Monday, December 22, 2008

Traditions - Part 2

Hmmm....I posted this the other day, but just realized it didn't publish... Oh, well...sorry...


Well, with only a few more days til Christmas, I'm finally bearing down on trying to get my stuff done (as if I had a choice at this point!!). Here's some more holiday 'trivia' about how the holidays go around this Clemmer house.

  • I definitely prefer to wrap my gifts over gift bags. However, I'm not very good at it, and my creativity comes no where close to the amazingly packages that my sister presents, so if I have anything that's too big, or weird-shaped, or if it's super-last-minute, in a bag it goes. And you?
  • As you can tell from my earlier post, I am definitely a last minute shopper. Every year I try not to be, and this year I got the majority of my purchasing done by Thanksgiving, but there are always a few things I'm still running around for...usually right up to Christmas Eve day! Are you all wrapped and ready, or still scrambling for those last minute gifts?
  • I love Christmas cards. I LOVE getting them - especially the picture ones, and I like sending them - I actually enjoy sitting and addressing them while watching a fun holiday movie, but they still always sit around til the last minute...usually because I need to squeeze in that trip to the post office for the holiday stamps, or - like this year - I was waiting on getting more of the pictures printed. It's always something...so mine are only going out today!! It also always kills me to know who to send to. I've tried to limit my list this year...and I still have about 60 cards going out! Between Todd & I, we have soooooo many cousins, and so I've sadly decided this year that I guess the cutoff will have to be the aunts/uncles. My apologies to any cousins who might be reading this...you'll have to watch for an e-mail greeting and picture...that's had to be my compromise for this year.
  • And one final question for you...do you get up Christmas morning and tear into the gifts - bedhead and all - or do you casually take the time to dress, eat breakfast and then mosey over to the tree to see what might be awaiting you? That is NOT me!!!!!! However, it IS Todd, and for several years this caused me great Christmas morning grief. Once it turned into a full-blown fight (just what every family wants Christmas morning, right??) Thankfully, over the years we have learned to work out our differences, and it's made for a very fun and relaxed time that we can all enjoy! I've given in on waiting for Todd to shower, dress and get coffee. I'm willing to wait and keep the kids occupied with some good-natured teasing about the waiting gifts while he does what he needs to (though I do expect him to make it snappy), as long as I DON'T have to! To me, Christmas morning is just something that HAS to include jammies and sleepy-eyes!! We don't eat breakfast until after the gifts...Todd's compromise for me. (I will admit that of late, I'm more inclined to at least comb my hair because Todd has an affinity for snapping a lot of pictures of me opening gifts and then they occasionally pop up as his laptop background, and there's only so much humiliation that I'm willing to endure!)

(On a side-note for any newlyweds or singles who might be reading...early years of marriage can be so difficult if neither spouse is willing to 'give' on the habits and traditions that they feel are 'so important'! Let me say - it's really not that important. We've had to learn to understand that neither way is 'wrong' or 'right', and that as a new family of our own, we needed to figure out - by listening and caring to what is important to each other - what our traditions will be. In many ways they are some blending of 'his' and 'mine' that we can both learn to appreciate and accept. But take it from me and save yourself a lot of trouble...it's worth it in the long run to 'get over it' - and realize that your way of doing things IS NOT the way that it HAS to be! I've survived just fine for several years now of waiting for Todd on Christmas morning, and he's learned that all will go better if he puts his morning routine into 'high-gear' in order to get on with the things that are important to me as well. But the first few Christmases could have been a lot more enjoyable if we both wouln't have been so stuck on doing things our own way!)

2 comments:

Bets said...

- Ok, no pressure regarding the presentation of the gifts this year - thanks! But - obviously I do enjoy wrapping over bags, and do it as much as possible.
- I was up till late last night wrapping but now all I have to do tonight is tidy up, bake some cookies and relax - so I get to be on the "wrapped and ready" list for today!
- And as for Christmas morning - we all stumble out of bed directly to the gifts in the morning - the girls in the new jammies they opened on Christmas Eve (our family tradition- which this year included matching jammies for me - shhhh).
Thanks for doing part 2! And thanks for loaning me Kate!

Laura said...

I like wrapping over bags... but bags can be soooo handy when I run out of paper!

I was pretty ready on Christmas Eve day, which was good cause I had to work... generally speaking though I'm not a last minute person.

I got dressed for gifts this year... I don't always, but we had all of my immediate family here for Christmas morning so I wanted to feel semi together. We do stockings, eat breakfast, and them regular presents.

Oh and cards... no cards for me yet, though I love getting pictures. When I have kids I will PROBOBLY do pics.