We Wish You a Merry Christmas

I may be cliche, but that won't stop Christmas from being my favourite time of year. And especially the time leading up to Christmas. (I can't be the only one who feels a little depressed on Christmas day when breakfast is over and all the presents are opened.) Which makes it all the more important to remember the real reason for the season and to reach out to others and try to help them feel the Spirit of Christmas. I admittedly was no great at that this year. With our living situation being temporary, I didn't put as much effort into other people's happiness and well-being as perhaps I should have. I'm disappointed in myself. Next year, for sure.

I did, however, try pretty hard to make my family's Christmas a happy one. And online shopping? A game changer. My mother-in-law has Amazon Prime and I have a Target Red card, so free shipping was our friend this year. And with 10 people celebrating Christmas together, the packages were rolling in. Our porch was littered with boxes and I had to wonder what the postman thought about us and whether we were operating some sort of underground toy operation. And while we weren't the four children (well, 8 if you include Brandon, Manda, Mat and I) certainly were treated well. Some highlights included: Disney Princess Barbie dolls, a ball pit, My Little Pony Pops, a Mickey Mouse bowling set, purses, balls, boots, movies and books. Lots of books. I went a little nuts with the books because I don't fee like you can have too many of those. Thought I thought otherwise when we were moving. I went on a bit of an Elephant and Piggie kick this Christmas, as they are perfect early readers, awesomely funny and I found a secret sale on them for nearly half the price I found them everywhere else. One of my favourite gifts from Buddy was a second hand copy of a parenting book I loved and renewed from the library almost 10 times. It's called Soft Spoken Parenting - something I really need help with - and the best part of receiving this book is that it came from a penitentiary. Yes, I do hope it serves me better than it served the felons there. There's still time to be a better parent - what a gift to realize that.

Teagan was both easy and maddening to buy for this year because she is into everything (Strawberry Shortcake, Lalaloopsies, Tinkerbell, Play-Doh, you name it.) Her interests changed daily and while she only made one specific request early in the season, she'd forgotten about it by the time Christmas came, so I returned the doll that poops charms for a bracelet. (I'm ashamed to have bought it in the first place.) She didn't make any requests of Santa until a few days before Christmas and then it was a teddy bear we passed in the Dollar Store (hallelujah!) She's lucky Santa even found out what she wanted since she outright refused to have anything to do with him at our ward's Christmas party. There was more screaming than you'd care for at church. Mason didn't mind so much.
We had the traditional Richards Christmas Eve dinner of steak - a much-loved and looked-forward-to tradition indeed. And - stroke of brilliance on Mom Richards' part - having the kids eat first and the older ones watch the younger ones while the adults ate later in peace. It was awesome. Then came the relatively new addition of the Family Talent Show. By this point, Mason was an absolute beast, so he went to bed while Brandon, Teagan and I performed a rousing rendition of Jingle Bells on the handbells. It was moving. All our minutes of practice were worth it. And at last, the world's most reverent reenactment of the Nativity - with more barnyard animals being added each year.
Then it was off to bed while Brandon and I scurried about getting things ready for the next morning. Which came all too soon for us. We couldn't sleep past 5:00 in the morning! It was maddening. We were excited, sure, but that wasn't what got us up. Old age, perhaps? So we spent our time as any couple of sound mind would when the house is quiet on Christmas morning - we watched A Christmas Story.

Our kids were the last ones up - Mason slept longer than he's ever slept, the stinker. We chatted with my family a bit and enjoyed time with Mat and Manda and their kids who were visiting from Kentucky. We enjoyed playing with all of our new toys and reading our new books and just being together. My Dad and Kristina and Pablo sent gifts for the kids (thank you!) and Grandma Greats sent us money for them (thank you!) I need to get on top of thank you cards this year. More than what we received, we had fun giving this year. We mailed a package to my family - hand drawn pictures for my siblings, a picture Teagan drew of G-Pop turned into a mousepad, and a puzzle collage of photos of GG and the kids from our visit this year. I think they liked them. We also sent a hand made hug card to Kristina and Pablo, and both Grandma Greats, complete with a stack of photos of the kids - none of them particularly cute enough to show off to friends, but at least we are keeping in touch. We made a recipe book, replaced a popcorn popper (really exciting stuff this year) and gave Mat and Manda a date via a game and gift card for deliciousness. We aren't all that creative, but we had fun. Once again, I tanked when it came to buying clothes for Buddy. I dropped more than I should on a WSU sweater at the local sports shop's (sorry excuse for a) "Black Friday Sale" and he didn't even love it. Initially I was heartbroken that he wanted to return it (and I had to ask - he wouldn't come out and tell me) but when we found a better one at Goodwill for a fraction of the cost, I considered that a bit of a Christmas miracle - especially when we got six way cool WSU items for less than the cost of the one I'd originally gifted him. Winning!

I do miss my family a little more at Christmas time. Our traditions are different than most - my favourite being my Dad playing classic rock songs instead of Christmas music. That's right, we opened presents to Ozzy Osbourne, Michael Jackson and Pink Floyd and it was awesome. I'm excited to get into our own house and get traditions of our own established. Maybe add a little Hanson to the lineup? (Don't tell my Dad - he'd be so disappointed.)