This year, I have had Christmas decorations up since before Thanksgiving. I was just so excited and I wanted that christmas, joyous and loving feeling throughout the house. I started hanging lights inside the house, hanging ornaments in awesome places, putting little Santa Clauses in super cute places... I have this decorating thing DOWN!
As a new family, we are experiencing a lot of firsts together. This year, we decided that we were going to cut our own tree down. It was SO much fun. I remember doing this with my family growing up and I remember it being just as fun. But this go round, it was different. The kid's eyes were doe like and full of wondering looking at all the trees.
The tree hunt begins!!!
Lee being all manly cutting down the tree.
Christian helping dad.
Ayden's turn to help dad.
Jackie helping cut down some of the extra branches.
I'm sure he hates me for all the photo ops I make him do. :)
It was a super fun experience.
I love creating new traditions for our family. It's going to be so much fun making memories with these guys.
As a blended family, I realize that we aren't going to see eye to eye on everything. This Christmas, as I'm buying presents for the kids and wrapping them, he's putting them under the tree. Whoa whoa whoa whoa buddy. What are you doing? He tells me that he wants these presents to be from "us" and he wants them under the tree. We'll put the rest of the presents we buy under the tree from Santa.
Ok. BREAK!
Last year, we put presents out Christmas Eve... from Santa. ALL of them. I assumed we were doing that again this year.
I have a Christmas morning vision in my head.... you wake up and there are a ton of presents under the tree (from parents and Santa). Seeing their faces is half the fun. but now, they're seeing half the presents already. There won't be that big of a shock. I'm not crazy, right?
We had to compromise and keep half the presents under the tree. :/ But next year, we are totally going to do it my way. and I have vowed to start shopping as soon as January. Yup... I said it. I will do my very very best to start a stock pile of Christmas presents throughout the year so I'm not overwhelmed (like I am right now) and make sure that the 'shock and awe' effect is in tact.
Other than that, our Christmas is going to be perfect. I am so excited. I think that I'm more excited than the kids. I wake them up and say "-- days til Christmas!!!" I love traditions. I really do. And more importantly, I love starting traditions with our little family. Our life is going to be so amazing.
SO, we have a stupid fake tree (we've been in apartments, and our tree is a 4 footer) but someday we'll have a real one. HERE's the thing! I saw this adorable thing on Facebook, where the chop off just a small circle off of the bottom, and drill a hole in it. Write: Our first Christmas.
ReplyDeletePrecious.
Also: Our presents showed up from Grandma and Blackham. We've put those under the tree, and the ones from mom and Santa are coming on Christmas.