Merry Christmas Eve!!! I hope you have spent the day with your family and friends having a lovely time. I hope you watched all the Christmas movies on television, played games with those around you, enjoyed some Christmas treats, and truly enjoyed the true meaning of Christmas. Tomorrow is the big day, so write your note to Santa, leave out the cookies and milk, put on your Christmas pj's and head to bed. Santa is coming (SANTA!!!!!I KNOW HIM!!!!). Don't forget to spend some time focusing on the true meaning of the holiday tomorrow. Put your phones down, spend time with the people you love, and enjoy Christmas. Thanks for sticking with me this month! Merry Christmas!
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I have been my grandmother's (Gogger) right hand since I could walk. Growing up, when it came to cooking, baking, setting the table, meal planning, it was all Gogger, her Legs (that's me), and my dad. We are basically professionals. Gogger said today that it sometimes feels like we run a bed and breakfast. With 13-16 people coming to the house for all the holidays, everyone has a different schedule, different meals need to be prepped and cooked, desserts have to be baked in advance, and grocery store lists are made and remade prior to the multiple trips. So, since we are such pros, I thought I'd share with you some secrets about Christmas Day meals, cooking, and preparing the best turkey.
1) Prep. Things like dressing can be prepped days or weeks in advanced. Cooked vegetables like corn and green beans should be prepped (cooked ahead of time, so you only have to reheat) 2-3 days in advance. Vegetables and fruits a day or two days before the meal is great, especially if you have family coming into town before the big day. Desserts and baked treats are also great things to prepare 3-4 days in advance. Prep is one of the best ways to cut down on cooking time, business during Christmas day. The most important part about prep is making lists... 2) Lists on lists on lists. Step 1: Meal planning. Know when your guests are going to be there and decide what times the meals should be. Based on how long the family is in town plan out your meals, breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Step 2: Grocery list time. Go through each meal and write out everything you will need for every meal. Check your fridge and pantry for ingredients you might already have, and write everything else on your grocery store list. Bonus points if you organize the list by categories: produce, freezer section, canned goods, meat, etc. Step 3: Make a list of each day leading up to when company comes into town and spread out your prep work. Prep fruits and veggies one day, desserts another day, and leave only day of cooking for when family is in town. 3) Day of Schedule. Anyone who cooks knows the struggle of oven space and stove tops, especially if you destroy your turkey by baking it in the oven (sorry folks). One of the best ways to help with this is to write down everything you need to cook in the oven and on the stove, along with how long each item will take and what needs to be the warmest when you serve. Things like mashed potatoes cook quickly, but most people don't want to eat them cold. The easiest solution is to make the potatoes and let them keep warm in a crockpot (use crockpot liners for easy clean up), which will open up stove space. 4) Fry your turkey, season well. The reality is that you should always season everything well, but specifically with the turkey. Before everyone jumps on me and tells me that roast (dry) turkey is the best and that it isn't dry... you're wrong. I'm sorry, it had to be said. If you don't believe me, let me fry you a turkey. You will change your mind, I'm 100% sure. (Confident Sarah emerges) You don't think your turkey is dry, because you just don't know better, but trust me, it is, and there is a better way. I understand that frying your turkey isn't the healthiest option, but let's be real folks, there isn't much about Christmas dinner or snacks or any number of desserts that is healthy. Enjoy it to the fullest, diet in January. My dad taught me how to season and fry a turkey, and it is wonderful. I use a creole butter injector to season the inside of my meat (start with the breast meat and don't forget the dark meat). I use seasoning salt, garlic powder, onion powder, and a few other secret spices to season the skin of the bird before giving it the "hot oil bath" treatment. The outside is crispy and perfect (so full of flavor), and the inside is juicy and wonderful. Also, name your turkey, it makes the whole experience more fun. 5) If you cook, you don't clean. Cooking the meal is a huge deal and the amount of work it takes can be (totally is) exhausting. Let someone else clean up. The table can be cleaned off by someone, the plates washed by someone, the leftovers saved by another, by hand pots and pans by another, and the counter and stove by another. If you are the cook, let someone else clean. If you don't cook, offer to help clean up. 6) This is a special secret tip from the one and only Gogger. "Let your grandchildren do it. If they won't, run away from home." She was teasing. Those are just a few tips and tricks I have learned from the master's of Christmas Day Feast over the years. What is your favorite thing to eat or cook/bake at Christmas time? I have made it 22 days and I am quickly running out of ideas, so I am glad that I only have a few days left, but I am proud that I have made it this far. For today's post I am going to give you guys 5 last minute gift ideas.
1) Record Players. This is a very trendy gift to give this year, especially for the young adult crowd. There are many different kinds, but the reality is that most of the people who want this gift wouldn't be able to tell whether the quality was good or not. Most department stores at the mall will have a variety of brands for under $40. If you do give the record player, buying some records to go along with it is a good idea as well. 2) Pop Vinyls. These are a type of action figure or bobble head that are really fun to collect, and there are hundreds of them. Pick a character you think that they might like, normally from a favorite movie or tv show, and wrap it up. They are only about $9 and easy to find. I normally get mine at Barnes and Noble, but they sell them at Walmart, Target, the mall, and most other stores like these. I have about 36 of them, so I can truy say I love them. They line my entertainment center currently, and they are the greatest. 3) Cookbooks. I definitely recommend these for moms, and I would probably recommend finding some crockpot meal cookbooks or quick and easy dinners. I personally love cookbooks, and check out the huge variety at my local Barnes and Noble every time I go there. There are cookbooks for just about everything from smoothies to burgers, chocolate cake to italian dinners. 4) Slippers or fuzzy socks. This is a simple gift to give anyone that you just don't know what else to get for. They are cozy, inexpensive, and just lovely little things. It is also super easy to find fun (and festive if that is something you want) slippers. Walmart has a bunch for under $10, and so does just about every other store. 5) Coffee mugs, to go cups. This is actually one of my favorite things to receive (I love coffee mugs!). There are so much cute, festival, practical, colorful, and fun coffee mugs out there, they are easy to find, and relatively inexpensive. People can always use another quality coffee mug in their lives. A fun DIY is to buy a plain white or solid colored mug and use oil based Sharpie to add your own design. This is a great way to give a personal touch instead of a generic mug. You can wipe the design off with fingernail polish remover and try again if you make error. When you have finished your design, bake it in the over at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Turn the oven off and let the mug cool down with the oven. I have a few more ideas if you are seriously in need of them, let me know if you guys are looking for anything specific. Also, I really could use some ideas for the last few days, so if you have any suggestions for Christmas/Winter themed posts, let me know! There is another sort of tag that people will do called 10 things you don't know about me, 50 random things, etc. So, for today, I thought I'd share with you 10 things you probably don't know about me the Christmas edition.
1) My families stockings were given to us by our Uncle James, who owned a Christmas store. When we were given the stockings there were only 4 kids plus my parents. They are entricately embrodered stockings with a variety of designs. My stocking was always my favorite because it actually includes all of the images from the other stockings in the set. Jonathan and Willy got stockings later of a different design, and now all the inlaws have stockings too, so it is a fun mix of stockings. 2) I don't like peppermint or pumpkin flavored coffee or hot chocolate. While most people go crazy for the peppermint mocha or pumpkin spice, I'd rather not be a part of it. That is right folks, I'm a true rebel. I much prefer the cinnamon dulche or, if I'm in the mood for something sweet, the caramel brûlée. 3) One of my favorite Christmas presents was my see-thru Nintendo game boy advance. I unwrapped it and was ecstatic. No one knows this, but I went outside to play with it right after I opened it, and the very first thing I did was drop it face down on the concrete. It chipped a piece of the corner off, and with it part of my oh so fragile heart. To my delight, and mostly relief, it still worked like a charm and remained a favorite of mine for many years. Sorry for dropping it mom. 4) I use to tell my sisters I had to be the one to play Mary in the Christmas story because my blanket was blue and so was her head dress. Because obviously I knew. The reality is that Jenny and Bethany could have cared less who was Mary, but they let me believe I was so sneaky and smart with my blue blanket head dress. 5) I know how to sing Jingle Bells in Arabic. It is true. Many of you know that my job at Proskuneo involves working with people from all over the world and in many different languages, but not even I thought this would lead to me know Christmas songs in other languages. I actually know a few, but Jingle Bells in Arabic is the most impressive as far as I'm concerned. Fun fact: it has nothing to do with sleighs or dashing through the snow. In fact, most Christmas songs from other cultures are all about Jesus. They have the same tunes as many of our Rudolph and frosty classics, but they are almost all about Jesus instead. 6) My sister, Bethany, and I go and buy Christmas pjs the week before Christmas every year (since I could drive). They are different every year and have a wide variety of material, style, and design, but all are equally festive and wonderful. This year, our Christmas pjs are grey with polar bears wearing sweaters. We also included our other sisters in this years tradition. 7) One of my favorite Christmas decorations is the Christmas village. I used to love going with my dad to look at all the houses and dream of buying them all for myself one day. I was always going to have the worlds best Christmas village. Well, it is expensive to buy all those, so this year I got a bunch of mini houses ($1.82 from Walmart) and created my own cobblestone steets out of toilet paper rolls and paint. It's still the best village around. 8) I don't like/eat frosting on Christmas cookies. Maybe I'm just a puriest or maybe I don't have the sweet tooth thing, either way, I just don't care for frosting on my cookies. In fact, I'll almost always pick a peanut butter or chocolate chip cookie over a sugar cookie. 9) Snoopy is my favorite Christmas character. Now, before you all jump on me and say, "he isn't a Christmas character!" I beg to differ, have you seen Charlie browns christmas. The truth is Snoopy and his gang sit on our true in a number of places, and he was the first ornament on my own tree. We had a Christmas banner with him on it that we hung in the window, he was in all the movies, and we had a giant Christmas inflatable Snoopy (one of two that we have ever known. The other is Tigger, my favorite Winnie the Pooh character). To me Snoopy will always be an epic Christmas character. 10) One of my favorite things to about wrapping Christmas presents is finding the wackiest or funniest wrapping paper that I can. Some years it is a bust and I just go with the best I can find, other years I hit gold... and by gold I mean dogs wearing elf hats and dancing. I hope you guys enjoyed my 10 things you probably didn't know about me Christmas edition. What is one thing I probably don't know about you Christmas edition? There are so many wonderful things about Christmas and this time of year, but there are a few things about it that don't spread as much holiday cheer. For a lot of people, this is traveling during such a crowded time. With so many people trying to travel it can be pretty hectic and not so merry and bright. Most of you know that I love traveling, and I have even shared some traveling tips before, so for today's post, I thought I share some holiday traveling hacks.
1) Traffic, be okay with, be prepared. We all know it is going to happen. Whether you are flying, driving, bussing, or any of means of transportation, it is going to be busier and more stressful than normal. The best way to prepare for this is to just be okay with it before it happens. Understand that everyone is trying to get somewhere, everyone is in a hurry, and everyone doesn't want there to be traffic either. Make an intentional decision ahead of time that there will be traffic and crowds and I promise, it will be a little more manageable. Another great way to combat it is to actually prepare... 2) Snacks on snacks on snacks, other wise known as priorities. The reality is blood sugar drops, we have to buy expensive airport food, or worse we force ourselves to not buy it and go hungry... it doesn't matter, it is not going to be fun. Do yourself a favor ahead of time and pack yourself snacks. And by yourself I mean if you are traveling with other people check with them and try to be prepared, especially if you have kids. Also, think variety and quanity, no one ever complains that there were too many snacks. Variety is important though, think sweet, salty, sour, fresh, healthy, etc. 3) Entertainment. This is a pretty obvious tip, but come prepared with more than enough things to entertain yourself or the people you are with. Movies, music, books, games... they are all great options, but, again, think variety. Tip: If you are flying, check with the airline to see what type of enterainment you are allowed on board, because no one wants to get stuck on a 10 hour flight with nothing to do. Tip: If you haven't found some great podcasts or audio books, prepare ahead of time and download some options to try out. 4) Packing hacks. Laundry day one, pack day two, leave day three. No one wants to be doing laundry the day they are leaving on a trip, especially if you are packing for more than one person. If at all possible, do laundry before you come home. We all know how impossible it seems to unpack a suitcase of dirty clothes, probably because it is. Help yourself out, wash the clothes before you come home, and see how much easier it is to unpack a bag of clean clothes. Think Ziplocs, all the ziplocs. Most of you probably know to put your shampoos and liquids in ziploc baggies in order to avoid messes, but in case you didn't, now you do. Another thing that ziplocs are great for is keeping smaller items together and findable (is that a word?). We all have had those frustrating moments of suitcase living where we just one a pair of socks, and we just can't do it. We take everything out of the bag and sift through it only to discover we are already wearing socks... So put your smaller items in baggies to help keep them from getting lost in the masses. Also, try not to overpack. I know it is hard, but it is possible. Think how many days and nights will you be there, and then pack one extra outfit. Those are my simple tips for now. It is not a huge list and it isn't complicated, but hey, I thought it might be helpful to someone. Let me know your thoughts and help me know what you guys might like to read about on the last 5 days. Today's post is going to be pretty different from other posts I've done so far this month.
In Isaiah 9:6 it says, "For unto us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Might God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." This is a prophecy about the coming of Jesus that takes place in the New Testament. In this passage it lists 4 titles that Jesus has: Wonderful Counselor. Mighty God. Everlasting Father. Prince of Peace. Have you guys ever thought about those titles? This morning, during staff meeting, we did a little personal digging on this verse. So, I decided to share with you all today some of my thoughts and encourage you to do the same type of digging. The starting question is: Which of these titles do you relate to the most? Or which do you need the most in your life right now? Which one do you connect with the most or the deepest? Pray about it, think about it, read about it, and pick one. The choice will likely be pretty obvious. You could also spend some time studying each, think of it as a kind of devotional. We had about 20 minutes for the excerise, but feel free to take as much time as you want. We did this activity creatively, each of us had a sheet of white paper, a bunch of markers, crayons, magazines, glue, etc, but feel free to do this however you want. I thought it would be fun to share with you guys what I chose and my process. I chose Wonderful Counselor. It was the first one that jumped out at me. I had this whole idea of what was going to happen during my time studying this word, but God totally surprised me. I wrote the words WONDERFUL COUNSELOR in big letters across the page. I was prepared to start writing about how I would love to be a couselor and how God is the ultimate example for this, and then to pray about direction regarding this, but... instead, I just thought, look it up. Define it. I don't know why, but I thought it was an interesting and unexpected thing, so I did. WONDERFUL- (wuhn-der-fuhl): Adjective- Excellent; great; marvelous; of a sort that causes wonder; amazing; astonishing. WONDER- (wuhn-der): Verb- to think or speculate curiously; to be filled with admiration, amazement, or awe; marvel; to be curious about. CURIOUS- (kyoo r-ee-uh-s): Adjective- Eager to learn or know; inquisitive COUNSELOR- (koun- suh-ler): Noun- a person who counsels; adviser. COUNSEL- (koun-suh l): Noun- Advice; opinion or instruction given in directing the judgement or conduct of another; deliberate purpose, plan, and design. So, I looked at all of these and realized something. God is wonderful. This means that He is curious about us. He wants to know about us, our lives, our decisions, our struggles, our successes, our failures, what we see each of these as, how we feel about them, everything. He is curious about us. He wants to know about us. It isn't even just that He wants to know about us, but He is eager to know about us. He wants to be counsel us, He wants to know us and help us. He is not going to leave us without direction because He cares about us. Why would he be so curious about us if he didn't care about us? He cares. He is curious. He counsels. So, my Christmas encouragement to you is the God is curious about you. He cares deeply about you because He is Wonderful Counselor. I'd love to hear what your thoughts about this were. I'd also love to hear what title means the most to you right now or which one has the deepest impact on you right now. This is a fun reminder of what Christmas is actually about, and it might inspire you a little bit during this season. I had a rather busy day today that was mostly unrelated to Christmas, and I've got all day staff meetings tomorrow, so my brain is not up for writing. Instead, I thought I'd try something fun and do the Christmas tag. For those of you unfamiliar with the concept of a "tag", it is basically a list of questions that you answer and then suggest other people to do the same thing. This tag is called the Christmas tag because all these questions are related to Christmas in some way. I will likely have answered some of these questions in previous posts, but in case you missed it, I'll answer them again here. I should also note, these are not my questions, it is from a list I found on the internet. So, without further adieu...
1) What's your favorite Chirstmas movie? My all time favorite is Charlie Brown's Christmas. I did write a post about my top five Christmas movies though, so check that out if you'd like to see more of my favorites. 2) What is your favorite Christmas color? Is this just asking whether I like green or red more? Or, is it asking which color I relate the most to Christmas. I will say green is my favorite Christmas color, because Christmas trees are green, wreaths are green, garlend can be green, elves wear green, and they seem to like Christmas a lot, so I'll stick with them. Also, can't every color be related to Christmas somehow? 3) Do you like to stay in your PJ's or dress up for Christmas? PJ's all the way. This is kind of just true in general, but I do understand why some people dress up for Christmas. 4) If you could only buy one person a present this year who would it be? It would either be my mom or Gogger. They both have given me so much over the years, and while a lot of other people have as well, they have probably given me the most. Not just gifts, but time, words, encouragement, challenge, grace, and comfort. They deserve every thing I give them in return and so much more. 5) Do you open presents on Christmas Eve or Christmas morning? So, if you open your presents on Christmas Eve, I have some serious questions. The answer is actually a little complicated. We open gifts at my mom's house the day before the first ones of us leave for Gogger's, that will be Wednesday the 21st this year. Then we open "stockings" at Goggers on Christmas Eve, presents at Gogger's on Christmas morning, stockings at mom's the day we get home from Goggers, and then we will open gifts with my in-laws on the 26th/27th this year when we go to Florida. 6) Have you ever built a Ginger Bread House? Yes. My family and I build a gingerbread village every year for at least the past 5-7 years, I don't actually remember when it started. 7) What do you like to do on your Christmas BreaK? I believe this list was written by a college student, but the reality is that Christmas as an adult is busy and full of work and events related and unrelated to work. But one of my favorite things to do during my free time (besides sleep, because let's be honest, that is what I do most breaks) is to go to my mom's house and watch Christmas movies with my family by the fire. 8) Candy Canes or Gingerbread Men? I don't really like gingerbread, and I like candy canes okay, but I'd rather have sweet and salty or a chocolate covered pretzel. See holiday treat post. 9) What is your favorite holiday drink? I love sparkling grape juice (it comes in fancy bottles which is nice). I get the Caramel brulee latte or the cinnamon dulce latte from Starbucks. 10) Have you ever built a snowman? Duh. I know I live in Georgia, but we get snow enough for a snowman every 3 or so years. I've built my fair share of snowmen, once while wearing shorts and a tshirt. I have also built many an epic snow fort. 11) If your Christmas tree real or fake? Growing up we went back and forth for a while until my mom was given a really nice fake tree. We decorated two fake trees at my mom's house, and my husband and I decorated one real tree in our home. 12) Have you ever had a White Christmas? No, I haven't... at least not really. I've heard rumors that we saw flurries one Christmas, but I don't know if I buy it. I would love one though, I wish for it every year. That is all the questions I have time for tonight. I'd love for some of you guys to answer these questions too. It would be really easy to post it on your Facebook as a tag. I don't know about you guys, but one of the greatest thing about the holidays is all of the wonderful desserts and treats that people make and, more importantly, we all get to eat. In today's post I am going to share with you guys some of my favorite desserts. Now before you close the post thinking this is going to be list after list of ingredients and how to's, never fear... that takes a lot of work and I'm tired. Instead, I decided to share with you my favorite holiday treats and some fun facts surrounding them. If that still doesn't sound interesting, feel free to close the tab.
1) Four Layer Chocolate Delight- I know that there are a lot of different versions of this but ours includes a crumbly crust layer, a cream cheese mixture layer, a chocolate pudding layer, and a whipped cream layer, all topped with chopped pecans. It is an excellent option if you don't like all of the super rick desserts. Fun Fact- My older sister, Jennifer, makes this dessert every thanksgiving and Christmas, and every year she refuses to leave chopped pecans off of a slice for me. Every year I take them off the top of my slice and leave them on the plate. Every year she questions me. It is a fun tradition that we have that somewhat resembles a mild form of insanity. 2) Sweet and Salty- This is another treat that tends to take many forms, but ours is truly delightful and the best. White chocolate pieces filled with pretzels, peanuts, and m&m's. Fun Fact- My grandmother, Gogger, always makes this at Christmas time. She makes two tins full, one for my mom and one for my uncle. Now, normally, they are nice enough to share it with us kids, but let's just say we all wish we had our own stash. Last year, I decided to get smart. I offered to help Gogger in the making of the sweet in salty with the hope that I could sneak away my own tin of treats. Despite all of my best efforts to be coy, Gogger said something like, "I know that the only reason you want to make this is because it means that you get to snack on it the whole time and sneak some away for yourself." I had been caught, but I didn't mind, and neither did Gogger. 3) Red Velvet Cake- A classic cake that many make around Christmas time because of its bright red coloring. Fun Fact #1- If you have ever watched cupcake wars, you will know there is a snooty judge who often complains that he doesn't like red velvet. This man is wrong, and his tastebuds should not be trusted. Fun Fact #2- I grew up not liking red velvet cake, why, I don't really know. All I know is that my older brother always had red velvet cake for his birthday, instead of the yellow cake with chocolate icing like the rest of us, and I never ate a bite of it. Now, this might make sense if I was a picky child, except I was not, I would eat friend squid or zebra without hesitation. The only exceptions to this are olives (child Sarah thought they looked like dead peoples eye balls, adult Sarah still isn't sure about them) and whole wheat bread. So, why no red velvet? Well, I still don't know, but what I do know is that last year, Gogger asked me to make the red velvet cake for Christmas. I followed the recipe making the cake (which I learned was really just chocolate cake) and then the rich cream cheese frosting. Perhaps the fact that I wasn't crazy about frosting as a kid combined with the idea that it was make out of cheese is what through me off as a kid. What I discovered is that cream cheese frosting is amazing, as is red velvet cake in general. I truly don't know why I never ate it before, but I am certain I shall taste it again. 4) Christmas cookies- There are so many varieties of these tasty treats, from sugar cookies to dark chocolate with dried cranberries, they are all pretty great. Let's be honest with ourselves for a second though, we don't really notice how they taste, what we really want is for them to be cut in fun shapes and decorated. Fun Fact- My younger sister, bethany, and I used to never be able to really start celebrating Christmas until Mr. Pillsbury Doughboy brought out his classic sugar (why is there no "h" in this weird...?) cookies with snowman faces on the front. It wasn't until this moment in cold section of Walmart that we could truly begin spreading Christmas cheer. 5) Chocolate Covered Pretzel Rods- The classic pretzel, in rod form, dunked in one type of chocolate and drizzled with another, so simple, yet so amazing. Fun Fact- My neighbor, and family friend, has always brought us a bag (or two, she knew we had a big family) of these delightful treats right around this time at Christmas. She would either deliver them by hand or leave them in the mailbox. One year, the mail lady took them thinking they were a thank you. We were all devastated, but to our surprise new ones showed up just for us shortly after. I remember being upset when our neighbor moved because I thought that meant no more pretzels at Christmas, but low and behold, Christmas came the following year and so did the pretzels. I love these things so much that I asked her if she would be willing to make them for my wedding. They were amazing there too. I plan on sneaking to my mom's house to collect at least one of these beloved treats this year. Those are five of my favorite holiday treats. There are plenty more, but you guys have Christmas presents to buy, stockings to stuff, Jesus to share, and family to spend time with. Thank you guys for reading my posts so far this month. I have a week left, and I am hoping to make it all the way! Wish me luck! For most people, it comes as no surprise that adults stockings are harder to stuff than kids, similar to actual gift getting. The reality is that not many adults want matchbox cards or mini Lego packs, and the fun of crayons is probably in the past (although I love getting a fresh box of crayons). So, without too much chit chat, here are my ideas for stocking stuffers.
Children: Matchbox cars- You can't go wrong with a classic, and they are cheap, less than a dollar a piece or packs for under $5. Mystery Lego packs- They come with a character that you can't see (oh mystery, surpise) that you get to open and put together. Most are well known characters and they have many varieties, from superheros and Star wars to Disney princess. You can get these at Walmart or Barnes and Noble for $3. Candy- This should have been an obvious one, but just in case, candy is a great stocking stuffer for kids, I recommend the $1 for a box of candy that you can get at Walmart, CVS, or any other drug store. Playdough- Fun fact, I can't stand the stuff, despite my endless creative streak. It is the smell. Despite that fact, it is cheap and comes in many fun and bright colors that kids love. Something useful but still fun like super fuzzy socks, hair bows (if they actually like them, I wouldn't have been caught in one ever), new markers for school, etc. Things that fall into this category tend to not wow on the day of, but they will be the thing that the kid uses the longest. Uno or Phase 10- Depending on the age of this child this could be a huge hit. I am not thinking this for under 5, but kids 7-12 tend to really love these type of card games. Even a regular deck of cards is a great idea. Teenagers: We talked about before how they can often be the most difficult to shop for and this remains true for stockings, but I do have a few suggestions. Gum- For whatever reason, gum is basically a currency among teenagers and young adults, and they can always use more. I would go for a regular pack that you know they use or like already. Socks or slippers- Sounds lame, but check out Old Navy's socks, they have some really fun ones that most teenage girls would love. Earrings, bracelets, etc- If your teen is into earrings, this is a great place to gift them because they are small enough to fit inside the stocking. School supplies also works for teens. The reality is that there is always a need for a pen or a pencil, especially a trendy one that has a fun saying on it, or a cool pattern. This is also true for notebooks, they always need more. I don't know why, but it is definitely true. Chapstick or Makeup- If you know what kind of makeup your daughter wears this could be a nice way to gift her some refills on her favorites. Chapstick is just good to have always. Earbuds or Earphones- I am aware that somehow all teenagers have $200 headphones, but in case your child doesn't, offer some new earbuds to them, they are relatively cheap, and it is highly likely that this stuffer will actually be used. Guitar Strings, picks, etc- If your child falls into the category of musical hobby, these are great smaller items to stuff the stockings with. The same is true for most hobbies actually, if they are an artist, stick some paint and new brushes in the stocking, if they are into sports, find a tshirt for their favorite team, etc. Adults: Again, probably the hardest of the categories, but not undoable. Coffee or Tea- Whether they use kcups or the old fashion, there is a decent chance they drink coffee or tea Today's post is just going to be a stream of consciousness for anyone who is willing to read it. I don't have a plan for how this is going to go, and that is kind of rare for 25 day post, but we are going to do it. I have wanted to do a post talking about traditions, about how to make new ones, about celebrating old ones, about finding a balance between the two, but I just kept not writing about that. Tonight that is what I am going to share with you all.
Let me back up and tell you a little about why I want to write about this. First. I love my family, seriously. I grew up with 5 siblings, two epic parents, fun aunts, uncles and cousins, and loving grandmothers. When it comes to the holidays, one of the reasons I love them so much is because it has always meant spending time with my family. If you know me, my favorite things are Thanksgiving and Christmas, and the reason why is because I get to be with my family and participate in all of the traditions that we have had for as long as I can remember. We decorate my mom's house, open presents at home before going to my grandmas, Christmas morning looks the same every year, etc. Traditions are home for me. Also, if you know me, you know that I really struggle with change, and often tend towards strongly disliking change. The weird thing is that change is the only thing consistent about our lives, it always happens. Change really isn't bad, but it can definitely appear that way. So, let's talk about change. New traditions can be so fun and exciting, and realistically, they are going to happen. The hard thing is when new traditions have to replace old traditions... which means losing the old traditions. (or finding some other solution or balance) This becomes very apparent when you get married. You no longer have one set of family commitments and traditions, but two, which is where the balance comes in. I got married in March of this year, which means this is the first Christmas that JT and I are having to balance Christmas with his family and Christmas with mine. There will always be challenges with this. Since JT's family lives in Florida, and we both work 3 jobs, it is much more difficult to go to Florida and visit his family, but it is important to us, so we try and do this at least a couple of times a year, and Jt's family is really understanding about this. Newlyweds- When trying to handle the holidays, communication and planning is important. Figure out what works for you and your families. Sometimes what other people do will work for you, and sometimes it really, really won't. You know yourselves and you know your families, make it work. This will likely mean new traditions, and I am excited about that. We will be spending time right after Christmas and New Years with JT's family and I am excited for what traditions we might create. It is all about being flexible and willing to work together to create fun, meaningful, and memorable traditions. Remember that change is difficult but doable, and that everything takes some time to get used to. I'd love to hear some advice in the comments from those who have been married about the new traditions you had when you got married, or tips for those of us who are still getting used to the blessing that is two families. |
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