Christmas shopping this year has proven to be quite the challenge! I've asked my children repeatedly what they would like for Christmas this year. My daughter sent me a detailed list of items that she wants, but there's only about 7 things on the list. After splitting those 7 items between Santa, my parents, and my brother, there's not much on each of those lists. My middle son picked out a skateboard that he liked, along with some extra wheels and bearings for his other skateboard. He asked for some shoes and some clothes, but he hasn't asked for any other toys (he's only 9! Surely he hasn't outgrown toys!). My seven year old has the largest list of the three. I thought I was doing great with him, until he told me last night to "erase all the toys off the list and tell Santa that I want an XBOX 360, the white one, for my bedroom". Ummm....I don't see that happening. How to you tell a 7 year old that Santa doesn't do exchanges when it's barely the 1st of December??
My question is this: When you have more than one child (heck, even if you just have one child), how do you decide how much to spend on gifts for Christmas? I'm a firm believer that everything should be fair (same dollar amount on each child, or as close as you can possibly come), but that's kind of hard to explain when they are more likely to count the number of packages under the tree. Trust me...these kids really do not NEED anything material. They have plenty of toys...from the Wii, to the XBOX, to the DS3's...bicycles, (my boys have bikes at my house, dad's house, and grandma's house!). They have tons of books, clothes, etc. The oldest two both have an iPod touch (which they received for their most recent birthdays). If anything, they have too much.
I don't want these kids to be disappointed at Christmas, but my mom made an interesting point when I talked to her about it. She reminded me that Santa will be visiting them at their father's home and at my home, and they do have two sets of natural grandparents, a set of "step" grandparents, and plenty of aunts and uncles on all sides that will be showering them with gifts.
This has gotten me contemplating the idea of opening up an Education Savings Account (like a 529) and contributing to that for their birthdays and Christmas each year. It seems that it would be going towards a good cause, but I'm not so sure that children would really appreciate it at the time. Does anyone have any thoughts?
Showing posts with label Christmas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Christmas. Show all posts
Friday, December 2, 2011
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Tiny Prints Talent Search!
Tiny Prints wants YOU to enter for a chance to win the grand prize of $1,000 cash, plus a $500 Tiny Prints gift certificate. What a perfect prize just in time for the Holiday season!
In the Tiny Prints Talent Search Contest they are looking for the cutest photos in the following categories:
· Cutest Baby (From ages of 0-24 months)
· Cutest Kid (From ages of 25 months - 10 years old)
· Cutest Family
· Cutest Couple
· Cutest Pet & Owner
After the entry period is over, Tiny Prints will open up the contest to the entire Community to vote for their favorites and determine the winners! Hurry! The entry deadline has been extended to November 21st!
You can enter the Tiny Print Talent Search Contest via Facebook or on our website. For Official Rules, click here.
In the Tiny Prints Talent Search Contest they are looking for the cutest photos in the following categories:
· Cutest Baby (From ages of 0-24 months)
· Cutest Kid (From ages of 25 months - 10 years old)
· Cutest Family
· Cutest Couple
· Cutest Pet & Owner
After the entry period is over, Tiny Prints will open up the contest to the entire Community to vote for their favorites and determine the winners! Hurry! The entry deadline has been extended to November 21st!
You can enter the Tiny Print Talent Search Contest via Facebook or on our website. For Official Rules, click here.
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Holiday Traditions
I have fond memories of our holiday traditions when I was growing up. We spent every Thanksgiving when I was young at my great Aunt Betty's house. She lived in a neighboring state, so we usually had to drive a little bit to get there. As I got older, we moved Thanksgivings to my Uncle's house, who lived much closer to us, but my great Aunt and her kids and their families would still come.
On Christmas Eve, we would celebrate with dinner and gifts at my mom's parents' house. These are some of my favorite childhood memories. Usually, us kids would eat our dinner first. We were usually too excited to eat much, so we'd wolf down our dinners as fast as we could, and hurriedly clear out the table so the adults could get started. It would seem like they sat there forever and a day, eating, chatting, and torturing us with waiting! My brother, my cousin and I would continuously peek around the corner of the kitchen, giving them all the stink-eye for keeping us waiting so long. The rule was that the kitchen had to be cleaned up before the first gift could be opened. Do you have any idea what torture it is for a small child to sit and stare at a massive pile of gifts with your name on them, but have no control over when you'll be able to open them? That hour would feel like days of waiting, but we'd eventually get to open our gifts, and be delighted with each and every one of them.
On Christmas morning, we'd wake up really early to see the gifts that Santa had left for us. We'd spend the day at home, until dinner at my other grandmother's house that evening. Luckily, she lived right next door to us, so travel was minimal.
With time has come a parting of ways from old traditions. As my brother, my cousin and I have grown up and moved out, we've had to deal with coordinating work schedules (both my cousin and my brother have jobs that require them to work holidays sometimes), and coordinating celebrations with our own in-laws as well. To make things even MORE difficult, I've also got to contend with a visitation schedule for my older three children. It wasn't such a big problem in the beginning. We alternated Christmas and Thanksgiving each year. Now that I live out of state, it's a little more difficult. I still have them each year for the duration of their Thanksgiving break, which is wonderful (they always get a week off school for Thanksgiving). We've spent the last three years at my parents' home for the duration of the Thanksgiving holiday. This year, I really wanted to bring them to my home in Florida. It can get really hectic at my parents' house when the kids are cooped up indoors for a week (usually it's too cold and icky outside for them to play). I also knew that we would have more time over this holiday than we will during Christmas this year. Luckily, it worked out for us for this holiday. Don't even get me started on the cost of air travel during peak holiday season. The airfare cost me nearly $2,000 for this trip, and that's with my youngest sitting in my lap for both of our round trips. I don't even want to know what the cost will be next year, when he's too old to sit on my lap.
I've been struggling with the Christmas travel lately. My youngest, who lives with me and my husband, is having his 2nd Christmas this year. My older three children are scheduled to wake up at their Dad's house on Christmas morning on alternating years and this is his year. This means that I won't be able to pick my kids up until Christmas Day in the afternoon. This also means that I will either a) Have to travel on Christmas Day (which I have done before and it sucks) or b) Travel prior to Christmas Day, which means that my youngest won't be able to wake up in his own home on Christmas Morning on alternating years. I realize that he is too young to understand all of that this year, but two years from now, he won't be. He will be asking all sorts of questions. "How will Santa know where to leave my gifts?", "Why can't they (Sissy/Nate/Jake) wake up here with us?", "Why does Santa leave them gifts here when they don't live here?". Thinking about the future has got me wondering if I should even attempt to put on the whole Santa charade with my youngest. I only question this because I want to avoid his panic when we're not able to be in our own home for Christmas morning. I realize that it's really not fair to him, but then again, it's only one day out of the year. I wonder if my kids will have the same fond memories I have of Christmas and other holiday traditions, when they're not given the privilege of those things actually becoming traditions due to the visitation schedule.
Dealing with visitation schedules and other custody arrangements can sure put a damper on the holiday season. In addition to the logistical nightmare that they can be, the financial burden is also bothersome. I really wanted to bring my kids back to Florida for the Christmas break, but my husband talked some sense into me. He pointed out that if we purchased tickets for Christmas also, then we would be spending nearly $5,000 on airfare for them in a period of about 40 days. This would be piled onto his airfare cost to come home on break for the month of December, which was also over $2,000 (International Flight costs SUCK!). He pointed out that the kids would probably prefer we spend the money on their gifts instead, and he's right. It makes more sense to do that. Having my husband with us over Christmas break this year will make the season a bit more bearable, and we agreed that we could just alternate our holiday travel each year.
I hope that our kids will appreciate the season for what it is, and realize that we did the very best we could with what we had to work with at the time. I honestly don't know how other distant parents are able to manage the financial burden of the travel alone. Without my husband's job, there is absolutely no way we would be able to afford the luxury of bringing them down during the holiday season. Our holiday arrangements may not be conventional or anything like what I experienced growing up, but it's all my kids know and doesn't appear to be changing anytime in the distant future.
On Christmas Eve, we would celebrate with dinner and gifts at my mom's parents' house. These are some of my favorite childhood memories. Usually, us kids would eat our dinner first. We were usually too excited to eat much, so we'd wolf down our dinners as fast as we could, and hurriedly clear out the table so the adults could get started. It would seem like they sat there forever and a day, eating, chatting, and torturing us with waiting! My brother, my cousin and I would continuously peek around the corner of the kitchen, giving them all the stink-eye for keeping us waiting so long. The rule was that the kitchen had to be cleaned up before the first gift could be opened. Do you have any idea what torture it is for a small child to sit and stare at a massive pile of gifts with your name on them, but have no control over when you'll be able to open them? That hour would feel like days of waiting, but we'd eventually get to open our gifts, and be delighted with each and every one of them.
On Christmas morning, we'd wake up really early to see the gifts that Santa had left for us. We'd spend the day at home, until dinner at my other grandmother's house that evening. Luckily, she lived right next door to us, so travel was minimal.
With time has come a parting of ways from old traditions. As my brother, my cousin and I have grown up and moved out, we've had to deal with coordinating work schedules (both my cousin and my brother have jobs that require them to work holidays sometimes), and coordinating celebrations with our own in-laws as well. To make things even MORE difficult, I've also got to contend with a visitation schedule for my older three children. It wasn't such a big problem in the beginning. We alternated Christmas and Thanksgiving each year. Now that I live out of state, it's a little more difficult. I still have them each year for the duration of their Thanksgiving break, which is wonderful (they always get a week off school for Thanksgiving). We've spent the last three years at my parents' home for the duration of the Thanksgiving holiday. This year, I really wanted to bring them to my home in Florida. It can get really hectic at my parents' house when the kids are cooped up indoors for a week (usually it's too cold and icky outside for them to play). I also knew that we would have more time over this holiday than we will during Christmas this year. Luckily, it worked out for us for this holiday. Don't even get me started on the cost of air travel during peak holiday season. The airfare cost me nearly $2,000 for this trip, and that's with my youngest sitting in my lap for both of our round trips. I don't even want to know what the cost will be next year, when he's too old to sit on my lap.
I've been struggling with the Christmas travel lately. My youngest, who lives with me and my husband, is having his 2nd Christmas this year. My older three children are scheduled to wake up at their Dad's house on Christmas morning on alternating years and this is his year. This means that I won't be able to pick my kids up until Christmas Day in the afternoon. This also means that I will either a) Have to travel on Christmas Day (which I have done before and it sucks) or b) Travel prior to Christmas Day, which means that my youngest won't be able to wake up in his own home on Christmas Morning on alternating years. I realize that he is too young to understand all of that this year, but two years from now, he won't be. He will be asking all sorts of questions. "How will Santa know where to leave my gifts?", "Why can't they (Sissy/Nate/Jake) wake up here with us?", "Why does Santa leave them gifts here when they don't live here?". Thinking about the future has got me wondering if I should even attempt to put on the whole Santa charade with my youngest. I only question this because I want to avoid his panic when we're not able to be in our own home for Christmas morning. I realize that it's really not fair to him, but then again, it's only one day out of the year. I wonder if my kids will have the same fond memories I have of Christmas and other holiday traditions, when they're not given the privilege of those things actually becoming traditions due to the visitation schedule.
Dealing with visitation schedules and other custody arrangements can sure put a damper on the holiday season. In addition to the logistical nightmare that they can be, the financial burden is also bothersome. I really wanted to bring my kids back to Florida for the Christmas break, but my husband talked some sense into me. He pointed out that if we purchased tickets for Christmas also, then we would be spending nearly $5,000 on airfare for them in a period of about 40 days. This would be piled onto his airfare cost to come home on break for the month of December, which was also over $2,000 (International Flight costs SUCK!). He pointed out that the kids would probably prefer we spend the money on their gifts instead, and he's right. It makes more sense to do that. Having my husband with us over Christmas break this year will make the season a bit more bearable, and we agreed that we could just alternate our holiday travel each year.
I hope that our kids will appreciate the season for what it is, and realize that we did the very best we could with what we had to work with at the time. I honestly don't know how other distant parents are able to manage the financial burden of the travel alone. Without my husband's job, there is absolutely no way we would be able to afford the luxury of bringing them down during the holiday season. Our holiday arrangements may not be conventional or anything like what I experienced growing up, but it's all my kids know and doesn't appear to be changing anytime in the distant future.
Friday, November 11, 2011
Photo Holiday Cards by TinyPrints
The Holiday season is upon us, which means it's time to start thinking about getting your Christmas cards ready to send out. I started thinking about the holiday card chore months ago. Since it's so difficult to get the whole family together all at once, we had our family photos taken back in April. It was one of those rare occasions where we were able to get all the kids together, as well as both my husband and I, in the same place at the same time. The year before, our family portraits were taken in July, with the full intent of using those shots in our holiday card. We also had separate portraits taken in October last year, then again this year, to celebrate the birth and then the 1st birthday of our son together. I like to incorporate more than one photo into our holiday cards, and Tiny Prints has so many different designs that the options are limitless.
Last year, I designed Tristan's birth announcement with a Christmas theme.
The card was gorgeous, the card stock was high quality, and we even got matching envelopes and address labels to compliment the card. Everybody remarked at what great quality cards they were. Most assumed that we had spent a fortune (which we had NOT!).
This year, since we don't have any babies to announce (darn it!), we'll just be doing a family card. Here are some of the templates that I like.
For a chic look, check out the Chic Carol in Black
For a fun look, I like the Creative Christmas: Tomato.
Last year, I designed Tristan's birth announcement with a Christmas theme.
The card was gorgeous, the card stock was high quality, and we even got matching envelopes and address labels to compliment the card. Everybody remarked at what great quality cards they were. Most assumed that we had spent a fortune (which we had NOT!).
This year, since we don't have any babies to announce (darn it!), we'll just be doing a family card. Here are some of the templates that I like.
For a chic look, check out the Chic Carol in Black
For a fun look, I like the Creative Christmas: Tomato.
Monday, September 12, 2011
The First Year in Photos
When I look back at all the photos I've taken of Tristan over the past 11 months, I wonder how I'm ever going to get his baby book done. I've started, but I've been really slow about it. I think I might be up to his 2 week birthday so far, but not much further along than that.
I recently found these great Photo Books from Shutterfly while I was there ordering Prints from my graduation in May. With their new Custom Path, you can personalize your photo book, incorporating up to 1000 pictures!! For those of you that don't want to get so detailed with your photos, they still have the Simple Path books that come with pre-set backgrounds and layouts, and allow up to 400 of your photos to be incorporated. Since I have so many photos of Tristan, the Custom Path is perfect for me. I can't think of a better way to commemorate his first year of life than to put it into one of these Photo Books. They're available in five sizes (5x7, 7x9, 8x8, 8x11, 12x12), and prices start at just $12.99. The best part is that even the covers are customizable, including the spines. I'm sure my parents and in-laws would love to have one of these for each of their grandchildren. (Sssshhh...it's supposed to be a Christmas surprise!)
Speaking of Christmas, don't forget to check out Shutterfly's great selection of Christmas Cards while you're there. They have over 800 templates, just waiting for your personal photos and message. We did a family photo card last year, and will be doing them again this year. They're a great way to ensure all your friends and family get a recent family photo or photos of your children, without the added expense of having to buy frames and wrapping paper to gift them all in. Ok, so I'm a little "thrifty", but with all the money I've saved, I can afford to get some personalized invitations for the little guy's birthday, and thank you cards for afterwards!
I better get going! I've got lots of pictures to upload so I can get this photo book done before Tristan's birthday! It's less than 4 weeks away now!
I recently found these great Photo Books from Shutterfly while I was there ordering Prints from my graduation in May. With their new Custom Path, you can personalize your photo book, incorporating up to 1000 pictures!! For those of you that don't want to get so detailed with your photos, they still have the Simple Path books that come with pre-set backgrounds and layouts, and allow up to 400 of your photos to be incorporated. Since I have so many photos of Tristan, the Custom Path is perfect for me. I can't think of a better way to commemorate his first year of life than to put it into one of these Photo Books. They're available in five sizes (5x7, 7x9, 8x8, 8x11, 12x12), and prices start at just $12.99. The best part is that even the covers are customizable, including the spines. I'm sure my parents and in-laws would love to have one of these for each of their grandchildren. (Sssshhh...it's supposed to be a Christmas surprise!)
Speaking of Christmas, don't forget to check out Shutterfly's great selection of Christmas Cards while you're there. They have over 800 templates, just waiting for your personal photos and message. We did a family photo card last year, and will be doing them again this year. They're a great way to ensure all your friends and family get a recent family photo or photos of your children, without the added expense of having to buy frames and wrapping paper to gift them all in. Ok, so I'm a little "thrifty", but with all the money I've saved, I can afford to get some personalized invitations for the little guy's birthday, and thank you cards for afterwards!
I better get going! I've got lots of pictures to upload so I can get this photo book done before Tristan's birthday! It's less than 4 weeks away now!
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