back to their projects again and again Christmas day, tucked up beside Auntie Mel and her needle felting, of course. Maya is an absolute weapon, she needle felts at about 90 miles an hour and very rarely looks at what her hands are doing. I'm not quite sure how she didn't stab herself.
Gift with the most pressure
I got a gift card and some cash with instructions to spend them on myself. Easier said then done, when it comes to me. Yesterday I forced myself to take advantage of the great deals at Old Navy online and picked out some clothes for myself. Can't wait for my cardis, khakis, skirt, tops and black "dressy" lounge pants to get here. I also checked the deals and picked up a new camera to replace my current cranky camera. Gosh it is super small though. I'm afraid of dropping it, but excited I can pop it in my pocket. Of course now I gotta get over the guilt I have over spending so much money on myself yesterday. Oy.
There was more to Christmas, of course. Dinners with family... so much delicious food. Church with loved ones. Tea and coffee and chocolate. Gifts received and gifts given. Joy and laughter and coughing. So much coughing. I can only hope that your Christmas was just as wonderful.
2 comments:
Sounds like a fantastic day. So glad it went so well. I love board games as well, might have to check that one out =)
We did a family gift of two nights at Great Wolf Lodge, and while I knew the kids would be THRILLED once we told them, I worried at the last minute that their ONE gift each under the tree (pillow pets they've been coveting and I finally broke down and purchased so they'd have SOMETHING to open, at least) would cause some disappointed faces, but even before we broke the news about GWL, they were thrilled with their pillow pets, and none of them questioned where the rest of their presents were. I was beyond proud. So while we certainly didn't cut back financially on Christmas, we HUGELY cut back on the "stuff" and there haven't been any regrets on the part of us, or the kids. I'm loving that we encouraged family time and togetherness. I LOVE your "less is more" mindset. I think it's important to teach them early on that it's not about getting everything you want, and that it's also about FAMILY and GIVING. Kudos to you! and kudos to your kids and mine for being appreciative of what they got without focusing on the AMOUNT. yay!
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