8 days till Christmas!

It used to be that I wrapped gifts from Santa in different, well hidden wrapping paper. I used to be very creative about hiding places for gifts, and never did anything remotely "Santa-like" in the presence of my children. I never shopped with them, or I at least was sneaky about making sure gifts were double bagged so the kids couldn't see through them, and I never brought shopping bags into the house in the presence of my children! Back in the day, I started my Walmart layaway on October 1st, and had it out on December 1st. They discontinued the layaway program for a few years, and I learned too late that they re-instituted it at Walmart this year. Oh well. I did well at the Black Friday sales this year, and got all of the pricier items then. Today, I brought out all of the gifts and stocking- stuffers to wrap, and to take stock of what I had and what I had yet to buy. I had it all out on the table with Kiley beside me, oohing and ahhing over everything. She spotted one of her gifts, a baby doll, and was quite angry when I wouldn't let her have it. I am fairly certain that she will not tell anyone what she saw today, since her vocabulary consists of "Mama, Dada", and her versions of the kids' names. I am sure that I'll have to do this during her nap time next year!

I had to sort some gifts that will go on Santa's sleigh, and had to buy a gift today for Katie to add to that pile, since you are never too old to get a gift from Santa himself! Some years ago, we told the kids that Jesus got 3 gifts on his birthday, so that was what they would each get, as well. Not including stockings, of course. This has simplified things somewhat, and I am ashamed of the pure consumerism we've participated in in the past, mostly due to my thinking that my kids had to have everything they wanted and then some. I remember one Christmas in particular, about 8 years ago, when I had a deal with the UPS man to put things in the garage without ringing the bell, since he always came at dinnertime. The kids probably had at least 10 gifts apiece that year, most of which they glanced at and tossed aside. I think we instituted the 3 gift rule after that. In my continuing efforts to purge my house of excess junk, I am a lot more choosy about what I am buying! There are only so many items I feel like picking up and putting away on a regular basis. And, the less the kids have, the easier it is for them to keep up with. Plus, they really think about what they want, since their number of gifts is limited. And, they are getting smarter about the tricks advertisers use to make things appear better than they are.

I'd like to say I have all the answers to making the holidays go smoothly. I've learned a few things, but I am not quite there, yet! Right now, Megan and Colleen are sitting on my bed and labeling and stamping the Christmas cards. I printed the labels for the kids' gifts before they came in here. The gifts I've wrapped are in my closet. I locked the door to my bedroom earlier, and my keys were on my bed. I had to climb in through my bedroom window, (Molly's suggestion.... gonna have to look at her window, next....) and was a little dismayed at how easy it was to break into my own room. Thankfully, the window was not locked, but I was wishing the screens at our house in Camp Lejeune had been so easy to remove and put back in, or I wouldn't have had to pay so much money to have them replaced when we moved out last summer!