Feeling More Like Christmas

It’s Christmas time ~ LifeOfJoy.mebeginning to feel a lot like Christmas!  Whoo hoo!!!  I love this time of year!!! It’s exciting! I’ve got Christmas gifts arriving today and over the next several days. I’m sooo looking forward to these next several weeks.

When I was a teen, my Granny introduced us to garage sales. When my kids were young, my mom was still an avid garage saler. As she would go, she would get some really neat things for the kids and filled their Christmas stockings with all kinds of fun things. So, she actually started her Christmas shopping each spring. By the time August and September rolled around she was beginning to think about getting the main gifts bought. Her goal was to have all her Christmas shopping done by Thanksgiving so that she could focus on other things throughout the month of December.

I’m so glad she set that example for me. It took me a few years but I eventually got on the band wagon. Mom, Tracie (my sister), and I started going shopping together in late September, October, and November with our goal being to get all our gift shopping done by Thanksgiving. Tiffany watches my nieces, so that we can shop unhindered. ;) Lauren, my daughter-in-love, has even joined us a couple of times over the last several years. This year we got a late start and have been shopping weekly. This week was our third consecutive week but Lauren was not allowed to go with us because we had to buy her presents without her seeing them today. :) And Mom could only join us half of the day this week because we had to shop for her gifts as well. Unfortunately, I don’t think they’ll be able to join us next time either because we were not completely successful this week. :(

Next week should be the wrap up week. I’ll be tallying up all the stocking stuffers and gifts and figuring out exactly what I have left to purchase and tie up those loose ends. I’ll also need to get any gift wrapping necessities next week so that I can begin to get things wrapped up and put under the tree which Tiffany and I will put up a day or two before Thanksgiving, since we go to my parents’ home all that day.

When I was in my early teens, we began the tradition of putting up our Christmas tree on Thanksgiving night. Since we didn’t have family get-togethers that day, it was nice to start our own tradition and get the tree up early. After I got married, things changed a little bit for a little while, but we eventually went back to putting my parents’ tree up on Thanksgiving night. But after putting their tree up Thursday night, I was sometimes too tired to put ours up the next day or even that weekend, although Mike and I did many years. It was in the last five or so years that I decided to get our tree up before Thanksgiving so that we can enjoy it over the long weekend at home (since we do not do any shopping that weekend). I even started fixing a turkey dinner with other side dishes than what we had at my parents since I love leftover Thanksgiving meal and never had any.

Tiffany has been playing Christmas music every now and then over the last month but I haven’t really wanted to listen to it yet as it was too warm but it’s gotten cold over the last few days and it’s starting to feel more like the holidays to me. So yesterday morning, Tiffany and I had Christmas music blaring as we prepared to leave to run our errands. With the cold, blustery weather outside, Christmas music blaring, and so many Christmas gifts beginning to arrive, I’m feeling very Christmasy now! :)

I hope December is a special month for you and that you enjoy it with friends and family, not getting bogged down in the details. I don’t know how I’d feel about the month if I needed to get all my gift shopping done then. This way, I get to focus on the festivities and enjoy the celebration all month long. :)

Until next time, God bless,

Michele ºÜº

4 thoughts on “Feeling More Like Christmas

  1. I love stories like this. Lots of creative ideas for making holidays fun and doable. We try to hold off the Christmas music until after the Thanksgiving meal, but … we love the Trans Siberian Orchestra and sooner rather than later someone turns it on. :) Hope you have a lovely holiday season.

    1. Awww, thank you Lori! I’m sooooo glad you stopped by and took the time to comment. I like Trans Siberian Orchestra too but have not yet gotten one of their cds . . . maybe this year. ;)

      I hope you also have wonderful holidays!

  2. I enjoyed reading ur blog about preparations for Thanksgiving and getting ready for Christmas. Do u know the reason we started to put the tree up on Thanksgiving night? Ur father would have football on t.v all day and evening, so to keep from going bonkers, Tracie and I decided one year , to put the tree up , because U and Sondra were teenagers and had places to go and people to see, hahahaha. It didn’t take us long to realize that teenagers do NOT want to sit around. That’s how it started, and we kept it up then , every year. I am very glad that I have video of when ur children were smaller and helped up put up the tree. It was a long project sometimes—-because I would go to put the lights on, and they wouldn’t work. I remember one time going to Walmart to get some lights—–that was a bummer. Thanks for taking me down memory lane.

    Oh , and the reason I started shopping early is because one year there was soooo much going on and I realized I was just wishing my favorite time of the year was over. Well, with that revelation, I decided I would get my shopping done by Thanksgiving so that afterwards I could wrap, decorate my house, and bake for the rest of the time before Christimas. I have to say, since that decision, I have never felt like I just wished it was over——I enjoy every part—-especially since I am not required to wrap all of the 80+ stocking stuffers. Ahhh I can breathe again.

    I know this is lengthy—–just went down memory lane. luv u

    1. I didn’t remember that it was just you and Tracie that decided to do that because Sondra and I were busy. I just always remembered we were bored since we had moved so far from your large family get-togethers and Dad had the football games on.

      OH! I remember that time you had to go buy more lights! It sure was a good thing we all lived in town then.

      Thankfully, I learned from your experience and I have enjoyed our favorite time of the year ever since too!!! I’m glad we could make it more enjoyable with the unwrapped stocking stuffers . . . I just hope Christmas doesn’t end up as short as birthday celebrations. ;)

      I love you too Momma!!!

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