Prepping for Christmas

Today while putting the Christmas decoration boxes in the loft out of the way, i stumbled on a list. On this list was last years Christmas Presents for the kids, each year i spend a few months buying presents, then as the day gets closer panic that i haven't bought enough or that one child has more than the other, that type of thing. So as Christmas day drew nearer i had wrote this list with four columns and scribbled down what they had been bought, i had probably done this whilst wrapping them up and at that time i didn't have a loft and they were stored all over the place and they truly seemed to believe that the big boxes stacked next to my bed were all boxes of "wool" that i had bought for making jumpers! So after i had found this list i read through it and quickly added up roughly how much i had spent on each of them and was quite surprised at how much i must have spent, normally i don't have a set amount for each its more about making sure it looks like they all have the same and obviously thats more difficult as baby toys are far bigger and cheaper than a computer game for example.

This year i have really been very budget conscious as there are lots of things we want and like to do, things that have needed to be done to the house and now that i am not really working we have had to make cut backs, not that we have ever been really big spenders, to be honest everything we do is usually for the kids, but it was one of my New Years resolutions and i have stuck to it, we have saved money and been able to spend it on better things.

This year thinking about what to get the kids was really quite hard, with having four children we have lots of toys, more trains and track than we can lay down all at once, building bricks, duplo, lego, dolls, a shop, play food, puppet theaters, a shelf full of books, dolls and there accessories, every one of the popular and retro board games, more jigsaws than i can count, cars and garage, and toy boxes full of toddler toys, dressing up clothes, play mobil castles boy ones and girl ones, craft stuff the list just goes on and on and on, lets face it they have been spoilt! so with all that to pass down it leaves very little to buy specially for the little ones. We keep a lot of it in the loft and every couple of weeks i swap them over so they have different things to play with. This is why i decided this year to take the two older kids on outings as the main part of there presents this year, which i have wrote about before, Molly and i went to Manchester, stayed in a hotel, went shopping and to see Disney on Ice. Ewan and i will be going away in the new year. So after them writing there lists, which were quite small this year to be honest, as they must have accepted that they are going away as presents, which i though might be over looked, i have bought them everything they have asked for and a bit more ( apart from Ewans Wii U! thats not going to happen!).

So this brings me back to the list from last year. I got out all there pressies today to see how much they have and what the piles will look like and i feel a bit sad that it looks less than last year.
Well it would as they are having the outings as well!

I showed Paul the Pressies and the list from last year and he started to read it and ask me when was the last time i saw Ewan play with the Robot he asked for last year?  once maybe since Christmas day, and when did Molly last play with the Castle she asked for and wanted so much?, ahh last week...but that was the first time since Christmas week.... Starting to get the picture.. yes! in fact after reading the list and looking at it that way, there was very few things that were actually wanted and used. Ewan loved the all books i bought him (a box set and lots of fact books) and has read them over and over along with watching the Star Wars dvds all the time, The army clothes have never been off his back, but everything else has been touched a couple of times at most! Molly loved her make up and hair stuff and dressing up outfits and shoes ( girly girl!) and craft stuff!, but everything else has been left. The little ones have played with there stuff, but realistically Ali just wants trains and cars and Fred wants to have anything that Ali is playing with! plus craft stuff Fred is always up in Molly's room using her sellotape!

So the lesson that have learn't from this is that its me!!!! Its me that buys all the stuff they don't really want, but what i want them to have! Its me that makes my life hard with piles of toys that don't really get played with but get tipped out and spread everywhere!, its me that wants them to have piles of presents! Its me, me , me!

So as i have said in a previous post i will stick to what i have bought them this year and not go out and spend another £200 or £300 on bits and bobs, because they are cheap and will make it look like they have mountains of presents. On last years list i saw a item at the end of each one i had labeled "tat" and really thats what it is. I was shocked i had put that, but realistically thats what it was, bits of rubbish that i had bought.

I asked them last week what they were looking forward to this Christmas and of course it was opening there presents, but they also asked if we could do the Gingerbread house competition like last year, where Paul and Ewan went against Molly and i, to cook and build a Gingerbread house from scratch, neither were very successful but it was a lot of fun, just looked for the post and realised i didn't blog about it, but there are lots of things i don't as i don't always have time, even more so round Christmas. Also they asked for the starter they have had for the last few years, which is a bowled out melon with fruit cocktail in, not very exciting but we had smoked salmon terrine and i knew they wouldn't like that, so thats what i did. Its amazing what they remember and what sticks in there minds as Christmas, and is what they will remember as they grow up, and its not what we think they will remember. Its the experiences they have, so as Paul is off for a couple of weeks over Christmas, i will stick to the plans i have of family days, games, baking and making, and just being together, so if like in previous years i don't post much over Christmas its because we are making memories together.

Hope you all have a loving and fun filled Christmas xxx