Happy Tuesday! I am feeling overwhelmed and exhausted and it’s not even December yet. JUST POSSIBLY I set too high standards for myself in terms of what I have to do for Christmas (the 8 homemade presents, the multiple social events, the live tree, the family heirloom decorations that all have to be out, etc. etc. etc.).
Let’s see, what am I looking forward to? On Sunday we are going to go cut our own tree as a Household, which means we get free hot chocolate and donuts after we cut it. I am definitely looking forward to the hot chocolate and donuts. Less excited about driving home with a tree on my car and then lugging it into the house. Oh! What if I just set it up on the backporch! Like, not even take it in! Just have a tree sitting back there all December! That could be fun.
I started my new Christmas Coloring Book and I am quite enjoying it, that’s fun.
When I get around to it, I have to go to the storage unit and pull out the Christmas Boxes. Not looking forward to that, but AM looking forward to getting out Albie Dog’s and my Christmas Sweaters. Oh, and Christmas Puzzles! I think I hid some last year in the box as a lovely surprise for myself this year.
Looking forward to finishing Kim and writing about it, looking forward to making Xmas cards for y’all, looking forward to Starbucks Peppermint Mocha.
Oh, and also looking forward to Christmas itself which my parents and I have decided to do as a fun weekend getaway. We are going to Milwaukee and staying at a fancy hotel and going to the art museum and doing cool things. Yes, this means Albie Dog will be in boarding OVER THE HOLIDAYS, but I am trying not to obsess over it. He doesn’t know, right? He can’t tell it’s Christmas Time?
dontcallitbollywood 
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Please try to enjoy everything, even going through the boxes in the storage…
Like every year we will fetch our trees in the forest (with the ranger), choose the trees, then saw them down, carry them to the family car and let them wait in the porch until the day before Christmas.
We get two trees (a big one for the family recreation space, a smaller one for the family cooking/eating/working space). The 24th in the morning, the ‘paterfamilias’ installs them and then he decorates it with the kids and fixes the lights (the lights are lit late the afternoon for the Christchild – and its helpers – to find the place where to put the gifts). When the Christchild has done its work, it sounds the nice bell put on the fireplace (which gives warmth with a crackling woodfire). We keep the trees till after the 6th of January (our village fire departement comes and fetches them). The ‘materfamilias’ prepares the meals for the day (with the kids helping, too).
The time before, we have fun with our Advent Calendars from 1st to 24th of December (one for the family and one – only with chocolates – for each of the three kids), with the morning-suprises in the shoes put by Santa Claus in the night to the 6th, with baking biscuits…and the rest of the days goes by with various celebrations in the different schools and in the nearby town.
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My (German American) grandparents grew up with the tree appearing on Christmas Eve, and then both sides decided that was too much work for the last minute and switched to doing the tree sometime early in december and decorating throughout.
Last year a friend gave my nephew a chocolate Advent, which ruined him because he got it in his head that every morning starts with chocolate and January was quite the letdown.
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I’m really lucky this year. My parents visited last weekend and brought a used scooter for Big Boy. They even brought a roast. And then it started to snow and we had homemade cake with our hot chocolate, lit a candle and listened to my new Christmas CD. (Three guys using a recorder, a contrabass and an acoustic guitar to make classic pieces – and Christmas songs – rock. They’re really amazing.) And in the evening we even found the time for a glass of wine.
So that was already pretty much a perfect Christmas. Now I just need to acknowledge that I can’t top that and that I can stop trying. And probably should, for the sake of my mental health.
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No! You have to make Christmas perfect for the CHILDREN!!! If you mess it up, you are Ruining Their Childhood.
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They’ve already had the perfect “Christmas” weekend, too.
But yeah, the in-laws are coming for Christmas itself, it’s not like I’m going to do nothing. I just have an excuse not to stress about it, which is ultimately better for everyone.
So I guess what I’m really looking forward to is more of my new CD:
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This year I’m looking forward to buy a real Christmas tree. I have never had one. Every year I’m planning to buy a natural tree but it never happens. But this year , I’m decided. I hope it will work out.
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Yaaaaaaaaaaay! I hope it works for you too! I had a real tree every year growing up, then fake once I moved to apartments until last year when I got real again. And it was soooooooooooo worth it!
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Albie knowing – Bandaid song – HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!
There’s too much happening, it is hard to think ahead more than a couple days. I’m looking forward to seeing my niece. She was born in February and I haven’t seen her yet. I’m looking forward to spending our last Christmas in my childhood house before my parents remodel it (which is a much better option than the selling and moving into a ridiculously expensive “die here with us!” community).
Your Christmas plans sound lovely. I hope you have a ton of fun!
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A 10 month old baby sounds super fun!!!
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