To start with, for me Christmas is all about family, not the gifts. I honestly know that my brothers, my Mom and my Grandmother would all be happy with hand made little gifts or something all about sentiment and I am the same way (like the snow globes made for Lex's Godfather). I don't think it's about the amount of gifts we get, if fact Mad Dog and I opened very little if nothing for ourselves this Christmas, making it all about the kids. In the kids case, I want them to be happy and have the toys and things they wish for, but within reason. Mad Dog and I honestly took a look the aftermath of this holiday and would like to come up with a better plan for next year. With all the family buying for the kids, plus Santa and us it is far too overwhelming and too much. We think next year Santa will look at bringing a little less, and maybe even more of a family gift. With Wish List for our families I think we would much rather (in Loki and Lex's cases) have them receive money allowing them to take a class and then possibly a small gift. Both kids have Birthdays very close to Christmas (Loki before and Lex after) and I think the volume of gifts are sometime lost on them.
So, how did the holiday actually go? Okay - we started with the EARLY arrival of Gigi, coming on the 16th of December. Though early we were able to work things out and it has been a pleasure having her here. She has grown-up a bit, even since the summer.
December 17th brought Lex's Lighting McQueen bike. My Brother Sean and Sister-in-Law Tiffany sent it for Christmas. Though Mad Dog and I didn't quit know how to deal with the bike, Lex is happy and will have to understand he has to wait until the spring to ride it - once we get a helmet.
December 22 brought Mad Dog's Father and Step-Mother for a visit. This visit was difficult for me though I was at work. I am grateful to have them in the kids lift, however I don't think there is a ounce of thought when it comes to anyone else sometimes. Though we give them a list of gifts okay to purchase for the holiday (this is done to prevent duplication not only between the multiple people purchasing for them, but with the gifts we have purchased through the year for Christmas from Santa) - despite the list they purchased a gift for Loki (My Pal Violet) which was not on the list. I had purchased this gift back in May for Loki when it first came out, and everyone who is close to me, knows I have bursting at the seams to gift it to her from Santa on Christmas morning. This excitement was not only for her, but for me. When Mad Dog called me to tell me they had brought Violet I was devastated, knowing that not only did I miss the excitement of the gift which should have been open Christmas morning, but also I had to deal with Lex and Gigi knowing that Loki had received both. Needless to say Mad Dog was given the receipt and I since exchanged it for something else for Loki. In addition to Loki Scout Incident, Gabrielle was take for a shopping spree 2 days before Christmas. This again is something that was not thought through. What if (and it almost happened) if the same things happened with Gabrielle?
Christmas Eve, was a long day for us on all counts. I worked the morning/afternoon until 2PM, then I drove home to Worcester, to get out of the car, fill the car and get back on the road. For multiple reasons we took Route 9 out to Western Massachusetts - this wasn't Mad Dog's best idea and he knows it. It was a longer trip and the kids were dying to get out of the car. Once in West Springfield we ate dinner at Mad Dog's Mom's and then we're given gifts from Mike's Mom before heading to Mad Dog's Sister's for dessert and more gifts. The evening was VERY LONG - between the longest Yankee Swap (thank you Michelle) in history and the disappearance of Mad Dog's brother Jeff before he gave out his gifts to the kids. The night in West Springfield ended when Loki took one of Lex's new toys and Lex went into a fit pummeling her until we pulled them apart. We were home by 10:15 PM. Lex and Loki in bed. I made suger cookies for the Big Man and Gigi went to bed. Leaving Mad Dog and I to wrap the hoards of presents.
Christmas morning was over in 20 seconds. I don't even know how we got any pictures. Hours of wrapping undone in seconds. Mad Dog ventured out for Dunkin Donuts while the kids played. After that they all dressed and we headed to Mansfield for Christmas with my Family. It was the quietest Christmas we had in a long time in Mansfield. The kids opened gifts from My Mom and Stuart, Nonna and Uncle Kevin and Brent. I was very excited to give Kevin and Brent our gift, a copy of the cookbook Intercourses complete with 2 framed photos from the cookbook for their apartment. The day ended with a visit from my cousin Tracie, Morgan and Josh.
It was a long holiday and I'm glad it's over. I'm looking forward to New Years Eve with the kids and Mad Dog. I'm going to carry on a tradition from my childhood and honor my Dad in doing so. I hope the kids are ready for it (there is a lot of walking involved).
No comments:
Post a Comment