Ah, the craziness of Christmas, in all its glory. This year, I refused to get stressed out by the holiday season. Although I was still shopping for gifts on Christmas Eve, I feel like I did an okay job of keeping that promise to myself. I will admit that I had some help from some of my favorite essential oils to keep me cool, calm, and collected. I put this one on my wrist, this one on my shoulders (which is where I carry most of my stress and tension), and this one on my feet for relaxation. Oh, and by the way, if you would like to order any essential oils from Young Living, let me know. I became a distributor last month...I may even give you a discount!
Back to Christmas. Our Christmas was awesome! We ate a lot of good food, saw a lot of family, and managed to not spend our whole time traveling. But this year felt a little different than most years. I usually have an idea of what I want to buy everyone by the time Thanksgiving rolls around. And although I wait until the last minute to find those gifts, I'm at least prepared with a list. Maybe it was because football season was so long this year, maybe it's because Knox kept us more preoccupied this year, but I found myself a week and a half from Christmas with absolutely no presents bought, and absolutely no idea of what to get ANYONE!
To all the moms and dads out there...are you also finding yourself with an overload of toys in your home and dreading the thought of your child receiving anymore as gifts?!?! That was me this year. I settled on a place to put all the toys and decided to get Knox a toy box. But being 10 days from Christmas, it was a little difficult to find the one I had in mind. We took advantage of Knox's age this year and ended up getting Knox some essentials--socks...books...a toothbrush. Of course, at this age, you can convince them that anything is exciting. "Knox! Look! It's socks!!" Knox responded with, "oooooooo." Which, by the way, is his response anytime he sees Christmas lights.
As Christmas crept closer and closer, I tried to think of Christmas traditions. Growing up, we always went to candlelight service on Christmas Eve. I liked having something we did the same every year. I started asking friends and looking on Pinterest for special ideas. I found this blog, Happy Home Fairy, with a list of awesome traditions to start. Going along with the "too many toys" issue, my favorite idea was to get a Santa bag for each child. On Christmas Eve, have each child fill their bag with toys they no longer use or want. When Santa comes, he takes the old toys and replaces it with his gift to the child. Then he takes those old toys and donates them to children in need. I love the idea because it is a yearly reminder that the season is not all about receiving, and it would create a great teachable moment, showing your children there are some people who do not have a lot. I'm hoping to start this tradition next year, when Knox is a little older and can choose a couple of toys he doesn't want anymore.
I hope you all had an awesome Christmas! I'll post at a later time about our surprise holiday guests who decided to make an appearance...
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