A very merry Christmas after all

This year was the best Christmas in recent memory! The days leading up to it I was not very festive at all, I was tired and burnt out but once Christmas eve arrived I was starting to feel the Christmas spirit. We went over our $100.00 dollar budget but not by much. Not having credit cards to use really kept things in check! Christmas eve we were feeling pretty bad at the pitiful lack of presents! The kids received just one thing from us and one thing from Santa plus a few stocking stuffers they also got 4 more presents from the rest of the family once they arrived. I never would have guessed there reaction.... It was pure joy!!!!! They really got to play with what they received, they loved everything and really appreciated it all! It didn't take all morning to open the gifts, so we got to enjoy a nice Christmas breakfast and it just set the tone for the rest of the day! There stocking stuffers weren't even really good things, just some pencils and erasers and notebook from the dollar store but that is the kind of stuff they like so the kids were happy with it. Any doubts I had about keeping Christmas simple are now completely gone, and we will do it again next year even if the economy is better.

The dinner was a great success too! We had planned to have it for 4:00 and it was ready and on the table by 3:45. Now 15 minutes early may not sound like a big deal but I am terribly disorganized so if I plan dinner for 4:00 it is usually ready about 5:30. I also managed to keep my house at a reasonable temperature so nobody roasted, which is another big deal at my house. I like it hot and everybody else is ready to pass out from heat exhaustion, but everybody is to polite to tell me and I don't notice how hot it is. Everyone stayed till almost midnight and the day really just flew by!

Boxing day we hit the mall, just to have a nose and see what deals were out there. I was organized enough to by my wrapping paper and bows for next year,and I managed to put them in my paper tub so I will actually be able to find them next year! Then we all came back to the house and had what else turkey buns! My Mum and Sister stayed and we watched Mama Mia which was great, but then I do love Collin Firth! We also watched the Sex and the City movie, I have never seen Sex and the City and was not prepared for what was in it! Somebody please remind me to pre-screen movies before watching them with my Mum!

On the 27 a parcel arrived from my Sister in Victoria, that was a thrill for the kids because they were not expecting anything else! Sophia got a learn to knit kit, which is great because I want to learn how to knit too and now we can learn together! James got a matching money puzzle, that was also great because he loves puzzles and desperately needs to learn about money and its value! They also got a box of crackers or so I thought....Stupid I know I should have known that it wasn't crackers but I was excited to try these crackers because they were all natural and organic. It wasn't until I went to put them away in the cupboard that I saw the top was taped shut, so the next morning the kids got to open there "crackers" to find webkins. Well you would have thought that there was a $1000.00 bill inside with all the screams and shouts. It was really cute! I guess they like webkins or something,they don't have any and I didn't even know what they were. I guess I am out of touch(I had also never heard of loo loo lemon and wondered why all these stupid people were lined up to get into a store for yoga pants. Sophia set me strait on what all the fuss was about)

Anyway that was my Christmas it was great!!!!!!!! I am taking it as a sign that 2009
is going to be a great year, I am looking forward to it and hoping that turning 30 in 3 weeks is going to be the start of great things. Hope you all had just as good of a Christmas I will write again in the new year.