I am Thinking of Something that Starts With a C
Posted on : 17-11-2009 | By : Amber | In : Advent and Christmas, The Whole Shebang
Tags: Wordless Wednesday
14
...and I just can't shake it!
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I love Christmas! I can’t wait to start decorating! My tree is usually up by now. I’m slacking off this year, but it will be up before Thanksgiving.
Don’t even fight it! Put the tree up!
LOL!! Everyone keeps telling me to go ahead and put up my tree — and if I had one I would!! I usually put it up on Dec 1st and scoff at putting it up early. This year, I’d actually be willing to put it up early but wouldn’t you know it… I discarded our old “fake” tree last year because was so old, mishapen and scraggly it was a contender for the Charlie Brown christmas tree lookalike contest. Hubs agreed that I could discard it and get a new one this year. Which I haven’t done yet. So alas, I have no tree to put up. I’ll just have to wait until payday on the 1st and go buy one – as planned. *sigh* =)
Those are gorgeous ornaments. I am starting to get into the holiday spirit too:-)
Thank you! I have an addiction to Christmas ornaments. Every year I buy a handful more to add to the tree. Of course, since I’ll be buying a bigger tree than we previously had, I can justify that this year right?
On the other hand, we’ll also be adding a selection of vintage ornaments that my great-grandmother made (after I go pick some out of my grandmother’s stash) and the kids and I will probably make some, too. We definitely won’t have an ornament shortage. =)
Not me! I am so not ready for Christmas. I think it is the thought of buying for 5 kids on a very tight budget that is ruining Christmas for me.
Oh, I understand, believe me. Well, not the five kids part – but buying for any number of children on a low-zero budget is very daunting and depressing. That part – I GET.
I have a gazillion things I want to say about this, but I’ll just sum up with:
*HE is the reason for the season! It’s hard for kids to get that, and not pin it on the gifts, but every little bit we help them understand that helps alleviate the gift pressure a small amount.
*Making Christmas fun and meaningful with family activities, traditions and devotions is the LARGEST part of our Christmas holiday celebration. Even if the gifts under the tree are skim, the rest of our Christmas celebration was so much more than that and the kids see that, feel that.
*We shouldn’t be tempted to, or actually do, overspend on Christmas. I know why we do. But we shouldn’t. It not only gives our kids the wrong impression on the focus of Christmas but it also teaches them bad habits. Think about how many people go into debt every Christmas, recovering for 2,3 or 4 months after? Where did they learn those habits? Creating a budget, however small, and setting a spending amount per child will help you stay on track.
*We CAN make, buy and collect inexpensive and creative gifts for our children that they will love. First by making sure that we choose things they really will enjoy for a long time, so that money spent doesn’t go to waste. Second by checking garage sales, thrift stores and Craigslist for items in good shape that with a little spiffing up will be well used and loved by our kids. Third by scouring the internet for creative ideas (like this homemade velcro ball game) for stocking stuffers and that sort of thing.
There is so much more I could say – but we have to remember (and I’m preaching to the choir) that the world will not end if our kids have a lean Christmas, or if they don’t get the ONE THING they really wanted (in fact most of the things my kids want I refuse to buy anyway.) Your kids may remember some, but they will most likely not remember every toy they did or did not get as a child. But they WILL most likely remember the traditions and celebrations that we put in place — and also, why we did them.
Blessings to you and your family this holiday season – and may the financial burdens of this economy not weigh you down nor quench your spirit. HUGS to you!
Thank you! I am not at all worried about my two biological children. One is little and my 3yo is already learning about God and the true meaning of Christmas. My stepkids, on the other hand, have been brought up to believe Christmas is about getting gifts and try to make it a competition with their bio mom. She doesn’t help matters by doing it worse.
Thanks for the words and thoughts though. I hear you and totally understand all you are saying. Some day, I hope all my kids will understand it too.
I bet that is difficult. I’ve seen friends go through similar things as step-moms. But being the best mom you can be doesn’t necessarily mean being the coolest or most fun, right? Hang in there!
Just further evidence of my ornament “problems” … I dug out these posts from last year. I should repost them for this year. =)
O Share Your Christmas Tree
So just HOW MANY ornaments were on my tree?
I know how you feel! I’m the same way this year.
We’re getting a new tree this year. our first large tree we got on sale after Christmas and only use once got thrown away. Our storage room leaked a lot and I just knew it would be a mold- fest The bad thing is that with a crawling baby I am going back to a small tree I can put up on a table. I went to price them this week. Nice ones (4 feet) were like 60 bucks! I only paid 20 for the big one (I am SO CHEAP). I did see that K mart is putting a few of their small trees 50% of just for tomorrow (Thursday)
Others are on sale all week. Here is a link to our flier, you can put in your own zip code on the site to find your local one. http://kmart.shoplocal.com/kmart/Default.aspx?action=browsepagesingle&storeid=2422353&rapid=778274&pagenumber=1&prvid=Kmart-091115BASE&promotioncode=Kmart-091115BASE
Thanks!
Believe it or not, I am getting mine at the Dollar General! I have bought small three foot ones there before and they were pretty decent little trees, for around 15$. I bought a purple one many years ago and then we lost the base and I replaced it with a pink one last year or the year before. The girls loved it! 3 or 4 years ago, my mom bought a 6 foot pre-lit three there and she’s been really happy with it so I’m going back there to get mine at the end of the month. The one I want is a 7 foot pre-lit tree for either 40 or 45 dollars, I can’t recall. I asked them if they ever run out of trees, to make sure that I could wait to get one. She said, yes they sometimes run out between shipments but then they get new ones in and will have trees all the way up to Christmas! So if you can’t find a good one you like at K-mart.. do you have a Dollar General nearby?? (If not, Ryan can just fly y’all out for a visit in a plane and you can buy one at mine.) =)
Christmas!!! We’ll be setting up our tree this weekend!