there's only two weeks left until christmas and i can say with all honesty that this is the first time EVER that i have finished shopping with time to spare. i can actually enjoy the next two weeks without stress and worry. and as silly as this may sound, i actually feel like a good gift giver this year. not the gifts we will be giving our children, but the gifts we will be giving our friends and family.
i love the idea and reason for christmas, but the whole gift giving part of christmas always makes me feel a little awkward. i would much rather give a gift than receive one for that very reason. but then again, i still really hate either aspect. let's bake cookies and eat them until we gain 10 lbs. instead. i would rather do that than give or receive a gift.
i will never wait until last minute again in my life to start my christmas shopping!
so, what will i be doing in my spare time for the next two weeks?
let's see...
- making felt ornaments. these things are so fun to make. i have really enjoyed them. i will be sharing a few of them in another post sometime this week.
- baking cake pops. i recently purchased a cake pop maker and have been dying to try it out. my grocery store was selling their halloween cake mixes for $.50 so i scooped up about 8 boxes to use for my cake pops. the only thing that makes them halloween cake mixes are the halloween sprinkles that comes in each box. i don't plan on adding the sprinkles, so they are basically just plain white cake mix. pretty good deal, i say!
- baking cookies. for us and the big guy! we can't let santa come without cookies to eat!
- making reindeer food. we have to feed rudolph too! my kids love making this and sprinkling it outside on christmas eve night.
- reading christmas books. we always get one new christmas book every year as a family and then sometimes my mom gets the kids christmas books too. we have a pretty good collection of books to read during this time of year. i will be sharing some of our favorites later this week also.
- cooking homemade soups. i made homemade chicken noodle soup just last night. i always make it in a HUGE stock pot and it will last all 8 of us for about 3 days (eating it twice a day). that's a lot of soup. next week, i plan to make homemade vegetable beef soup. jason's favorite!
- listening to christmas music. i haven't yet pulled out my favorite christmas cds because we have been listening to the christmas music radio station. i think i will surprise the kids with our chipmunk christmas cd tomorrow!
- watching christmas movies. we have watched so many already, but i have yet to see a couple of my favorite christmas movies. i plan on curling up under a blanket without a computer in my lap or a phone in my hand (and a hot chocolate at my side) and watching little women before the end of the week.
- wrapping gifts. i take pride in my wrapping and being able to get started early is wonderful. i am not totally in love with my wrapping paper selections this year but i am going with it!
i am sure there will be other things in our plans, but all of these are definitely on the list.
are you finished with your christmas shopping?
