Oh Christmas Bills! Oh Christmas Bills!!

You can go ahead and sign that just like I did to the tune of Oh Christmas Tree!

It has been quite a few years since I've really had to buy gifts for any one.  There are only a handful of people that I feel obligated to buy for and as a result I can do most of it online in a fairly quick manner.  For the last two years the person that I fretted over the most was my nephew and hasn't really cared much in the past about what he got it was the excitement of opening things (he's 3).

We do a gift exchange on Christmas with my husband's family as well.  Last year we did books and bags, the bags I had embroidered turned out to be really crappy but you can't win every year.  Since we had just had our daughter the bags were supposed to be little kits that were filled with diaper, a blanket, etc. for when she was out with each family but that didn't quite happen but it was the idea.  My husband and I don't exchange anything really.  I mean technically I purchased him this sweater for Christmas...

This is "his" sweater

I actually bought it in gray with the blue pony but I can't seem to find a picture of that one.

This year, on December 15th, my best friend kindly reminded me that Christmas was next week.  WHAT???  I'm sorry did you say that I have like a week of possible shopping time before the holiday???  Number one, she knows me way too well and probably knew that I didn't realize it was coming around the calendar corner at speeds faster than a speeding bullet.  Number two, what in the world am I going to buy for everyone???  I had written down like two ideas but hadn't really put too much thought into making it a complete gift.  I enjoy giving gifts and I enjoy the whole idea of making the packages to put together for everyone but what?  

In typical me fashion (who hates shopping) I tried to see what I could get online.  The problem with shopping online is that you can't feel and touch and compare the products the way that you would in a store.  I love shopping online because there are no crowds, or irritating people bothering me and I'm not trying to wrangle my daughter.  Alas, I gave up and decided to shop in the stores.

Because of my lack of planning and thinking things out, I've spent way too much money.  I mean over kill.  I am not mad that I spent the money I'm just mad that I didn't spread it out a little more.   I hate getting big credit card bills no matter how long I have planned and saved for events such as this.  

Gah!  Why do I do this to myself???  I'm scared to look at my credit card bills...  

Oh, Christmas Tree

As I laid in bed this morning I started to wonder why an evergreen tree as THE Tree of Christmas.  

Thank you KiiwyYo on WeHeartIt.com

If you read Dear Santa, you would know that I haven't put up a traditional tree for quite a few years.  There have been quite a few family members who have made comments about how we "need" to put up the tree.  A Christmas tree doesn't change the holiday for me.  I do have a Charlie Brown Christmas Tree that my best friend purchased a few years ago as a joke but I've put that tree up for quite a few years.  This has literally been the extent of my decorating as of the last few years.

Why an evergreen tree though?  I've read quite a few different variations of why but essentially it has come down to the fact that an evergreen is just that, ever green.  In the winter when all the leaves have fallen off the trees and the ground will no longer let the crops grow, an evergreen is alive and flourishing even in the harshest of weather.  Some also believed that evergreens would keep away evil spirits, ghosts, sickness, etc.  I often feel like traditions were started to ward away all kinds of bad things such as spirits and illness.

There are so many different variations of the story of the Christmas tree it would be a ridiculous blog post.  I am not going to put up a traditional tree again this year but I did purchase one of these cute little things from Trader Joe's (this isn't mine, I borrowed the picture).  

Thank you for buying the same tree so I don't have to take a pic of mine...

This week I'm going to decide on what I am going to do for a tree.  I think I will make this year's tree out of wrapping paper and lights (I'll try to make a post about that). <-- Blogger's being a little wonky and not letting me realign things.  Sorry!

For now let's just look at some other beautiful trees that people have posted:

Thank you Crystal Gonzalez

Thank you

Look at all those bulbs!

I hope you all find whatever traditions work for you and your family.

Dear Santa,

What a cute little printable! She's got lots more too!

I've never written a letter to Santa. I've never believed in Santa. My daughter is celebrating her second Christmas I started to wonder about what I'm going to teach my daughter about Christmas.

She's a December baby so she wasn't aware of the festivities on her first Christmas but as she has  grown over the year she has become a sponge of all that is around her.  For the last few years my husband and I didn't even put up a Christmas tree or decorate. It was just the two of us and we were not home to celebrate because as a couple without children we did the running around.

As I considered what we were going to do about decorations and such I started to wonder what am I going to teach my daughter about Christmas. The older I get the more or seems that people are just worried about what they're getting from "Santa". I never believed in "Santa". My older brother did but according to my parents it was short lived. Maybe as my older brother he thought he was helping me with (future) disappointment in life or my parents decided it wasn't worth it.  I always knew he, as in a fat guy who came down the chimney to drop off presents, wasn't real.

http://content.hollywire.com/sites/default/files/Rudolph_and_Santa.jpg

From a fairly early age I was taught why Christmas is celebrated. As an adult it means much more to me now then it ever has. As a kid and even as a teen I was aware of the why but never really took the time to really think about it. My parents were the kind of people who went to church at Easter and Christmas, they didn't push it. They did work hard to make sure we got most of what we wanted.  We always got at least one gift from Santa but I knew that he wasn't real and that my parents had just put "Love, Santa" on a special gift.  

I don't think that my husband and I are going to teach my daughter to believe in Santa but she will know who he is.  To us it is more important that we teach her what Christmas is really about not about what to expect.  I know that we have great a great support group who respects the decisions that we make about what we teach to her.  

So sorry Santa, you probably won't really be getting letters from my child (or other future children).

A cute little cartoon Santa Claus

Not Very Thankful

Today we had a work meeting with my whole office and somehow we got on the topic of Christmas.  Now as much as I love a celebration, I feel like people are not very thankful.  It's like Halloween happens and then we're ready for Christmas.  Since Thanksgiving is nearly smack dab in the middle of the two holidays I feel like it should get the same respect as the other two holidays.  

Thank you The English Room

If you know me you would know that I love Halloween more than any other holiday even if people have turned it into "be as slutty as possible for one day".  I still find the whole idea of taking the time to get dressed up and put together a costume very exciting.  I love it so much I personally sewed my 10.5 month baby a Minnie Mouse costume by hand just so that she would have a unique outfit.  We went out with my nephew trick-or-treating in a small downtown even though we didn't get candy.  For me it is so very fun.  I hope that she will feel the same way when she is older and can make her own decisions (and if not hopefully she'll do it for me *fingers crossed*).

Back to the point of this whole post... once Halloween is over the stores drop the orange and green like a hot potato and are on to red and green.  It always baffles me how much less respect Thanksgiving is given each year.  As I get older I am trying to learn the fine art of enjoying each stage of things as they happen including giving each holiday it's own time and respect.  

I really started to get into this mode of thinking once my daughter was born. I'm not that girl who's really into little babies.  I think they are cute but I don't need to hold a baby when I see one.  When my daughter was born I realized there were going to be stages of her life that I am not going to enjoy as much as others so I made a deal with myself that I would enjoy each stage as it came.  So far this has been one of the greatest things about watching her grow up.  I'm not trying to rush anything but letting each stage grow and bud as it fits her.

I feel the same way about the holidays.  I know that people are really excited for December festivities but there is too much focus on buying stuff and not enough on enjoying what we have and things that we can't purchase.  It really disgusts me that stores in an effort to build up their bottom line are interrupting a holiday meant to be spent with family just to get people to the stores faster.  I know that it won't be changing any time soon but I sure hope that we get back to the days were we really remember things to be thankful for.