11.01.2011

Call Me Crazy

our local christian radio station plays christmas music on halloween every year.
usually it drives me crazy.

i love christmas music but hearing it on the last day of october makes me feel a little panicked.  it emphasizes the fact that christmas is around the corner and my to do list goes in my mind goes to overdrive.

this year it was different.
this year i heard the christmas music and felt joyful.
this year i am basically done christmas shopping. 
yep, except for homemade gifts we make for coaches and teachers {i still need to get something for my hubby} i am done.

we haven't exchanged adult gifts for years with either my family or my husband's family.
the kids haven't exchanged gifts with their cousins for a few years either. since we all live apart it just isn't cost effective to have to ship gifts.
so my shopping list is very small. just pretty much my little family.

ever since morgan was born i have usually had the majority of my christmas shopping done before thanksgiving.  her birthday is in november so once i started shopping for her birthday i would just do christmas as well.  so for the last almost 12 years i've done my shopping early.

i am not one to fight the crowds. 
i don't get a thrill from black friday.
i would much rather enjoy the friday after thanksgiving in my pjs hanging with my family.

every year i look through the ads on thanksgiving hoping i don't have any buyers regret. did i really miss a good deal?
i can't remember a year where i was wishing i had gotten up at the crack of dawn to fight the crowds.

this year i did most of my shopping from the comfort of my home.
it was so easy.
i had no stress and no crowds.
i loved finding fun new shops and having time to puruse their inventory.
i didn't feel rushed.
i didn't feel pressured to make choices or buy because i was running out of time.
it was perfect for me.

there have been packages arriving every few days on my door step.
my kids freak out when they see the packages.
they know the packages are off limits
but they love to guess what's in the boxes and who is getting what is in each box
it adds to the excitement of christmas.

i do have a boy who likes to snoop.
last year he climbed my closet and went into some bags and boxes looking at gifts.
this year i started wrapping early.
i usually don't wrap until mid december but my closet was driving me crazy with boxes {i really need to find a better spot to keep their gifts} and i wanted to prevent landon from snooping.

last weekend while the two older kids were on a play date and mauryn was snuggled in with her daddy to watch some football, i locked myself in my bedroom and got to wrapping.

it honestly felt SOO good!
i felt a weight just lifted off my shoulders to get those gifts wrapped.
mostly because i knew mr. snooper wouldn't get into the gifts but also because my closet was more organized {phew!} and it is one less thing on my to do list in december.

i know some people think its crazy to start shopping and be done this early but it is a sanity saver for me.
i can now focus on enjoying christmas.
i can be full present during our advent activities.
i can feel relaxed and peaceful instead of rushed and crazed.

let the christmas music play, i am ready!

do you shop early or do you like the hustle and bustle of shopping in december?

6 comments:

{cuppakim} said...

a little of both.
last year i did almost ALL my shopping at cost plus (planning on doing that again this year) - save for a few of the bigger gifts.

i did it right at the beginning of december.
on a weeknight maybe.
that's the best trick.

but i always end up at the store last minute on 12/23 or 24. :)

and i LOVE wrapping paper with words.

i have had ho-ho-ho paper for years! in fact, i'm on my second costco roll (it takes me FOREVER to go through it, since i'm not wrapping for a bunch of kids or anything).

:)

Unknown said...

One of these days I'm dragging you to black friday with me - just because you may think differently once you actually go - yes it's crazy and crowded - but so stinkin fun if you are with the right group of people. And you will be back in plenty of time to make your family breakfast and spend the rest of the day in sweats! COME!!!!

Denise said...

this post makes me UNHAPPY! yes, i said it...UNHAPPY! that i am no where near thinking about christmas. in my defense other years i am wrapping by november, and i'm ALWAYS done with gift prep and shopping before our christmas {a week before christmas}. this year is going to be a grace year. it has to with the move. it has to! and i think since your all good to go you should come to cali with your cali shirt and HELP ME!
thank you.

have fun in MN!!

grey rose (they/them) said...

christmas music plays all.year.long. at our house!
we love it.
online shopping rocks! we go out and brave the crowds, too though. for fun! #wearecrazypeople
so fun you can chill and browse fun new shops!

i am not a snooper. one year my youngest brother comes tearing down the hall shouting "y'all hurry and come see what i found!" so me and my other brother ran with him to see...in my parent's closet. sets of lincoln logs. it was a week before christmas and we were gonna kill our weasel-y little brother! so bummed. it very nearly ruined christmas, that was our only gift that year!
:)

love you, idaho mom! praying for safe travels tomorrow! xo

Amy said...

I am all about getting an early start on the holidays...why not enjoy it? It comes and goes in a flash! What annoys me more is when people leave their stuff up through January! ;-) We've already seen Santa!

Lynn said...

We are moving, and I can't figure out what we are having for dinner most nights, let alone plan for the holidays. I keep reminding myself that this is not a "normal" season for us, and that's okay. I may take a year off from most traditions since most of my holiday stuff will be in boxes. So proud of you though! The earlier things are done, the more you can enjoy the present joy of the holidays.