The countdown is on! Who is done with shopping, cooking and cleaning??? Not this girl! I thought I was in good shape when I had the trees up and decorated the day after Thanksgiving and the presents wrapped and under the tree by the end of that weekend. But then, real life hit...
Let's start with the lights, for the first time ever they were up and running on the first try on BOTH (yes, I said both...as in two full size trees) of the trees until we unplugged them for the evening and the next day only half of each tree lit up. Very strange. That was a battle that lasted a full week and conquered both my youngest daughter and my very tired boyfriend. One tree is now fully functional (weeks later) and the other we choose to just squint and imagine...
This led to the outside light, they too were on some kind of conquest to drive us all crazy. Went up without a hitch, lit up beautifully, until...it got dark out and then a mysterious patch of blackness appeared above the door. Luckily, Ken wasn't so tired the next day or he prayed to the light bulb gods because with one switch of a bulb we were back in business. Snowflakes and candy canes were added last night and without incident, that called for a click of the eggnog goblets!
Presents... Only another parent can truly appreciate this one. So as I said I thought I was ahead of the game not only in purchasing, but in wrapping until, as always, my darling children decide they no longer want the items that they so desired with every ounce of their being just two months before. Go figure. So back to the stores I go. Still shopping as of this afternoon and plans to head out in the morning as well...ughhh!
(***This is definitely a teaching opportunity. It's time to involve the teenagers in the family finances. Great way to teach life skills and practice mathematics... have them work out the budget for the months of November, December and January. )
And lets not forget the wonderful Christmas Eve dinner. I was all organized and planned for this grand event of the year that I gladly took over from my mother last year when my luck struck again...Broken oven! To my dismay and a selection of words I cannot print, Carbon Monoxide detectors let out the wail that we all wish we never had to hear. After an midnight evacuation and an early morning visit from the gas company I was given the wonderful news that my oven was going to the appliance heaven in the sky. To most women this is a god send but for me I've been living in "Hell" for the last couple of weeks. No Christmas cookies for my family this year and Christmas Eve dinner has been moved back to my moms to my disappointment ( and to my moms, and those of you that know her know how true this is, she loves the company but her disdain of cooking these days is a punishment to all of us...shhhh). So I guess I will be back to my old M.O. of running around my moms kitchen being her sous chef for the day and night. I'm still up in the air about Christmas morning breakfast and how that is going to be pulled off. Maybe Santa will leave me a new stove (might as well wish for a whole kitchen while I'm at it!)
Even with all the craziness, I wouldn't wish this time away. It truly is my favorite time of year and I cherish every moment of it with my amazing family and friends xoxo. Wishing you all a splendid week of prepping and a wonderful Christmas day filled with love and blessings.
Enjoy your Holidays! Make every moment meaningful!
(***Great time to teach your children about the gift of giving. There are plenty of opportunities at this time of year for teens to fulfill social expectations they may need as graduation requirements, soup kitchens, food drives, clothing drives and toy drives. Teaching children the importance of being responsible and productive contributors to society is just as important as academic success)
http://www.helpothers.org/ideas.php
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