Christmas Shopping Crazies!!!

Yes, it's my favorite time of year. The time of year when my Christmas Shopping Crazies set in!! Starts the day after Thanksgiving and lasts until Christmas Eve day. There is no cure, no medication to slow it down, it's something I live with...and love every minute of it!

It starts off simple enough...I give my kids a blank list to fill out with their Christmas wishes. Along with the blank list is a page with the "rules". (rules are necessary because of things/people put on lists past). Anyway, the list usually has about 20 blanks to fill in. I give it to them around Halloween and ask that it be returned to me, completed, by Thanksgiving. After everyone leaves here T'giving night, I sit at the computer and compile my initial shopping list. I say initial because "the list" goes through several revisions, at least once daily.

Once I make my first two shopping trips, the Fri and Sat after t'giving, my first big revision comes about. I can usually see that one or two of the kids are going to have more than the planned 20 gifts...so I have to go in and add more for the other kids. Why you may ask....because I'm OCD like that and every single person must have the exact same number of gifts.

I shop almost daily until Christmas eve. I try to get the most important or hard to find items first. I try not to finish up too early, as this can be a problem. I feel I HAVE to shop every day until Christmas and if I've finished everyone's list and go shopping anyway, I will most certainly find something for someone that I just have to buy. That throws the whole count off and I end up having to add one more thing to everyone's list.

So far, this year, I've done better than last. I started out with 20 gifts each and have increased it to 28 each because I've almost finished with 2 of the kids but keep finding things I HAVE to get for them.

When I first saw the kids' lists this year, I assumed they thought we planted a money tree in the back yard this summer but it turns out that since Amber dumped her boyfriend, they knew we'd have more $$ to spend on them :-) Smart kids!!

Normally we wrap all the gifts, don't put names on them and put them under the tree for Christmas morning. Everyone normally knows most of the things they're getting. This year I'm trying really hard to keep most everything a suprise. Each one of the kids are getting something they have NO IDEA is coming their way!! I'm super excited. I'm even going to put names on the gifts this year AND number them so they don't open a smaller gift first that gives away one of their big surprises!

I'm sure lots of people take issue with buying so many gifts or spending so much on Christmas. I don't really care. My husband works really hard all year so that we can spend like we do every Christmas. Sure, we buy stuff for the kids all year long but not like we do at Christmas. The kids may be a little spoiled but they always show appreciation and enjoy what they're given. Makes it all the more fun to give to them :-)