...are you ready yet? We aren't, and we won't be either, until Friday night, maybe Saturday. Till we get Chris's paycheck and decide which bills to short so Santa can make a good showing
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I don't mind at all! :) And I have no doubt that a call from my goddaughter and her mother would put a little tinsel in my Christmas tree!
It was so much easier when the kids were little, because the little ones don't really care what they get, do they? You could buy Play-Doh and crayons and markers and paper and coloring books and a baby doll, and all would be well...they'd feel like they'd won the lottery! As they get older, their requests get more and more expensive...but we just can't keep up this year.
Fortunately, the older two have 5 sets of grandparents in all, and countless Aunts and Uncles, so I have no doubt they'll have a very memorable Christmas. And Chris's parents are always so amazingly generous for Lorelei, so I think she'll be ok, too.
Chris wanted to just buy everyone in the house socks and underwear, and be done with it! :o) I almost aquiesed to that!! LOL!
We are so lucky that the kids are still at the age where they like $2 Shop stuff!!
I remember as a kid we would always get something to eat (like an orange and a mini packet of chips), something to do (like a colouring-in book and crayons/felts) and maybe something else very small in our stocking. Because we weren't allowed to open presents until my grandfather arrived, at about 10am or 10:30am. That's a long wait on Christmas Day! So we always had something to eat and something to do in our stockings. The funny thing is, I never realised that until my mother told me, years later. I was always excited to see what Santa had left. For Christmas presents we always got clothes, school bags and all the necessary things we needed, disguised as Christmas presents. And it worked. We always had lots of presents to open and were always pleased with what we got. I think we usually got one or two non-essentials per Christmas. And that's a good way to go. If you've got to buy the stuff anyway, like clothes, cos they need them, kill two
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I think I'd be bummed (as a kid) if ALL I got was underwear. But certainly I used to get it as a kid, mixed in with other things. I never minded. Actually, there's a photo of me at Christmas, aged about 13, with a bunch of knickers I got in a present. lol Just be wary of easily embarrassed girls opening bras in front of dads and brothers. Not sure if that's an issue there but it's something to think about! If my parents or Steve's parents ask what we want for Christmas, we always say clothes. And more specifically, boxers for Steve. I've discovered that it doesn't matter how holey or worn your underwear is, so long as no one can see it. lol So we never buy new underwear, and always hope for it for Christmas!!
I don't remember a bad Christmas, but I do have one present-giving occassion that still irks me. One year, for my birthday, my parents bought my older sister a new bike, and gave me her old bike. For my birthday. And I realise that buying a little bike when we already had one and needed a bigger one not another
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PS. If you have to buy socks and underwear anyway, why NOT give it for Christmas? So long as there's not two children getting toys and one getting socks and underwear which is a little unfair (!), will they really care?
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It was so much easier when the kids were little, because the little ones don't really care what they get, do they? You could buy Play-Doh and crayons and markers and paper and coloring books and a baby doll, and all would be well...they'd feel like they'd won the lottery! As they get older, their requests get more and more expensive...but we just can't keep up this year.
Fortunately, the older two have 5 sets of grandparents in all, and countless Aunts and Uncles, so I have no doubt they'll have a very memorable Christmas. And Chris's parents are always so amazingly generous for Lorelei, so I think she'll be ok, too.
Chris wanted to just buy everyone in the house socks and underwear, and be done with it! :o) I almost aquiesed to that!! LOL!
Reply
I remember as a kid we would always get something to eat (like an orange and a mini packet of chips), something to do (like a colouring-in book and crayons/felts) and maybe something else very small in our stocking. Because we weren't allowed to open presents until my grandfather arrived, at about 10am or 10:30am. That's a long wait on Christmas Day! So we always had something to eat and something to do in our stockings. The funny thing is, I never realised that until my mother told me, years later. I was always excited to see what Santa had left.
For Christmas presents we always got clothes, school bags and all the necessary things we needed, disguised as Christmas presents. And it worked. We always had lots of presents to open and were always pleased with what we got. I think we usually got one or two non-essentials per Christmas. And that's a good way to go. If you've got to buy the stuff anyway, like clothes, cos they need them, kill two ( ... )
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If my parents or Steve's parents ask what we want for Christmas, we always say clothes. And more specifically, boxers for Steve. I've discovered that it doesn't matter how holey or worn your underwear is, so long as no one can see it. lol So we never buy new underwear, and always hope for it for Christmas!!
I don't remember a bad Christmas, but I do have one present-giving occassion that still irks me. One year, for my birthday, my parents bought my older sister a new bike, and gave me her old bike. For my birthday. And I realise that buying a little bike when we already had one and needed a bigger one not another ( ... )
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