Ho Ho Ho Aw heck

I love Christmas. I really do, but I am beginning to understand why my mother always seemed so stressed out around the holidays. Let's just take a peek at what it takes to pull off the magic......

Presents. It was so easy when my kids were all small. Anything brightly colored and that made noise was a hit. Even if it was purchased from the dollar store and broke in 2 days, it was perfect. Shoot, the boxes were as much fun as the toys most times. As they have aged, their taste in gifts has changed. My girls went through a real-baby craze, one where they wanted only real-looking dolls and real baby-care stuff to go with them. (What they really wanted was a baby brother or sister but it would be a few years before that wish came true) The gifts were a bit more expensive but easily obtained. Then KT hit the teen years. Suddenly gifts became ultra-expensive, brand mattered, color mattered, everything mattered. It had to be the ipod in the pink case with the quick charger, with the video screen, etc etc etc. The entire gift budget would be blown on 1 item. I tried explaining it, I tried reasoning, I tried everything, but the desire for that special item (just like Brittany has) was too strong. I held out for a couple of years. In fact last year, after being bludgeoned with the request for a laptop for a month straight, I still did not cave in. So her Dad bought it for her. Ugh. Children of divorce really clean up at holidays and my girls know this!
Then there is the challenge of buying gifts for my husband. He is uber practical, buys what he needs/wants when it strikes him, and doesn't really have a hobby or collection I can fall back on. I fail miserably at pleasing him with gifts, not because he is hard to please, but because he is just so content with what he has. There isn't really anything he yearns for that I could buy him. The funny thing is, he is wonderful at giving gifts. His gifts are always thoughtful and well-chosen. Invariably, the gifts I get him sit on a shelf never-touched. If just once I could surprise him with a gift that made his eyes light up or that he actually used....that would be the best Christmas ever.

Decorating. Last year, at the after-Christmas sales I bought new outdoor decorations for our new house. I have icicle lights and candy canes, a blow up Santa and light-up trees. I bought enough that I thought I would be able to create a Griswald-type yard. I have looked forward to decorating our new house all year long. On Saturday we pulled all the boxes out of storage and dragged them into the house, just in time for it to start pouring rain. So now the boxes are piled into the hall closet, the entryway, the upstairs landing, the sunroom, etc etc etc. Small children keep playing with them. Older people keep tripping on them. And the dog started chewing the corners off the boxes. I still can't find the box with the decorations for the tree, although we did find the tree. So far, instead of looking festive, my house looks like a hoarder lives there. Welcome to White Trash Christmas.

Holiday Goodies: I used to bake 20 different cookies and candies, make plates to hand out to neighbors and friends, all wrapped in holiday paper and tied with a bow and full of yummy holiday love. Last night I was informed that I need to provide baked goods for the Cheerleader's bakesale on Saturday, the more the better. I am seriously wondering if I can provide boxes of Little Debbie snack cakes and get away with it. No, that is not Mommy of the Year material (of which I aspire to......in my dreams) so tonight I will hit the store, buy 20 boxes of brownie mix, a couple of extra pans and whatever else I find in the wine aisle and head home to begin doing my duty. This bake sale is for an all-day softball tournament, so vast quantities are expected to be sold. Hey, at least my house will be warm!

So, for the sake of my kids, I push forward. I will decorate (BEFORE the holidays are over) I will bake, I will shop and wrap and be-ribbon. I will play holiday carols and sing along, and I will fill our lives witht he spirit of the holiday. And somewhere, in amongst the stress and the have-to's, I will enjoy it all. Because I really do love the holidays!