Usually by this time in December I'm totally ready for Christmas; house decorated, presents bought and wrapped, cards mailed, Christmas dinner planned... By mid-December the kids and I have been to the Dickens Fair, to the skating rink, hosted a holiday party... We haven't done any of those things yet. I'm not a last minute person, I like getting things done early then sitting back and actually enjoying the holidays. This year I am hopelessly behind, and frankly, it's stressing me out. I've been wracking my brain to figure out what is making this year so different and difficult. Today when Dagny came home from school it dawned on me, having a child in public school has completely thrown off my groove. When both kids were homeschooled we did school year-round and that allowed us to take the entire month of December off. We spent our days doing all kinds of Christmassy things together, and we had plenty of time to get everything done and then some. (many years with time left over for a quick trip to Disneyland) To keep me sane I've put Dane on the same school schedule as Dagny, so neither one of them is out of school until the 18th. This is a new timeline for us, we're going to have to pack a lot of holiday fun into two weeks of school vacation. (5 days of which they will be away at Winter Camp) That means I need to get to work. So, after I take a deep breath, I'll take a moment to be grateful for Amazon.com and expedited shipping, then I'll do what I can and be happy with the results. I'm pretty sure Christmas doesn't need to be this stressful.
Gallery of Holiday Activities That We
May or May Not Get Around To This Year
outdoor ice skating
Dickens Christmas Fair
Hanging Out With Mickey
I am totally with you. We can be stressed out together. This year is so different for us because of the wedding. It has completely thrown me off and I don't know whether to concentrate on Christmas or wedding half the time. I stayed up late last evening and made out an updated list to follow so that I can keep on track but I fear there are not enough hours in the day.
ReplyDeleteI hope that you get to all of your "traditional" activities that make Christmas special for your family. I loved the pictures you shared.
I loved the pictures and the things you do over the holidays as a family. This year has been more stressful than naught for me as well. 1. Husband not here and trying to get ready for his return. 2. Just moved and most of our stuff is still in boxes because I work such long hours. 3. This morning Rob's paycheck was unexpectedly $500 short...so all our plans vanished in an instant. Not sure what we are going to do now. But I am just grateful that Rob gets to come home for Christmas, that will be the best part!
ReplyDeleteHope to see more pictures of your winter break festivities!!! :)
Hey Natasha!
ReplyDeleteGive me a call if you think you'll make that last minute visit to see Mickey. We'll be at Disneyland on the 22nd and 23rd, and if you are going to be there we'd love to meet up for lunch and/or a picture or two! You can get my number from my mom if you need it.
In the meantime, I hope you enjoy the time with both of your kids at home with you!