Merry Christmas!

It's Christmas! I think Christmas is more fun when you have kids. At least I enjoy getting things for my little guy and surprising him with them. I also love Christmas Eve services. We didn't get to go to one last year since the church we attended in Germany didn't have one. We also didn't have any family in town for Christmas last year, which was quite weird. We did, however, get to have dinner with some friends of ours in Germany which was very nice. When you're away from family, you have to be willing to create a new family for the holidays. This year we're back in the states and thankful to be surrounded by our family and friends as we welcome another child into the family.

This Christmas was quite thrifty on my part. I bought most of #1's presents at a consignment sale. I only bought one item at Target, yes it was an impulse item, but it was on sale since it was Black Friday. He loves the Chipmunk movie, the first one, and I didn't have anything for his stocking. I did have to order some parts for one of his Christmas gifts, but it still cost less than buying it brand new.

For other people in the family, I made some presents, used some gift cards that came in the mail from the store themselves and shopped clearance MONTHS ago. I love those random cards that stores will send. This year I got 2 Victoria Secret $10 off any purchase, $10 off any purchase to Sports Authority, and two $5 off Hallmark in magazines. Some of them require you to not have to spend a certain amount over the gift card. These are my favorite, needless to say.

I didn't complete all my shopping as early as I'd like and there are people who I wanted to do things for but ran out of energy. That's what happens when you're due right before Christmas. BUT, I'm pretty satisfied with what I got done.

Since I managed to not spend too much and make presents, I found it was easier to separate myself from the commercialness of the season. I really am still struggling with the idea of Santa Claus and the disregard to the real reason for the season. I see nothing wrong with giving gifts to each other, I like doing that. What I do struggle with is that its hard to balance Jesus with the commercialization. It almost seems like you need to do one or the other. We emulate Santa so much in the Christmas season. Anyhow, that can be a long, long post from me if I really get into it, which I don't feel like doing.