That Marvelous Time of the Year
The holidays are fast approaching. I am feeling calmer and more prepared than I can remember feeling for years. We did a lot of shopping for gifts while we were in Thailand. I highly suggest shopping for birthdays and Christmas while traveling. There is always so much to look at and some times the prices are really good. Buying gifts gives you a chance to shop without guilt. Even my husband could get into looking at all the wonderful treasures and knowing he was spending money he would have to spend in some mall back home.
We also have a great wrapping system. Neal is a foot ball junky and there are endless games on TV this time of year. He can feel like he is contributing by wrapping while watching foot ball. I just bring him a gift along with the box and anything else he might need and he wraps the gift. I am a big fan of this system.
We have Christmas at our house every other year. Once your children have families of their own it starts to get complicated to all be together for the actual big day. Every other year we have Nana’s Fake Christmas. This takes place sometime the week end before Christmas. The title has been shortened to NFC. This makes me feel just a little like fried chicken but I must move along with the times.
On the NFC year, Neal and I spend Christmas alone. The first time this happened I faced it with true dread. I was sure I would not make it through the day without all the family and craziness. Well, to my surprise, a quiet Christmas is pretty nice. We have made some of our own traditions. Every year we think we will go out for dinner on Christmas Eve but it never happens. Sometimes we order out for a pizza. I usually bake something special and really unhealthy for Christmas breakfast and our healthy eating goes down hill from there. Pigs in blankets usually make it into the day. We save our gifts for one another and open them right after we eat too much bad food. There is certainly a game on TV and I spend the afternoon reading. Sometimes we make it out to a movie. All in all a quiet day with just the two of us turns out to be pretty special.
I hope all of you have a wonderful holiday season. Take some time to look around you and notice the little things that get ignored because life moves too fast. We have a new year to look forward to and new adventures ahead.