Comments on: Thoughts on Christmas

By: Joan

Joan — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 21:53:06 +0000

I love your idea. It brings back fond memories of when our kids were young. Each Christmas Eve we gave them a new pair of pajamas and a story book. They always looked clean and fresh in the Christmas morning photos and they loved the book – we read it to them as a calming measure on Christmas eve! Thirty one years later we still carry on adding our daughter and son -in-law and our two grandsons.

By: Devilish Southern Belle

Devilish Southern Belle — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 05:25:28 +0000

You said it so well! We are having to restrain ourselves a bit, as well.
Devilish Southern Belle´s last blog ..I lied.

By: shionge

shionge — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 04:13:36 +0000

I think this is a wonderful idea too and it ‘maximizes’ the value of the gifts. Usually we are ‘loaded’ with too many gifts that we tend not to treasure it

It is an early start here in Spore too…all the Xmas light-up at the shopping malls, gosh I think I better start too

By: Heather

Heather — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 04:02:54 +0000

That is a great idea. We tell the kids they can ask Santa for 3 things and Santa tries his absolute best to bring them all 3 things. Then Mom and Dad give them a few extras too. I shop during the year and pick up things on clearance.
Heather´s last blog ..Cold Weather Haiku

By: Halo Golden

Halo Golden — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:02:03 +0000

i forgot to mention . . . since we are staying home for cmas this year (yay!) and will presumably be sans visitors, i have every intention of spreading out the gift thing. it seems like every year we spend the morning unwrapping every gift and all they want to do is play with the first one they opened. so this year, we will let them. if it takes all day, or all week (which is my preference) then so be it. we won’t start until cmas morning (or cmas eve), but if it lasts until new year’s it would make me very happy. open a gift in the morning and then play with it all day!

i want a relaxed, happy, stress-free day. not a race to the “finish.”

and we will be looking through the toys we already have to see which ones we can pass on.
Halo Golden´s last blog ..whoa, 6 months?

By: Halo Golden

Halo Golden — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 23:55:58 +0000

we usually do one gift from santa. something that he really wants. and it is the only thing he tells santa that he wants when we visit him (at CB Fox).

i would love to do just the 4 items. and to a point we incorporate parts of those 4 items. esp the READ part. they both get special jammies to wear. i’m not entirely an impulse shopper. i keep my ears open to what he’s talking about and then i also choose something that i think will really hit home with them. (willow is getting a stroller/crib/combo thing for her many adored babies and some home-dyed play silks if i can get them done. nate is getting a cat that i’ve been crocheting for him–again, if i can get it done in time–some moon sand and a movie and a few other small things. i got them a joint gift, too (season 1 of Between the Lions).)

i’m already mostly done cmas shopping, if you can believe it. got much of it done today, in fact. i don’t feel like i went overboard, and i don’t feel like i’ve spent too much. and being done now (and **calling** myself done) makes me much less likely to keep going. it takes my mind off of it, i guess.

i can’t wait to see how this plan works for you. i’m thinking this would also be good for birthdays.
Halo Golden´s last blog ..whoa, 6 months?

By: nicole @ much more than a mom

nicole @ much more than a mom — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 23:45:31 +0000

Love it! I couldn’t do it because I love shopping too much but I think it’s a great idea! I could probably do it as long as I could give a big basket of books. My kids usually get about 20 books each at Christmas. And if stockings & Santa gift were additional I totally could.
nicole @ much more than a mom´s last blog ..Halloween 2009 – Two of the seven hundred picture, and a bonus bit of cute.

By: Sue

Sue — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 20:32:22 +0000

I love that idea as well! I am assuming that those 4 things are what you, as parents, give to the children and Santa gifts are separate? Or perhaps you don’t do Santa?

Here in our house we do one gift from Mom and then Santa gifts. They get three gifts from Santa ( they know this) , just like the baby Jesus got three gifts. We also do charity things together as a family…usually deliver Christmas dinner baskets with our church…and then donate some things to people in need. We have taken things to Adsum House and Bryony House and toys for the toy drive and of course the schools and the churches are pretty busy this time of year with donations of hats and mittens, warm clothes and food for the food bank. I also try to get them away from the “want, want, want” aspect and push more the spirit of the season instead.

This year we have picked names within the family….It is so pricey to buy for 5 nieces and nephews, brother and sister and spouses, Mom, Dad, Step mother and then some special friends as well. We thought it would be better to pick names and buy “nicer” gifts , things they need or want rather than budget limited gifts that can be stressful to find. So I have 4 people ( other than my children) to buy for, rather than 12! I hope it works out well….although as some mentioned it is sooo hard to resist picking up things for others that you know they would really love!

Keep the ideas coming…Love them!

By: Brie

Brie — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 19:51:22 +0000

I love this! I think I am going to have to borrow that.
Brie´s last blog ..Torment

By: Deb

Deb — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 18:16:34 +0000

We had something similar. Now I’ll have to tell you the posturepedic Christmas story.