Some Christmas Thoughts

I do love Christmas. It's the time to celebrate Jesus' birth...and you know, without the birth, there would not be a resurrection!  I just thought I'd share some thoughts on how I/we do Christmas.

One year Derek even made me a CD of Christmas music. It was one of my favorite things he has done for me. (Just don't consider asking him to listen to Christmas music before Thanksgiving. He would prefer to wait until December!)

I do not shop on Black Friday, but I do shop year round. Many years, before children, I would finish my shopping in October or November. I like to give thoughtful things, but try to be practical, too. I keep a running list of gift ideas in a Word document for ideas for us and others year round, so I might have some ideas when it comes time to shop.  Usually I try for really good deals, but sometimes, we just "have" to get something mid-summer at full price.  (Penn State items seem to be the biggest culprit there!)  I often ask family members what they would like...so they aren't surprised either.  At least I know they'll like it.

We usually put up our tree the first weekend in December. It's artificial. I light a pine scented candle to compensate! Derek grew up with an artificial tree. I appreciate it because as a kid, I was anxious to get a tree, but always had to wait for the right time to get it. (My dad would usually get a tree to plant, which I appreciated. My mom is a bit of a Scrooge and doesn't always put up a tree.)  This year our tree is not up yet because we have little E, age 13 months, who would help our cat bring it down!  We'll put it up this weekend though.

As a child I collected rocking horses. They are now a large part of our Christmas decorations. My first tree (a Charlie Brown type tree) when I lived on my own was mostly decorated with my own ornaments and just a few bulbs.

When Derek and I were on our honeymoon in Lake Placid, NY, we bought quite a few Christmas ornaments. It began a tradition of trying to pick out an ornament when we traveled. It doesn't always work though.

We have no mantle to hang stockings, but we do have a wooden banister.

Last year I made treats to take to our neighbors, many whom I didn't know yet.  But, really, I don't typically have a Christmas baking day.  This year I thought I was making sugar cookies to decorate, but really, they were so good without the icing that M and I didn't get to decorate.  She didn't seem to mind since she had a yummy dessert.

We travel for Christmas...or shortly after.  Last year was our first Christmas morning in our home, I think.  We found out that traveling later on Christmas day is okay...if you don't mind starving.  Thankfully we found a convenience store with some bad pizza.  It worked.  Thankfully our families all (three sets of parents, at least) live about an hour from one another.  So we can see them all, though it's hard to spend a lot of time with any of them.

I like to be surprised with gifts, though all too often I know what I'm getting.  It's not because I peeked.  I'm not ten, you know.  Or thirteen.  NOW I like to be surprised!  Yes, I admit it, and my dad and sister often remind me, as a child I snooped.  Shame on me!  In my defense, my dad would put gifts under the tree as soon as they were wrapped.  Talk about temptation. 

Derek and I tend to be very practical when it comes to giving each other presents.  However, I can usually count on a Yankee candle for every summer (birthday or anniversary) and Christmas.  My favorite scent is probably Christmas Cookies, but it makes me want to EAT.
One last thought for now.  Our spare bed is COVERED in bags and gifts...and very few are for our own children.  I think I need to start wrapping!