Ready or Not..Here It Comes!

I have a tradition the day after a holiday.  I take down all the decorations and put up the next holiday's decorations.  Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas.  (Yes, December 26th, all my Christmas decorations come down, including the tree.  We had some guys out to put in new windows a few years ago a few days after Christmas and they assumed we were Jewish because we didn't still have our decorations up.  To be fair, we do decorate with a menorah every year, a remnant of the kids' Jewish preschool days.)  So the day after Thanksgiving, while everyone else is battling each other for Black Friday deals, I'm taking down my few Thanksgiving decorations and putting up Christmas lights.  It's my tradition, but it just didn't FEEL right.  I'm not sure why.  I've been thinking about Christmas.  Every toy catalog that comes across our threshold has circles around different items that the kids want on their wish lists.  But despite the garland, elves and snowmen all around me, it just doesn't FEEL like Christmas time. 
We don't have our tree yet, maybe that's it, but it's going to take me longer this year to get in the holiday spirit.  Which is sad.  I don't LOVE Christmas the way some people do.  But every year on December 25th around 5pm, I get a little sad that it's over.  There's such a build-up for the big day, we celebrate Christmas SO MANY TIMES!  (Again, I was mistaken for being Jewish because I told someone we celebrated Christmas eight times.  Maybe this is a sign I should convert...) 

So I'm going to try to get myself in the Christmas spirit.  It's more fun for the kids, more fun for me and gives me something to do, because you know I just sit around the house all day, like all stay at home moms, eating bonbons and watching "my stories".  
1.  Make Christmas cookies. I'm still trying to lose the end of the baby weight, so I'm not planning on make a TON of cookies, just enough to say we did it.  Cut-outs, gingerbreads and lemon crisps (for Evan).
2. Get the tree.  OK, I know it's not very green, but for reasons I won't go into here, we still get a live tree.  (well, I guess it's not really live when it's in our house.  Maybe this year we should think about getting a balled tree and plant it after Christmas.  The day after of course.  Gotta get those decorations down.)
3. Start the advent calendars.  This will just occur naturally on December first, but I think having a list will help me feel the eminence of the big day. 
4. Pick a Christmas charity to do with the kids.  A few years ago we all went to Target got pet items and drove them over to the Stark County Humane Society.  While I feel it's a great charity and I'm so glad we did it, I skipped it last year because I cried when I left.  It's just so SAD seeing all those homeless pets!  But I guess that's how you know it's a worthy, needy cause.  I'm planning on getting a few options together (no more choices than the age of the child is the general rule for giving kids options.  Since Vince is only 3 that's what we'll got with.) and have the kids pick one and help gather items or prepare in some way. 
5. Christmas shop for the kids.  I'm almost done with everyone else, but picking out gifts for the kids make it really seem real. 
6. Cover the ground in a blanket of white snow.  This could prove to be a little tricky, but I'll keep hoping!