So it begins ladies! (Christmas post)

hjhmomma · November 2013

I will have you ladies know I think I was supposed to be Mrs. Claus. This is my most favorite time of the year and for some reason this year the crazy, anxiousness to buy Christmas presents has hit early. So I am curious, how old are your little ones, what is on their Christmas list, and what are your traditions?! Is anyone else already excited for Christmas, or am I the only one?!

We have a few traditions:

North Pole Breakfast (which is when we introduce Peppermint our Elf)

Christmas Light Looking

Every Sunday we bake something Christmas themed

On Christmas Eve we make Reindeer Food and sprinkle it out on the lawn and while she is doing such DH secretly places a gift on the door step that magically appeared from Santa. Inside is a book, Christmas PJ's, and a special letter from Santa.

So far on her list I have:

Bike

Doc McStuffins Dr. Kit and a stuffed Lambie

Porcelain Tea Set (which I already bought off of Amazon)

Sofia The First Dress up

Books and Puzzles

beckslea · November 2013

My first was born 1/23/11 so she is very close to your daughter's age. I love your Christmas ideas. We are in a new home and new area this year so Christmas is going to be very different, I need to think of new traditions to start. It will be the first time we'll mostly be at home as a family so we will enjoy presents and breakfast together and talk to our girls about both meanings of Christmas.

For DD1's Christmas list, I may ask for a tricycle. Also, some new bath toys (always need to rotate those) probably boats. She is really into trucks right now so some of those. I would like to get her a pretend doctor set too. I may ask for a sandbox for both girls.

DD2 doesn't need too much because she shares her sister's toys. I always ask for books and contributions for college from family members (or whatever they would like to buy).

Leap08 · November 2013

My girls will be 4 and 2 at Christmas (both have birthdays in the next few weeks). Here are some of our traditions:

- Winter garden a-glow and Santa visit.
- Christmas count down (advent) calendar with candy treats
- Elf on the shelf (her name is Mistletoe)
- Bake Christmas cookies to share with friends and family

DD1s Christmas list:
Figure skates, blade covers, and skate bag (Santa present)
Sophia the first amulet
Melissa and Doug food sets
Stick pony

DD2s Christmas list:
Bitty Baby and accessories (Santa present)
Melissa and Doug food sets
Stick pony
I need 1 more small thing. Not sure what it is yet

Eskimokisses13 · November 2013

Did will be four in December. She has asked for the following: a science kit, a lab coat, Frozen dolls, Melissa and Doug bracelet/bead kit, princess dresses, Zoomer, Doc McStuffins Dr. Big Playset...

Traditions:
- pictures with Santa
- polar express and we welcome Santa's arrival to the mall (both are cute local events)
- advent calendars (I make an activity one and her grandma makes a treat one)
- st. Nicks day
- Community Service (this year we are helping at a soup kitchen and giving gifts to community service workers.
- cookies for santa and reindeer food
- Gingerbread house building
- Christmas PJs
- New ornament every year that represents something we did/experienced as a family that year.
- Message from Santa from the Portable North Pole and watch Santa's reindeer cam (both free on-line sites).
- Christmas lists
- Fondue on Christmas Eve and homemade beignets on Christmas morning.
- Track Santa on Christmas Eve (NORAD) and have family movie night on Christmas Eve
- Help the kids buy/make presents for people

I know there is more because I love Christmas, but I am drawing a blank. We don't do elf on a shelf because I find the idea of it creepy.

amywoods824 · November 2013

We actually do Christmas and Hanukah because DH is Jewish. DD has her own menorah (with wooden dowels not real candles) so we let her "light" her menorah each night when we light ours. She's 2.5 now so I feel like this is the first year that she really gets the concept of holidays. I am looking forward to baking and wrapping presents with her, since she loves to do both already. So far we've gotten her some Legos and a doll, but I want to get her one or two more small things/stocking stuffers. Her big gift this year is going to be a tricycle.

chardonnay24 · November 2013

My kiddo will be 3 about 5 weeks after Christmas. This year, we're getting him a train set. I usually go overboard and he loses interest in unwrapping everything, so this is the first year that he's going to have just one present, plus some books to unwrap. He'll also have a stocking and plenty of presents at both grandparents houses.

Our traditions include:

Picking out a tree and decorating it with Christmas music and hot chocolate
Having a special Christmas Eve breakfast and letting him unwrap a present (PJs, a Christmas book, and a special ornament)
Breakfast with Santa at a local hotel
Christmas steam train ride
ZooLights

We will leave out cookies and milk, probably starting next year. I think this year, he won't understand it and will just be upset that he can't eat them.

CheezeFace · November 2013

We just had DS's b-day this weekend and with the one gift from Mom & Dad ( a wooden train and tracks) + about 10-15 other boxes from family he lost interest after the trains were opened and his cousins opened the rest for him (so, like, the other 14 presents).

We will put one present from Mom and Dad and one from Santa. I have no doubt the grandparents will fill up that empty space.

On my list are:

* I literally have no idea because I just finished his birthday. LOL.

* A yearly family pass to the zoo

* A yearly family pass to the children's museum.

Our traditions are:

*Christmas pictures with the "real" Santa in North Pole, AK (this is around Thanksgiving, though)

*Whatever my DS's favorite toy/item of interest is, we buy one extra for a child his age on the Angel Tree. I hope when he is older he will want to help pick out the gift.

*Cut-out cookies and decorating with his cousins around the kitchen island.

. This one is my favorite.

*We dye Easter Eggs on Christmas Eve. (This started as a White Elephant gag gift that DH and I came home with years ago at a Christmas party and we've been doing it every year since…we always have Deviled Eggs on Xmas so it works)

*Christmas PJ's + Book. I buy one copy of his favorite book each year. I store the book. I put a note in it and I talk about all the things he did that year. When he has his first child, I'll give him the collection. I do this on Christmas because it's easy to remember.

Not sure what age I will stop (10ish??)

*I'm sure we'll make more memories/traditions as he gets older. Right now I'm just hoping he doesn't pull down the tree:)

hjhmomma · November 2013

I am curious after talking with a friend. She said she puts gifts under the tree as she wraps them but saves 2 gifts that she wraps in "santa" paper and waits until Christmas Eve after the kids have gone to bed to put those under the tree. So, all gifts are from mom and dad except for their 2 "santa" gifts. Does anyone else do this? I have always made all gifts from Santa. Just wondering how everyone else does it.

Also, I was thinking about baking cookies and taking them to the Fire Department or EMS station one evening for the fire fighters/paramedics on night duty. Thoughts?

sugarbear0524 · November 2013

My son will be 2 1/2 this Christmas. He is getting an Imaginarium train table (with 100+ pieces) and some additional Thomas the Train engines. This is his Santa gift, and it will be set up and ready to play with on Christmas morning. He will get more things from his grandparents but we will probably keep it relatively simple.

Our traditions:

Going to a historic district near us for their Victorian Christmas

Going to many church events

Adopting someone in need through our church. Starting next year, it will be a boy our son's age. I want him to understand that all the kids in our city don't have what he has and that we need to be generous.

We may start a new one this year--the Christmas angel. You hide her every night (like Elf on the Shelf) and when the child finds her, she has a note telling the child to do something nice for someone else. It might say "Bake cookies for your neighbors" or "Sing a Christmas song for Grandma". I like this so much because it focuses on serving others instead of good behavior for presents for yourself. I don't know if we will start it this year or wait until next year but I can't wait to do it!

BelhurstBride · November 2013

Last year we started the Elf. (Sally.) Did a big breakfast to welcome her.

Pick out a tree to cut down from my parent's place.

DD1:

changing table for dolls

dress up shoes

clothes for dolls

Leap Pad game

DD2:

sensory balls

the bigger Whoozit

Leap08 · November 2013

hjhmomma said:

I am curious after talking with a friend. She said she puts gifts under the tree as she wraps them but saves 2 gifts that she wraps in "santa" paper and waits until Christmas Eve after the kids have gone to bed to put those under the tree. So, all gifts are from mom and dad except for their 2 "santa" gifts. Does anyone else do this? I have always made all gifts from Santa. Just wondering how everyone else does it.

Also, I was thinking about baking cookies and taking them to the Fire Department or EMS station one evening for the fire fighters/paramedics on night duty. Thoughts?

I think every family handles the Santa thing a bit differently. In my husband's family Santa presents weren't wrapped. They just appeared under the tree in the morning. In my family, Santa presents were done like your friend does them, and that's how we're doing it for our girls. So, we wrap presents and put them under the tree in the days leading up to Christmas. After the girls go to bed, we fill stockings and put their Santa presents (wrapped in special paper) in front of the tree - kind of set apart from all the other gifts. The girls only get 1 Santa present, it's their "big" present for the year. Everything else is from Mom and Dad.

ladylisalt · November 2013

beckslea said:

My first was born 1/23/11 so she is very close to your daughter's age. I love your Christmas ideas. We are in a new home and new area this year so Christmas is going to be very different, I need to think of new traditions to start. It will be the first time we'll mostly be at home as a family so we will enjoy presents and breakfast together and talk to our girls about both meanings of Christmas.

For DD1's Christmas list, I may ask for a tricycle. Also, some new bath toys (always need to rotate those) probably boats. She is really into trucks right now so some of those. I would like to get her a pretend doctor set too. I may ask for a sandbox for both girls.

DD2 doesn't need too much because she shares her sister's toys. I always ask for books and contributions for college from family members (or whatever they would like to buy).

Have you seen the B brand doctor's kit? It's really cute.

blu-eyedwife · November 2013

amywoods824 said:

We actually do Christmas and Hanukah because DH is Jewish. DD has her own menorah (with wooden dowels not real candles) so we let her "light" her menorah each night when we light ours. She's 2.5 now so I feel like this is the first year that she really gets the concept of holidays. I am looking forward to baking and wrapping presents with her, since she loves to do both already. So far we've gotten her some Legos and a doll, but I want to get her one or two more small things/stocking stuffers. Her big gift this year is going to be a tricycle.

We do the same - Channukah and Christmas, and he has a wooden menorah also!
For Channukah we do a big dinner with family (which this year will be Thanksgiving) and make latkes.
His gifts are:
Anywhere chair
new pajamas
a book
more blocks
helmet and skateboard
potty seat
stool
another train for his set

Our Christmas traditions include decorating a tree while watching Christmas movies, decorating a gingerbread house, and visiting the Garden of Lights. He's getting a bike for Christmas, and Santa is bringing him a backpack.

fancynewbeesly · November 2013

We do Hanukkah and Christmas as well.

For Hanukkah everyone has their own menorah; my parents do a Hanukkah brunch--this year it will be on Black Friday.

Her gifts are:

Loving family dollhouse

Bedroom furniture (dollhouse)

nursery furniture (dollhouse)

kitchen set (dollhouse)

Small imaginext toy story set

Barrel of monkeys game

Tag Reader

Small duplo toy story set

Christmas we will just be doing art supplies and replenishing those items (crayons, coloring books, etc); she will be getting a few other small things.

chardonnay24 · November 2013

@hjhmomma

We do the big gift from Santa (usually set up under the tree, unwrapped) and a couple small, wrapped gifts from Santa at our house.

Then we go to my parents and do stockings, another Santa gift (from my parents) and a crap ton of gifts from other family members. This is when we normally would give him our presents, but since we're not getting him a lot this year, this won't happen. Normally, I just split the small presents between us and Santa, although he's still so young it doesn't really matter.

hjhmomma · November 2013

We have never had Christmas morning at our own home. The 1st year we did it with my parents and last year we were in Minnesota with his family. This year we planned on having it just the three of us, but my Grandpa may not be around many more Christmases so we are heading to Illinois with the rest of them family and will have Christmas there. I really like the idea of just doing a few Santa gifts at home then heading to the grandparents house for others. We may just do that next year! I may jump on board with the "special Santa gift" trend as well... I am digging it!

myjohnsonboys · November 2013

Christmas traditions:

Santa's arrival at the mall parade (new this year)

Holiday photos

A Very Fury Christmas at Sesame Place

Decorating the tree and house as a family and playing holiday music

Pictures with Santa

Gift List:

On the list for DS who will be 4 in Jan.- Batcave from Fisher Price, Nabi 2 tablet, Despicable Me movies, some ninja turtles, pj's, and a few outfits

On the list for DS 1- Megablocks, megablocks firetruck finn, mega blocks Billy Beats piano, Fisher Price farm, and PBK rocking lamb. He will also get pj, clothes, and boots.

We love Christmas in my family so we tend to go all out.

HML5382 · November 2013

I'm a crazy Christmas person too! I'm trying really hard this year to be done as much as can possibly be done ahead by the end of November so we can just have fun and enjoy December. I make a lot of my Christmas gifts so there's a lot of to-do's happening right now! For our traditions though, I do an activity advent calendar, some of the stuff on it is:
-Brunch with Santa at the Zoo
-Going to see the Nutcracker Ballet
-Santa Pictures at the Mall
-Driving around to see lights
-Visit Longwood Gardens (a local place with awesome Christmas displays)
-Make our hungarian cookies with Nana
-Make & decorate sugar cookies at home
-Decorate gingerbread houses & trees
-Donate toys to charity
-Decorate our Christmas tree
-This year there will be some preschool related activities
-Make various crafts including ornaments, grandparent gifts (we do a new handprint craft each year for the grandmoms), pinecone crafts, etc
-We have a handful of Christmas themed books and movies to fill in for the other days

I was thinking about starting Elf on the Shelf this year but am loving the Angel idea pp mentioned! Will have to think about that one for sure!

DD1 only has one thing on her list so far, she told me she wants a santa suit! lol She's very into dress-up right now, so I think I'm gonna make that one happen for her

I shopped the day after Halloween and got her a bunch of different costumes and am planning to make her a big dress-up box and get her a long mirror for her room. My other homemade gifts are a snowman kit, fort kit, & "Super Cass" cape (all pinterest inspired). Otherwise I'll probably be replenishing craft supplies, some books, maybe a few new board games, and I need some indoor gross motor toys for her.

DD2 is most likely getting a tunnel, music play table, ball pit balls for the pack-n-play, and some small music & push toys. I think her homemade gift might be a light table and some translucent blocks... we'll see!

JoJoGee · November 2013

I love Christmas! My husband is also a bit of a grinch, but I've slowly been converting him. Traditions... -We go see several light shows. Our zoo and several local parks have light displays. We visit one at the beginning of December and one on Christmas eve, coming home from church. -We get together with family and friends. We'll do something festive with friends, like visit the train display at the museum, or visit the lights at the zoo. And, as far as family goes, the women and the children will get together to bake cookies, and then the entire family will gather at my parents house for Christmas Brunch. -Various Church functions - Breakfast with Santa (Children bring a present for a homeless child), Mitten tree (Children bring winter clothing for the children at a local school), and the family christmas eve service. -Decorate. Decorate. Decorate. We'll decorate our house and hunt for christmas ornaments (we use old happy meal toys as ornaments. It's one way I've been able to get my husband involved). -Mom and Dad's polar express. We'll watch polar express, get DD ready for bed, and then take her to the car to drive around and look at christmas ornaments. -Advent calendar. -We leave a magic key for santa because we don't have a fireplace. -Watch Christmas movies. Read christmas books. Listen to christmas music. -Track santa with NORAD. As for presents, we want things that will help her with her various therapies... Art supplies to help her fine motor. A floor mirror and a "help me walk" baby doll to help her gross motor. Books and a microphone to help her with her speach. Etc. DD's birthday is also close to Christmas. So that never helps.

JoJoGee · November 2013

Sorry for the formatting. Must be the iPad I'm posting from.

RoastyToasty · November 2013

DD will be 2 for this Christmas, so we are still keeping it pretty low key.

Christmas dinner with the whole family is the weekend before, so Christmas Eve and Christmas are just us! I am so excited. We will open presents and then lounge around in pjs watching movies and eating cinnamon rolls.

DD's list isn't too over the top: puzzles, books, a blanket I am almost done knitting, a baby doll, and a duplo train set will probably round us out

Watergirl21 · November 2013

Dd1 is 3 and dd2 is 7 months. Dd1 had asked for a pink Minnie Mouse- that's it!
Since I am on mat leave I am doing a lot of Christmas activities. On my list:
Santa Claus parade
Letters to Santa
Go to see Santa at mall
Reading Christmas stories and listening to music
Making ornaments
Building gingerbread house
Tobogganing
Build a snowman
Go to see Xmas lights

In terms of gifts I am trying to keep it lean- she is getting a Cinderella dress and Minnie Mouse, a CD player to play books on cd, and some stocking stuffers. I think We are also getting her and her sister (joint gift) the little people princess castle.
Dd2 will likely get some socks, some books and a piggy bank.

authorofdreamz · December 2013

hjhmomma said:

I am curious after talking with a friend. She said she puts gifts under the tree as she wraps them but saves 2 gifts that she wraps in "santa" paper and waits until Christmas Eve after the kids have gone to bed to put those under the tree. So, all gifts are from mom and dad except for their 2 "santa" gifts. Does anyone else do this? I have always made all gifts from Santa. Just wondering how everyone else does it.

We put all the gifts out on Christmas Eve but only a couple are from Santa and are wrapped in a different wrapping paper and addressed by a friend so the writing isn't familiar, the rest are from mom/dad. To me, it would seem strange to have presents from grandma/grandpa, aunts/uncles, cousins, etc and then from Santa but none from mom/dad and that would be a big clue that Santa=mom/dad (not at this age obviously but we are setting the tradition)

Our "traditions" (that we will mostly be starting this year since DD was only 13m last year) are:
Putting up the tree the first weekend in Dec.
Walking and looking at Christmas lights on Christmas Eve
Santa Visit (not sure about this one because DD has major stranger anxiety)
Reading a Christmas Book each night starting Dec. 1
Christmas Eve present of christmas jammies, christmas movie and snacks
Reading "The Night Before Christmas" before bed on Christmas Eve
Making cookies for Santa (and family)

Next year we will be starting the Elf on the Shelf

DD is too young to make a christmas list but our plans are:
Big present (also Santa present): Play kitchen
Other presents (from mom/dad): Accessories for the kitchen.
Grandma present: Shopping cart

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So it begins ladies! (Christmas post)

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