Dec. 31, 2006 - Christmas 2006
We really had a wonderful Christmas this year! On Christmas Eve had our own Christmas party. We listened to Christmas music and ate party foods, and we let the kids exchange the gifts they bought for each other. Will bought Luke a Thomas the Tank book; Austin received a book on spiders and Hillary received a Barbie coloring book. Will bought me a new stainless steal strainer. He knew I needed a new one. What a sweetheart!
Austin bought Will a nice ink pen. Hillary received a pink furry diary. She is using it for her copy work! He bought Luke a new box of crayons. For me he bought a memo pad because he knows I use sticky notes all the time. What a perfect and practical gift!
Hillary bought Will a large box of mix & match earasers; Austin received a hand-held earser that lights up. He thought that was totally cool. For Luke, Hillary bought a box of washable markers. He went to using them right away. Hillary earned her Christmas money by doing chores around the house. The boys have a lawn care business and they earned their money that way.
Of course we woke up early on Christmas morning and opened our gifts. Will's favorite was his Lego Action Contraption kits that I ordered from Timberdoodle. He has been creating some newly engineered thing everyday.
Austin's favorite gifts were the fifteen Hardy Boys mystery books that he is collecting. He is a reading machine!
Hillary's favorite gift by far was her new Barbie doll complete with accessories. I ordered Taylor Angelique from the Only Hearts Club doll collection. I LOVE these dolls; they are so wholesome! I think I am going to get her another one for her birthday.
By far, Luke's favorites were new Thomas the Tank trains. He received serveral new battery-operated trains to run on his track. He plays with them constantly. I bought him a plastic Rubbermaide basket to carry them all in. The poor kid was trying to carry them all in his arms wherever he went. He is a sight! Now he piles his trains in the basket and totes them all over the house or wheels them around in Hillary's doll stroller. The basket even goes to bed with him at night! We simply MUST take him on a Thomas theTank train ride.
Rodney's favorite gift was his new pair of lounging pants with matching shirt. The pants I bought for him are a black paisley print, and the shirt is solid black. He looks very handsome in black. I think it is his best color. Rodney has been wearing these every day, so I think this must be the gift he liked the best.
My favorite was my gift card to Christopher and Banks! I cannot wait to spend it! I LOVE and drool over their clothes, but I hate their prices. You can easily spend over $100 dollars on just ONE outfit. Yikes!!!
Rodney's parents joined us for Christmas dinner. I served a turkey with all the trimmings. We ate by the light of our Advent wreath. We had a nice visit.
I am looking forward to Christmas of 2007 and I am all ready in the planning stages for that! Yesterday I hit Dollar General and loaded up and their 50% off Christmas sale. I bought silly Santa hats and reindeer ears for the kids to wear next year on Chrismas Eve. I bought several packages of bows and ornaments too. I am planning to begin my Christmas shopping for next year this very month! I know...I am a planner by nature. I like to think and plan ahead. Buying all through the year makes Christmas much more affordable and we don't have the mad rush of buying for everyone all in one month or two. I even bought some extra Christmas wrapping paper so that I can wrap as I buy ~ great time saver!
Anyway....I am rambling. Luke has asked me to help him set up his train track, so I better go help him.
