No, we haven't started decorating yet (maybe this weekend, though)... I am just ready for the holidays to start!! I've bought the turkey, which is supposed to be defrosting in the fridge. I say "supposed to" because I put it in there yesterday, and it's still hard as a rock. I think Mr. Tom Turkey will be taking a bath in the sink for a little while tomorrow... He needs a little help taking the chill off!!! :)
I've also bought a few Christmas presents already. Do you think I've bought yours yet? The world may never know! ;) I will admit to buying a few things for Maddy already!! I'm SUPER STINKIN EXCITED about those purchases!!! No, I won't be posting any pictures or divulging what said purchases are until after Santa comes. He might out-do me this year, so I want to wait and see what he brings!! :)
I'm very ready to start my holiday baking, but I'm afraid it might be a little early for that (I'd like for there to still be some cookies by Christmas)... I think, though, I've come up with a plan so that I can do that while Maddy's awake. I'm going to try very hard to let her help me. I know that it's going to take 10 times longer, but who cares?? For that little girl, I have ALMOST all the time in the world!!! If all else fails, I thought I could put her in her high chair with some dough and a cookie cutter and let her play... Again, who cares?!?! It's Christmas for crying out loud!!! :)
So, yes, the spirit has hit me!!! Bryan, Maddy, Nash and I are going to stay home this year and just be us... our little family. Bryan and I have never stayed at home for Christmas (we've always traveled to one family or another), and Bryan, Maddy and I have never all been together for Christmas before... EVER!! We thought this year would be a good time to start. We're going to start some new traditions this year. Some ideas we've thrown out are these:
(1) Everyone gets to open one present on Christmas Eve, but, strategically, that ONE present will just HAPPEN to be new PJ's. (Secretly, I really want us all in snazzy jammies for the pictures on Christmas morning... Shhh... Don't tell anyone!!)
(2) I will be wrapping everyone's Christmas gifts in different paper (each person will have his/her own paper). No packages will have any nametags on them, then on Christmas morning, everyone will open his/her stocking first. At the bottom of each stocking will be a small piece of wrapping paper that will indicate which gifts belong to each person. This is a tradition that a friend of ours in Mississippi did. There were 4 or 5 children in the family, and this kept everyone from sneaking a peek before the big day. No one cared about anyone else's gifts!! :)
(3) We'll read "Twas the Night Before Christmas" on Christmas Eve as a family. We did this when I was a kiddo (ok, so I was distraught when I was 20-something and someone finally said they didn't want to do it anymore), so I think now that I have a kiddo of my own is a good time to reinstate this tradition! Thankfully, Bryan agreed!! :)
Tomorrow, I plan to go out and buy a stocking holder. You see, our dilemma is that we do not have a fireplace (who needs a fireplace in TEXAS??), so we have no where to hang our stockings. I found a really neat decorative stocking holder at Kirkland's, so I'll be making that purchase tomorrow (hopefully)!
So, I think I've rambled on enough for now... Maddy's sleeping and I'm WORN OUT!! We're just counting down the days until the first holiday of the season!! I hope to blog again to tell everyone about Maddy's first Thanksgiving that she's able to enjoy and interact. Let's face it, a 6 week old really doesn't "get it", so last year was a bit of a bust for Maddy!!
I hope everyone is getting as excited as I am for the holidays!! What are some of your family's traditions? I'd love to hear them... Maybe we'll incorporate them into our family!!
Love you guys!! :)
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3 comments:
I'm getting excited for the Holidays this year too. I'm not really sure why, except that I've got such a great start on my shopping already!!! The only package I have to ship this year is to Texas, so that's a BIG PLUS for me too!!!! YAY YAY YAY!!!
I love the idea of getting new Christmas pajamas on Christmas Eve. That's a GREAT tradition!!
Can't wait to see the photos of Maddy's first memorable Christmas. I know she's going to have a blast and so are you and Bryan.
Love ya!!
Wonderful ideas for Christmas!!! As much as we LOVE the idea of all of you being with us (and of course Bryan's family) at the holidays, there eventually comes the time when you must become a family yourself; enjoy it!!
One thing we used to do when the kids were young was to read the Christmas passage from the Bible. Victoria liked that. Also, you can buy (or make) a false fireplace mantle to use for the Christmas season. It can be a lot of fun and a great family heirloom later in life...
I am getting to tackle making Thanksgiving dinner at the firehouse, so think of me while you are in your kitchen with every tool you could ever need. I'll be making do with half a wooden spoon and a quart sized pot. Gonna be interesting!!
April has a pretty good plan for giving gifts to 'mom or dad' type people that there may be multiple copies of across the two families. If it is to 'Mom or Dad' from 'April and Chris', it is for her parents, if it is from 'Chris and April', it's for our parents. There, now you got another little secret.
I would go nuts with the whole wrapping paper thing. You gotta 'preplan' them boxes lady!!!
Talk to you soon.
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