As Christmas Day approaches, Kathy and I are hurriedly starting finishing our shopping, looking for the perfect gift or in some cases settling for free shipping of whatever they happen to have in stock.
It made us wonder — what do other people do to get presents into the hands of those they love? So we came up with this little poll:
Let us know! Leave a comment about a great deal you found, or an excellent gift idea you’re particularly proud of.
Tim
Christmas is almost here!
Do you hear the panic in my voice? I am not ready, not ready, not ready for Christmas!! I think there should be two full weeks left until it’s actually Christmas.
Anyone else agree?
Can we vote on it?
Panic aside, I am thoroughly enjoying the season. We have Christmas lights up on the house. My Advent Calendars have been an overwhelming success. We hosted a Christmas brunch, had a huge birthday slumber party, attended a mother/daughter craft gala, and tomorrow we’re decorating cookies with friends.
So really, the only area in which I am unprepared for Christmas, is in terms of actual presents.
Now it’s my children who are panicking!
Don’t fret little ones, Amazon.com ships in two days. They might make it here by Christmas.
In spite of my lack of credentials in this area, my Works for Me Wednesday tip relates entirely to Christmas presents. It’s one of my ‘bestest’ ideas ever. You will love this. It truly is an awesome way of handling gifts. If you have a family with more than one child, this tip will quickly become a favorite.
Reindeer Names
At the beginning of the season (or in my case, the week before Christmas when I’m finally ready to wrap presents) in the cover of darkness and in total secrecy, I assign each member of the family a secret reindeer name.
All of the presents are labeled to follow this code. The kids know (on pain of death or, even worse, the loss of all their presents) not to sneak a peak at my Reindeer Code List.
It works something like this, suppose that Joshua is Dasher, Rachel Dancer, Daniel is Rudolph, etc, any present for Joshua that goes under the tree is thus labeled, To: Dasher.
This practice has transformed the way the kids view the presents under the tree. They no longer compare and contrast their “piles” or root around, looking for their own gifts. Instead they plot and scheme, trying to decipher which child corresponds to which reindeer.
On Christmas morning the names are revealed. It’s quite the celebration as the anticipation and eagerness have been building throughout the season.
This is not my tree.
In the last two years, we’ve had to expand our collection of names. There are only so many reindeer, after all, and with five children (plus Mom and Dad) you run through the list pretty fast (even counting Olive). We’ve recruited various Christmas movie characters – Frosty, Snowden, Elf; Mr. Incredible even made an appearance.
For some reason the silliness of using aliases got to us one year. Or maybe it was the fact that we were wrapping presents at 2 in the morning, either way, one of us got the notion to sign the gift tag, From: Cinderella.
At that point a new tradition was born! From then on all the presents were given from characters from movies, books, or songs.
To: Prancer
Love: The High King Peter
To: Donner
From: Ariel
The Pevensey kids from the Chronicles of Narnia have shown considerable generosity to our family. The entire Peanuts crew has also made an appearance. The boys routinely receive presents from various Disney Princesses and the little ones have been known to accept gifts from the Redwall characters. I try to be sneaky (don’t read this, kids) and throw them off the trail this way.
I’d love to hear any other tips you have for keeping the joy and wonder alive for children during the holidays. Share some of your favorite memories or creative suggestions!
Head over to Rocks in My Dryer for additional ideas.
Kathy
To celebrate Rachel’s 12th birthday party, we decided to host a Sleepover Extraordinaire. First Rachel invited all over her friends (most of them from large homeschooling families), next I begged the moms to come along (“to keep me sane company”), then we convinced Rachel to let us bring the little sisters as well (that added 3 five year olds to the party), finally we made sure to grab some girls from the old neighborhood.
Yes, all of that meant we needed two vehicles (packed to the ceiling) to take everyone off for the sleepover.
How else do you have a Birthday Extravaganza?
A few of Rachel’s nearest and dearest friends – Hannah, Emily, Sarah, Alivia, Bethany, Jenny, Brigette, Katie, Elizabeth and Abby. Leanne had to go home early so she missed all the photo shoots.
We had quite the assortment of entertainment for the party.
Some friends loaned us their karaoke machine (Thanks, Casey!!). It was a huge hit, playing cds at full volume (or so it seemed) while the girls sang along.
The little girls were very intrigued by the Singing Machine.
For her birthday, Rachel received Dance Praise 2 which plays contemporary Christian music and includes dance steps to go along. Thankfully the girls didn’t ask me to demonstrate for them.
I’d hate to blow them away with my stunning dancing abilities.
Or scare them.
Or give them nightmares.
Tim’s mom gave Rachel an incredible gift for her birthday party. She made nine (yes, I said NINE!!) gingerbread houses, assembled them, and had them all ready and waiting for us upon our arrival.
On Monday morning, she came over with containers of frosting/glue, bags of decorating candy, and instructions on how to create our very own Stunning Gingerbread Homes.
Each family went home with their own gingerbread house, which had the added benefit of encouraging sisters to work together in peace and harmony.
Or at least covered in sugar.
There was even a house for the littlest girls to decorate. And, since I’m a firm believer in more is better, I made sure the last group of younger sisters came over to join Sarah’s posse.
It was so kind of Rachel to allow the little sisters to join the party. Sarah had a wonderful time with Ava, Tarah, Abby, Avery, and Elise.
I’m trying not to kick myself for missing the opportunity to take pictures of all the gingerbread houses lined up in a sugary display of yummy confection. It’s hard work being the mother, hostess, party organizer, chef, AND photographer.
I did manage to get this picture.
Some creative gingerbread ideas:
And much, much more sugary, gumdrop, chocolate creativity.
I’m not sure the girls slept very much. You can see they look a bit blurry here.
Oh wait, maybe that’s the photographer who was a bit blurry. I’m not sure I slept very much either.
A wonderful time was had by all.
1 Birthday Girl
11 Party Girls
6 Little Girls
3 Moms (old girls?)
Thanks to everyone who made it an AWESOME birthday party!!
Kathy
Project 365 – Day 351
In celebration of Rachel’s recent birthday, Kathy and the girls have gone off for a birthday overnight, leaving me and the boys home alone. So far, as befits the men of destiny that we are, we’ve accomplished quite a few things on our list:
Men of Destiny
Oh, wait, that wasn’t our list. Here’s ours:
There’s really not much difference between those lists, is there? And here Kathy was worried about leaving us to our own devices! Come home soon, Kath! We miss you … 
Tim
I thought I would share some fun links I discovered this week:
BooMama is offering a $100 Gift Card from Lands’ End. All you have to do is pop by BooMama’s site and leave a comment. I’m torn between shopping for the children and getting myself a new winter jacket.
I’m sure the children would want me to be snug and warm in a new coat. They’re always putting my needs first.
Rocks in My Dryer (where you can find me most Wednesdays, hanging out, reading tips and becoming a better person) has a Bloggy Giveaway Site. There are several giveaways going on right now. Stop by and enter for a clothing certificate, a blogging design package, and a chance to win a scripture bag.
Michelle over at Scribbit is hosting a photo collage giveaway. Fill out her giveaway form and your name is entered into the drawing. Super easy.
Michelle also has a great collection of Winter Activities to do with the children over the holidays. Of course, the snow suggestions make my kids sigh with envy.
“Go out and play in the rain, kids.” Just doesn’t have the same ring to it as sending them out in the snow.
I end this blog with a link to a hysterical story that literally made me laugh out loud. Bathroom Emergency My kids love to hear stories about Jacqui and her unique approach to life. Michelle at In Life of a Child is a wonderful writer who captures the antics of her children (down to the pitch and lisp of their language) perfectly. Spend some time with Jacqui and you can’t help but smile.
Have a lovely Sunday!
Kathy