Christmas is over and I am hoping to be back into routine schedule this week. I always enjoy Christmas, but with this Christmas came hectic and leaving me frazzled most of the time. Christmas will never be the same and will never be easy again like it was when I was living with Mom and Dad. I no longer have just one Christmas to plan for. I have four Christmases! No joke either.
My first Christmas this year was our Christmas party we hosted the Thursday before Christmas. We were given a free turkey from a member of our Church the end of November. Putting it into the freezer to save for a later date, became our plans for a Christmas party at our place. I never thought I would ever see the day when I would roast my first turkey. I never imagined it would be this early in our married life. It proved to be the best turkey I had ever eaten and the most fun time I have ever hosted. We had corn, stuffing, turkey, green beans, sweet potato praline, rolls, and chocolate coated pretzels for the h'ors-doevres. Afterward, we drew numbers for the white elephant gift exchange. I was the only one there who had ever played this game so I explained the rules and then we had fun picking out our gifts.
My second Christmas was with Mom and Dad and the kids on Christmas morning. We drove down to GA the night before Christmas Eve and told all the kids we would only be spending Christmas Eve with them and leave after dinner. Well on Christmas Eve during dinner, we told them we couldn't open presents that night, but that we could in the morning. I loved the looks on their faces and the sputtered questions when they still didn't understand that we were staying for Christmas. Presents were opened the next morning. We received mostly home decor gifts and one book for Nathan. I enjoyed all my gifts and enjoyed giving our gifts to the kids.
The third Christmas happened at 10am at Gam's house. We all drove up to her house, brought our gifts to her, and exchanged gifts. Gam gave us a plant stand, a cookbook, two small bird houses, and an item that has slipped my mind at the moment. Nothing really that Nathan could enjoy, but he was a good sport about it and told me he was happy we got things for our sunroom. Most of all the decor we received is because everyone knows that we have a sunroom and wants to help us dcorate it. I got a kick out of all the sun room items we got out of the GA gifts. It really tickles me to think of how Mom and Gam thought of my sunroom when buying gifts for me. Ends up that I left half of my sunroom decor in Mom and Dad's house by accident. We remembered everything else, just not the ones that I could use the most right now. The watering can meant for a plant, a wheel barrow that is oh so cute. A cow bell that would look cute hanging on the wall. And one other item I am forgetting. Oh well! We will be down there hopefully in February. Mom is holding onto those items for us.
Finally, our fourth and last Christmas came Christmas afternoon and after our trip back to NC.
We dumped out our stockings and watched Cecilie open her gifts around 4:30 and 5 (really can't remember exact time). We then greeted the Greer's as they showed up soon after Cecilie opened her first gifts. Actually they greeted us since we were told to stay seated and not get up. I won't mention any names, but we were instructed not to go to the door as it was interrupting our stocking openings and Cecilie's first Christmas. That was very harsh on Mama and I. We wanted so much to go say "hello" and be at the door. After Cecilie went down for naptime, we ate dinner and cleaned up. Jake arrived and we all sat down to open presents together. Nathan got a new shirt and over jacket, a couple other items, and, his favorite of all, a flat screen LCD monitor for his computer. This, he didn't ask for and didn't expect, but we knew he wanted it. Oh the look on his face!! I couldn't express my joy for him enough. Everyone was excited to see him open that. He didn't know what it was at first and didn't read the box until he turned it over to see the other side (which looked exactly like the front side). I got a cookbook, photo frame, a coat, a much wanted book called Dewey, and a Zune mp3 player.
All the gifts we gave for Christmas were: two movies for Chad, two teddy bears for Susanna (I made the scarves for them), a book for Nathan, plates for Mama, a clock for Daddy, a scarf for mom, a covered brick bookend for Dad, books for Sarah, Hannah, and Marjory, a kite for Laura, Hannah, Marjory, and Alaina, a book for Michael, a chopping block for Jack and Miranda, cookies for all my siblings, a movie for Gabe and Lacey, cookies for the Greers, a Monopoly game for Jake, a scarf for Samantha, a picture in a frame for Gam, and a picture in a frame for Aunt Laura. I think that covers it all. I have to say the framed photos were the easiest gifts. But now that my camera doesn't work, I can't do that for Christmas next year, unless I get one for my birthday. My favorite gifts I gave this year were the cookies, the book for Nathan, and the teddy bears for Susanna. My favorite gifts I received were the book Dewey, my Betty Crocker cookbook, and my mp3 player. Though I enjoyed all the gifts I received and all of them involved a lot of thoughfulness put into them.
My new years resolution for 2009 is to work on the presents starting in January. That way we aren't broke working on Christmas just in December. I agreed with Nathan that I will at least work on two or three gifts a month. That isn't too bad and isn't hard at all. Even if a gift is bought, it is the smarter way to go. Only one or two gifts bought a month is not going to put us on the streets. I really like this idea aned am going to start right away at writing a Christmas list.
Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas!
13 years ago
