Ho ho ho and whatnot

So it's a damn good thing that we went shopping the day after Thanksgiving and got all of the girls' loot, because I haven't had time to do any shopping since then. However, at Alice's request, I will now tell you what I have gotten so far...

It all started when I made a list before Thanksgiving with stuff that the girls have mentioned that they wanted. This is no small feat, because since Abby and I spent a lot of time on the couch watching "Spongebob" last week, I found out that she wants pretty much everything that there is a commercial for. But she is asking for it for her birthday, because she already went and saw Santa, so in her mind, there's no changing that order. Lest you think that we are raising a greedy and materialistic child, her list to Santa had the following: 4 coloring books, 2 Barbies, a new truck for her grandpa, and a Spiderman for Drake (a friend at school). That's all. I thought it was adorable and so sweet that she asked Santa for things for other people. Of course, I pretty much think everything she says and does is totally adorable, so I suppose I'm not much of a judge.

Anyway. Back to the list. I was originally going to order everything from the internet, since I love Christmas but hate crowds and lines. Then I got all concerned that something horrible would happen and the stuff wouldn't get delivered in time and the girls would have a Christmas morning like that episode of Friends when Chandler and Joey get everyone's presents at a gas station. AND since they both still believe in Santa, once the gifts arrived, we'd have a hard time explaining why Santa uses UPS.

Ok. THE LIST. Geez, I am not good at the focusing. Ahem. So I decided that I would separate my list into the two places where I could find everything - Toys R Us and Target, and then we'd go shopping. Even better, we'd go the day after Thanksgiving AT 5 A.M. - because that's when Toys R Us opened. I'm not usually that girl (see: I hate crowds), but I figured if nothing else, we'd see some die hard crazies. I was not wrong. By the time we got there at 5:45, the checkout line already stretched to the back of the store, around the whole back and baaaack to the front. Essentially, the end of the line was at the entrance to the store. We walked around for about 5 minutes before I declared that there was no holly jolly way I was standing in a three hour line. So we went to a nearby Super Target (which opened at 6) and spent about an hour and a half and got EVERYTHING on my list and then some. Including stocking stuffers and groceries. The best part? There was no line. That, my friends, was totally my kind of shopping.

So what did we get them. Well, Riley is getting a lot of crafty things, as she loves crafts. A friendship bracelet maker, needlepoint, a fancy version of Spirograph, chapter books, a puzzle, a stuffed dog, a Strawberry Shortcake Doll (because they'll be getting skanky-ass Bratz dolls over my cold dead body) and a hair beader. I didn't WANT to get the hair beader, because our house seems to be a strange sort of bead breeding ground. The laundry room is right outside our bedroom and dear god, the racket. I found a bazillion beads in there this morning when I opened it up. I also step on them constantly and find them in the folds of the couch. But the hair beader was specifically asked for, so I got it. Along with assorted other things. Abby is getting a Fisher Price digital camera, so that I no longer find 55 pictures of her stuffed animals on my phone ("I took 4 pictures of each one!"), a coloring book, a Strawberry Shortcake doll, a puzzle, some books, spirograph, a stuffed kitty, and some Littlest Pet Shop stuff. They are also getting gifts for them together - a lot of coloring supplies, a bowling set, and dominos. And of course, they're getting clothes, including matching jammies and robes for Christmas Eve. It's a good thing they're not spoiled, don't you think? We were very careful to spend similar amounts of money on them and make sure that they have an equal number of presents, because Santa does NOT like to have the Fair Police on his ass.

Other than that, I've gotten a present for my parents and that's all. I got my mom and dad tickets to see B.B. King when he comes here in April, which they will love. However, even though I haven't been shopping much, I'm having a great Christmas season. I love Christmas (did I mention that?) and I've realized that it's even better when you can experience it the way kids do. Everything is so exciting and interesting and new and it's just fun. I've gotten to bake and frost homemade sugar cookies, decorate the tree with little people, talk about Santa as if he were real, tell them the ACTUAL Christmas story and play with the nativity scenes I have, and sing Christmas Carols. A lot of it is stuff I've done tons of times before, but I never really paid much attention - I just did it because I always have. But this year I get to do stuff with the girls that is still new to them, and that's been the best. It may sound stupid, but it helps me remember what Christmas should be all about.