Successful Christmas defined

Today was a successful Christmas. The kids liked their gifts, not one of them mentioned a thing about not getting something else they had asked for, although, the dolls will go back into the re-gift pile once again. These include the one that Lily got for her first Christmas, which I left in the box thinking, "What will she do with a Cabbage Patch doll this year?" This same doll was given to her for her birthday when she turned two years old. They boys got puzzles though, and they are much more fun. So, back into storage it went. Christmas last year, not a hint of interest.

This year we have noticed a major shift in her "girly-ness" When we walk down the aisle at Wal-mart where there are pink things Lily thinks they all need to be hers. She even wrote a letter to Santa with my sister's help asking for a doll. She brought me the paper and announced "DOLL!" So, I bought her another doll this year, making two for her to have. Lily looked around at the gifts under the tree. (We had about three for each that were not wrapped – towels, pillows and pillowcases that I actually finished with mom's help…) Her dolls were not wrapped. One of the boys brought it to her. She completely ignored him. I took it and tried to hand it to her. She yelled, "NO!" and ran away from me! I tried later after the wow of everything had worn off a bit, same response. Two dolls into the re-gift pile. She was very excited to get a car trailer with cars on it like the boys have though, just as excited as they were. At least she likes pink, pretty hair (though she seldom lets me fix it), and being called a princess in her dresses.

Less really is more! Christmas was scaled back a lot this year, as I am sure many were. The kids each got a scooter and helmet, not wrapped, except for Stephen because he got a scooter for his Birthday last August. He got a racecar track for hot wheels. Super cool, especially when Daddy will let the kids touch it. (He really enjoyed it too.) This kept everyone busy for an hour or two.

This year we had planned to open a new playroom in the basement where some of our toys have been taking a vacation. We were going to put up shelves and paint the walls; we got some maps and letters for decorating. Really all we needed to do was unlock the door. Alas, this was not to come to pass. During our dinner last night Evan got sick, multiple times, and though the night too. We decided we had enough stuff and put the play room off until maybe Valentine's Day. This was very good. We had just enough, not too much. In years past, we have felt as though we were forcing the kids to open more gifts when they just wanted to play with what they had already opened. We finished opening in record time- well, a lot faster than we have in recent years. We began around 8AM (another little miracle – the kids waited for us to get out of bed) and finished around 10:30AM. Steve was reminding me how long it took us in 2005.

The first year the kids were home Christmas 2005, we took the kids to church for the first time, just for sacrament. We came home to relish in the first day as a family, with no help from anyone. (Like the word "relish"? Ha, ha, ha, ha. We didn't want to impose on anyone's holiday plans.) Anyway, church was at 9AM, after which we came home, ate and fed, started opening presents. We had so many interruptions with feeding, diaper changing we were still working on opening our gifts, which were mostly boxes of diapers, at dinnertime. It took us close to 6-7 hours that year. Ahh, sweet memories. We had the diapers and sick kid interruptions this year, but wow, so much faster!!! I do think it was louder this year….. can't imagine why….. maybe because Brenden has decided he can make siren sounds for his fire trucks…. The possible reasons are near endless.

Last thought for today: The kids got these "Mack" trailers from the Cars Disney movie that have cars ride in his trailer. The three younger boys got them a few weeks ago from Steve's work party Santa. The older boys "needed" them and they all had to have Lightning McQueen ride inside. We only had one McQueen. This is the first time they have ever had an ongoing disagreement. They usually figure out how to take turns or something. So, we went and found a few more of these, including the one for Lily. We also got 11 more McQueen cars hoping it would end the arguing. Low and behold, Marek comes walking in the room some time later with ALL the McQueens in his trailer. It is only built for three! However, no one else complained. They have such unique talents.

So, enough but not too many gifts, at least one project gift completed, kids letting us get out of bed too, not too much vomit or arguing, only one ornament broke, and a good start on next years Christmas gifts. (who knows, maybe she will want a doll next year) A successful Christmas!