It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas...

This year I have realized that I need to have priorities when it comes to Christmas and what gets done around the house.  Last year it seemed "easy" to get everything done because I was still home on maternity leave.  This meant that every day I could do a couple more things around the house to make it a little more Christmas-y, and I didn't feel like I was taking away from family time in the evenings.  Now that I am back to work and we have just a couple precious hours with Little Man before he goes to be at night, I have realized that there are some things that are just going to have to give this year.  I can do a lot of things, but I can't do everything.

Last weekend we were able to go out and get our tree before the great snow storm that arrived on Sunday, and boy am I glad we did.  It was a miserably cold day, but we managed to find a tree fairly quickly and get back home to the warmth pretty fast.  The snow allowed us to get lights on the tree Tuesday while all three of us were home due to the snow, and besides that, nothing has been done to the tree, and I'm okay with that.  We have a tree, we will be able to put presents AROUND the tree, and there are lights and the star on top.  If we don't get a single ornament on the tree this year it will be okay.

Yes, there is a part of me that wants to make this Christmas and every Christmas, perfect for Little Man, but I am realizing that with the perfection also comes disappointment and stress for me, and that's not worth it.  There were a few things that I decided were "musts" for Christmas this year.  Tree with lights AND the star, tree skirt around the tree, Nativity on the mantle with advent candles (which I must admit have NOT been lit this year), and stockings hung by the chimney with care.  Those things seemed like deal breakers to me.  It we didn't have them, it couldn't be Christmas.

Presents, Presents, Presents

The newest Target radio/Pandora commercial drives me crazy.  It is their newest toy ad, talking about all the sales they have going on right now on toys.  The thing that gets me is the little boy who starts the commercial by talking about how much he LOVES presents and that he wants MORE presents.  This scares me about raising a child these days.  We are trying to raise Little Man so that he is thankful for what he was given, and gives with a willing heart.

After many evening conversations Paul and I have decided on the 4 gift rule.  Now, I will add that this does not include anything that may go in the stocking, nor will it include the traditional Christmas Eve pajamas, but beyond that, 4 gifts.

The first gift is something he wants.  This year, it's a toy.  In the future it may be something else, but until he can articulate what he wants, we figured adding to his Little People collection would be great.

The second gift is something to wear.  A new outfit, a new jacket, shoes, as long as he can wear it, it can fall into this category.  We were asked by Nynna to postpone the Christmas jammies for 1 more year.  She had found matching PJs for all three of us and wanted to be able to give those to us this year.  That means Little Man's "something to wear" is new Superman jammies, complete with a cape that was printed onto the back of the shirt.  The original idea was to get Paul "matching" jammies, but I decided against it.

The third gift is something to read.  I found a book through Christian Book Distributor that I really wanted to get for Little Man.  A board book about the first Christmas, and of course, it is currently backordered.  When I ordered it, they said it would ship on or around the 9th.  Yesterday, when I looked, it has been put on hold, backorered to ship on or around the 30th.  Yeah, probably won't make it for Christmas, but that's alright.

And the fourth gift.  This is my favorite.  This is the one that Little Man doesn't keep, but instead picks out to give to someone else.  That's right, the fourth gift that Little Man "receives" is given away.  We might sponsor a local child and allow him to pick out the gift, or donate a toy to Toys For Tots.  This one we haven't quite worked out, and this one we aren't doing this year.  We figure he doesn't quite understand yet, and next year our plan is to allow him to pick something for someone we don't know.

We are hoping that by limiting what we provide for Christmas it will help with the "gimmees" and the commercialism that has become Christmas.  Our hope is to be able to focus more on the true reason for Christmas, and we are doing some things for that.  Another time, another place to go into that.  We just want Little Man to know the true reason we celebrate, why we spend so much time in anticipation, and how to show Christ's love during this crazy time of year.

How Effective Was Thanksgiving?

This came to me from my mentor teacher at school.  It's been quite the year already, and we still have quite a way to go.  The Danielson Guide to Highly Effective Teaching has been at the core of our teaching, causes some of us to lose sleep at night, others of us to scratch our heads wondering who thought this was a good model for evaluating teachers, and the rest of us are just riding the wave, waiting for the next big thing.

THE DANIELSON GUIDE TO HIGHLY EFFECTIVE THANKSGIVING

Ineffective: You don't know how to cook a turkey. You serve a chicken instead. Half your family doesn't show because they are unmotivated by your invitation, which was issued at the last minute via facebook. The other half turn on the football game and fall asleep. Your aunt tells your uncle where to stick the drumstick and a brawl erupts. Food is served on paper plates in front of the TV. You watch the game, and root for the Redskins.

Effective Developing: You set the alarm, but don't get up and the turkey is undercooked. 3 children are laughing while you say grace. 4 of your nephews refuse to watch the game with the rest of the family because you have failed to offer differentiated game choices. Conversation during dinner is marked by family members mumbling under their breath at your Aunt Rose, who confuses the Mayflower with the Titanic after her third Martini. Only the drunk guests thank you on the way out. Your team loses the game.

Effective: The turkey is heated to the right temperature. All the guests, whom you have invited by formal written correspondence, arrive on time with their assigned dish to pass. Your nephew sneaks near the desert dish, but quickly walks away when you mention that it is being saved until after dinner. You share a meal in which all family members speak respectfully in turn as they share their thoughts on the meaning of Thanksgiving. All foods served at the table can be traced historically to the time of the Pilgrims. You watch the game as a family, cheer in unison for your team. They win.

Highly Effective: The turkey, which has been growing free range in your back yard, comes in your house and jumps in the oven. The guests, who wrote to ask you please be invited to your house, show early with foods to fit all dietary and cultural needs. You watch the game on tape, but only as an video prompt for your family discussion of man's inhumanity to man. Your family plays six degrees of Sir Francis Bacon and is thus able to resolve, once and for all, the issue of whether Oswald acted alone.

I must say that our Thanksgiving was "Effective," and in the Warrior World, that is where we should be living.  No complaints here!