November 23rd, 2008
Obsessed with holidays? I’m not obsessed with holidays. Especially Christmas. I can take it or leave it. I really can. I…must decorate every surface of the house, bake thousands of cookies and worry about finding the perfect wrapping paper for each gift. To understand how all those words actually look in my mind, you’ll need to read:
The Pigeon Books by Mo Willems. If you haven’t read them, I feel very sorry for you. Kids and adults all love this pigeon with a chip on his shoulder. I own all of the books, although they have a tendency to travel to other people’s homes and I have to hunt them down and bring them back where they belong.
The Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog is one of the best pigeon books, but Don’t Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late! is fantastic, too. I was reading Don’t Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late the other day to one child and suddenly three more appeared, so be careful if you’re reading it aloud where people can overhear you. You don’t want to turn into a modern Pied Piper, right?
Now, on to the holiday gift guide, which is actually more of a “How to get ready for the holidays road map.”
The first thing you’ll need for the perfect holiday is an advent calendar. This is non-negotiable if you have kids. You can make your own, but this year, we’re all revved up by the Playmobil Advent Calendar Xmas in Forest. I’ve only heard, “When can we open one of the little boxes?” “But is that tomorrow?” “How long is it?” “That’s a lot of days!” “Can we open one now?” about 300 times in the last week. If you get it, stash it til it is time to start opening the boxes. By the way, even if you already have an advent calendar, you should take a look at the Playmobil advent calendars. They have a lot of pieces for a lower price than other sets. My mom got the Playmobil Advent Calendar Pirates set for my brother’s kids. They’re getting it on Thanksgiving. (The little guy tried to negotiate a deal where he got an advent calendar at every house, but we figured out his plot. I’m thinking about enrolling him in a Playmobil 12 step program.)
After you’ve set up your trillion piece advent calendar, you’ll need a break. Pop in a movie classic to revive that flagging holiday spirit. We like Miracle on 34th Street (Special Edition) and both versions of the Grinch - Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (50th Birthday Deluxe Remastered Edition) and Dr. Suess’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas With Jim Carrey. There are a ton of other options, too, like A Wonderful Life or Elf, but we just can’t get into them as much.
Last Minute Gift Ideas
Don’t get too comfy, now. As soon as the movie ends, it is time to grab a few last minute gifts. I usually buy all of mine in January during the after holiday clearance sales or in August during the big toy sales, but this year, I have some additional kids to buy for that I didn’t know about during the sales, so I was a few gifts short. Luckily, I was able to combine discounts, free shipping deals and rebates to get a ton of things for around $35. It looks like they’re all more expensive right now, but keep a close eye on the weekly toy sales. A few of the items I picked up were:
Rubik’s Revenge Cube 4 X 4
Hasbro Baby Alive Sip ‘N Slurp Caucasian Doll
Hasbro Playskool Honeybee Hop
Hungry Hungry Hippos
Stocking Stuffer Ideas
I get most of my stocking stuffers during after Christmas sales, too. Those little plastic toys are way too expensive otherwise. If you still need to buy yours, think about looking for toy packages that can be opened up and divided amongst several stockings. This LITTLEST PET SHOP 10 PACK OF PETS is perfect for someone shopping for a few girl stocking stuffers. You’ll be able to add a few to each stocking and then fill the rest of the stockings with accessories from Claire’s discount bins.
Still with me? Great! Let’s start making cookies. I can’t live without metal cookie cutters like this set by R and M Industries - Snowflake Cookie Cutters Set of 5. Those plastic cutters just aren’t the same! I have a big collection of metal cookie cutters, many of which came from my great grandma, but I can always use some new ones. (Plus, I’m scared to use hers because I’m not quite sure what they’re made of. Lead cookies, anyone?)
I also must have a few of our favorite family cookie recipes and a few new ones from Martha Stewart’s Cookies: The Very Best Treats to Bake and to Share (Martha Stewart Living Magazine). It is much easier to have one book than to save a few years of magazines, so I splurged on it.
So, now, you should be well on your way to a magical Christmas, where you’ll make wonderful new memories and remember special times during past holidays. If you start to get stressed out, repeat step two of the guide and veg out with a movie until you feel nice and happy about celebrating my favorite holiday. Can’t stop stressing? Remember, everything doesn’t have to be perfect. Your kids won’t care if their presents have bows that would break Martha’s heart and even the ugliest Christmas tree will be beautiful when you add the special ornaments they made with their loving little hands. Merry Christmas!
Images courtesy of amazon.com
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