A sweet, simple Christmas to remember
from 
JoeUser Forums
JoeUser Forums
All year long we spoil ourselves. We're fed. We're clothed. We pay bills. We're entertained. We buy our son a new toy or book just about every single time we go out.
So as Christmastime came around this year I couldn't help feeling that any more expenditures on our tiny family of three would be excessive and unnecessary. Even if it was only to form a pile of brightly-colored packages under our tree to follow what everyone else does, buying presents for ourselves would be pure selfishness. At one point I joked that we could just wrap empty boxes for Michael to tear open (he's two and that's what he loves to do)...but even that seemed unnecessary because of the money we'd waste on wrapping paper. I did wrap two presents for Michael, (a cute toy he picked at the Airmen's Attic, and a box of flannel board stories I'd ordered online, not even thinking of Christmas), both of which he tore into two weeks early. A couple days later he tore into a package that his Grandpa sent him. I caught every single moment on camera though, so I'll be sure to splice it all together into one cohesive-looking pseudo-Christmas morning. He was so happy
I liked it this way. We focused our energies outside ourselves: we gave lots of presents to people outside the family. We've spent day after day of genuinely happy family time together, and we've kept things simple. It wasn't hard at all. This Christmas has been a mellow, humble, and happy one.
So as Christmastime came around this year I couldn't help feeling that any more expenditures on our tiny family of three would be excessive and unnecessary. Even if it was only to form a pile of brightly-colored packages under our tree to follow what everyone else does, buying presents for ourselves would be pure selfishness. At one point I joked that we could just wrap empty boxes for Michael to tear open (he's two and that's what he loves to do)...but even that seemed unnecessary because of the money we'd waste on wrapping paper. I did wrap two presents for Michael, (a cute toy he picked at the Airmen's Attic, and a box of flannel board stories I'd ordered online, not even thinking of Christmas), both of which he tore into two weeks early. A couple days later he tore into a package that his Grandpa sent him. I caught every single moment on camera though, so I'll be sure to splice it all together into one cohesive-looking pseudo-Christmas morning. He was so happy
I liked it this way. We focused our energies outside ourselves: we gave lots of presents to people outside the family. We've spent day after day of genuinely happy family time together, and we've kept things simple. It wasn't hard at all. This Christmas has been a mellow, humble, and happy one.