Looong Blog Post. Oh So Long!

This year. 2012. This was the year I was really going to pull my thumb out and get in a few blog posts about ideas for Christmas before December rolled around, and certainly before the 25th.

Clearly, that is NOT what happened.

So I'd like to announce officially that I have now kicked all your sorry butts and got in my ideas for Christmas waaaaaaaay ahead of any of you, because I'm posting this for Christmas 2013. Ah ha! Beat THAT! (true spirit of the season here, huh?)

Anyway, here are some random ideas for Christmas, along with pictures and stories of our Christmas 2012. I hope all of you had a very merry season, too!

Idea #1: Finance-Lesson Advent Calendars

Each of our kids have an advent calendar that can contain teensy tiny little gifts. Mr T's is wooden and has drawers, Kitty Kat's is cloth and has little pockets. A few years ago, we created the family tradition of putting money in each drawer/pocket for the kids to save throughout December. Then, on the day of Christmas Eve (last day of the calendar), we all go to the toy store and let the children pick out any toy(s) they want with their advent calendar money. It's money we've already planned into our Christmas budget, but the children get free reign in a toy store to shop for themselves, and they learn how to budget their cash. This has become such a fun tradition for us, and it's great to see how sensible they are with their money. Well, Mr T is, at least. He talks all month long about how much he hopes he can save up and then with his allowance as well that means he'll have X amount but maybe if he saves longer he'll have Y amount but if he doesn't see anything he wants or if things are too expensive he'll wait until he finds something he really wants.......etc etc etc. Every now and then I throw 2-3 M&Ms into the drawers/pockets as well, just to keep them interested. And seeing as the calendars are all filled with money and chocolate from Day One because Mama can't handle remembering every night to put the next day's money in the calendar, Mr T is surprisingly good about only opening that day's drawer and refraining from sneaking a peek in all the others.

Mr T's advent calendar

Kitty Kat's advent calendar

His sister, on the other hand, is a complete and total little minx about the whole thing. One morning, while the kids were downstairs and I was upstairs getting ready, Mr T started wailing 'Hey, where did Kitty Kat get the chocolate from?! I want some, too!' To which, I replied 'That's a very good question.....Kitty Kat, where did you get chocolate from?'

She then proceeded to show me. Minx.

How can something so demonic be this cute?!

Shopping time! Kitty Kat was loving this 'puppy in a plastic crate' thing

Mr T was about to spend every last cent he had on a Lego Star Wars something (again!) but decided against it at the last minute because he 'liked it a lot, but didn't really LOVE it.' Later that day, while shopping in Amsterdam with Daddy, he found a book he DID love, and only had to spend 60% of his cash. We were both so proud of him!!!!

In the end, Kitty Kat decided on this puke-inducing-pink vacuum cleaner, complete with 4 C-cell batteries to make all the right noises. Just what every mom wants to have in her house to trip over....as if the real thing isn't bad enough.

Idea #2: Ultra-Preparedness in the kitchen

Luckily, I didn't have too much to do for Christmas Day this year, in terms of baking, because I decided since it was just going to be the four of us, I was taking the whole day off of work. I didn't want to be in the kitchen for either cooking OR cleaning, but just wanted to spend the day with family (whether in person or Skype) so we went to our new favorite restaurant for a wonderful and very filling brunch, and then munched on stuff at home the rest of the day. But I did host Thanksgiving and made things for events leading up to Christmas Day, so I had plenty of things to plan for and bake. And I got uber-organized about things this time. 

It's one thing to know you have enough eggs/butter for all the recipes you intend to make, but if you then have scrambled eggs for breakfast one morning and leave yourself one egg short for a cookie recipe you have to make on Sunday when every store is closed, you're going to be screaming phrases that are not in the spirit of the season (not that I've ever done that, of course, I'm simply speaking hypothetically). Also, if you have men/children (same thing) in the house who like to nibble, you may find that the crackers/club soda/grated cheese you had carefully set aside are now no more than empty packages ripped to shreds and left in a heap of pieces on the kitchen counter neatly thrown away in the trash can. Another unpleasant and volume-raising scenario. This is where plastic bags and Sharpie markers are your best friends.

 

 

(subtlety has no place in my kitchen)

Idea #3: Let the kids beat up on Daddy every now and then

This isn't so much an idea for any holiday season as it is just simple entertainment for me. We have these foam swords that Mr T one day decided to use against Daddy (maybe he was asleep on the sofa and wouldn't wake up?). Would you believe that soft, foam, children's play swords can cause enough pain for a grown man to scream out in agony......and that his wife would, instead of reprimanding the child accosting her husband, double over in hysterical laughter and (through tears streaming down her face at the hilarity of it all) actually encourage said child to 'Hit him again!' I'm sorry, I know I should be a better parent/spouse than that, but I seriously cannot stop laughing at the sight of it, and have been known (on many occasions) to get out the camcorder and make videos of it. And now that Kitty Kat is getting involved, too? Well, I wouldn't say I ever get out the swords myself and instruct my children to attack their father simply because I find it funny......I said, I wouldn't say that. Not that I wouldn't do that.  ;-)

Is it just me, or is the bent-back-on-itself sword equally as hilarious as Mr T's face?

(Okay, that's kinda it on the ideas theme. Now I'm just going to bore you with stories and pictures)

Rosie

Rosie the Elf came into our house this year. She's our 'Elf on a Shelf' which, if you've never heard of that, you're not alone. I'd only vaguely heard a mention of it a year or so ago, and had to Google it myself when she showed up in our house this year. (maybe that's more to do with us being on this side of the pond ever since they came into existence?) Anyway, it came as a HUGE surprise to me that the one who embraced the experience more than anyone in the house was Mr T. At first he didn't buy it, but within literally about a minute of me explaining all about her, he was HOOKED. He named her, wrote her a note that said 'Merry Christmas, Rosie!' and put it in front of her every day, he talked to her, told her his deepest darkest desires, would go straight to her after school to see how her day had been, he gushed to us over and over about how she was just 'then BEST elf', on and on and on. If I didn't know any better, I'd swear he was in love with her. Rosie even wrote Mr T a few letters throughout her stay, and he was absolutely beside himself. I thought his belief in all the magic of this season may have been gone this year, but if anything, Rosie intensified it. If this is the final instance of the magic, we are soooooo glad it got to be as strong as it was! (I still have to speak in code, since younger eyes read this blog occasionally)

 

Kitty Kat liked Rosie, too, and made sure she was friends with her beloved Pooh Bear

Gingerbread Houses

Would you believe, until this year, I had never made a gingerbread house? I know! How sad is that?! It seems even though I did lots of things other children my age never had the opportunity for, there are a load of normal childhood things I never got around to doing (gingerbread houses, flying kites, making snowmen......and I grew up in the wintery Midwest!) But this year, with a little help from IKEA gingerbread house kits, I finally got around to it. And I was so darn proud of the results, I had to take a picture! I actually had intended to do it together with Mr T, but then he got a little cranky, so I sent him away and decided to do one on my own.....then wouldn't let him join in my reindeer games when he came back later wanting to make it with me, because by that point, I was really into it! (I know, who's the more immature, right?) I let him make his own with the final kit, but mine was my own.

Christmas Eve

We got a somewhat-last-minute invitation to the Christmas Eve service at our friends' church (a service in English too!) so decided to take them up on it. Now, most of you know we're not Christians and may see that as hypocritical of us (and if so, your heads must be absolutely spinning at the knowledge that Mr T goes to a Christian school!) but I see it as respectful. Christmas is one of my favorite times of year, and I fully acknowledge that without Christianity, there would be no Christmas (duh!). So I am proud to honor and show respect to the source of the season that I love so much, even if my spiritual heart lies elsewhere. Besides, it just feels like the right thing to do to go to church on Christmas Eve. So call me hypocritical if you want, but I know where my heart lies, and it's all in a good place. To top it all off, we had a great time, especially doing it Dutch-style.....by transporting ourselves to- and from- on our bikes.  ;-)

Kitty Kat got all prettied up with me, including CLEAR nail polish and CREAM-colored eye shadow. (this Mama has huge issues with toddlers in grown-up things like nail polish, makeup, earrings, and bikinis......Ew)

I know she's making her neck all funny, but does any of my Dad's side of the family see Grandma D here a little?

At church

Santa and the Aliens

Does anyone else out there know the book 'Aliens Love Underpants' and its cousin 'Aliens Love Panta Claus'? I'm pretty sure they're just a UK thing, as the word 'pants' in the UK means underwear and in the US pants are merely the things that cover your legs ('trousers' still sounds silly to me, even after being married to a Brit 12+ years). Anyhoo, ever since getting the 'Aliens Love Panta Claus' book a few years ago, the aliens have left all of us new underwear in our stockings on Christmas morning. The great thing is, the aliens are so artistic. It's nice to know Mama's not the only one putting forth effort into the gifts and goodies of the season.  ;-)

Last year's gifts from the aliens to the kids (Kitty Kat in a onesie)

The book that started it all, and this year's gifts, complete with personalized wrapping paper; and Kitty Kat got her first big girl underwear! (meaning potty training while stuck inside for the 2-week Christmas vacation... oh, joy to the world)

Then Santa got in on the act and left personalized little notes for each of us in our stockings. And while Kitty Kat's presents from the big guy were waiting under the tree unwrapped, Mr T's were tucked in his huge stocking, so Santa left a message directing him there. Although why Santa drew himself looking like he belonged on The Dog Whisperer, we have yet to figure out.

Mr T wouldn't let us read his note, but took it very seriously himself

Kitty Kat's Christmas Day

Our Christmas Day was spent in 'drips and drabs' opening gifts...first thing in the morning from Santa and the four of us, then later on Skype with the English grandparents, and then later again with the American grandparents. It was a nice way to spread out the day, and Mr T did very well with it. (it gave time to play with each toy a little before being overwhelmed with the next thing) Kitty Kat, on the other hand, got stuck early in the morning. You see, first she got a seriously cool doll's couch, a seriously cool doll's horse, and seriously cool doll's clothes to go with the seriously cool dolls Santa brought last year......

which she loved........

Then she got her own dress-up bag with bracelets, headbands, chapstick, etc....which she loved....

Then she got a Magna-Doodle.....which she loved......

Then her big brother won the prize for best gift of the day by giving her one of his Nintendo DS's.....which she loved so much she bear-hugged him.......

.....then didn't shift from this position the rest of the day.

But never mind. Any Christmas Day that ends up with a shot like this is worth it.

I hope all of your Christmases were very merry, too!

PS - Lest you think we're the kind of parents to buy a Nintendo DS for our two-year old child, I would just like to explain that we accidentally inherited two of them for free about four years ago, and Mr T gave her one of his in the vain attempt to get her to stop pestering him every time he tries to play his! He even decorated hers with Hello Kitty stickers. Awwwwww.