There are still 20 days until Christmas, but I feel like I’m failing already! I always dream of enjoying the holiday season in a perfectly decorated home, snacking on homemade treats by a cozy fire, strolling through the stores enjoying shopping for the perfect gifts for my family and friends.
Then I Wake Up
This past weekend, the kids hulled the boxes up from the basement and started decorating the house. Stockings, tree, various decorations, and the manger scene are all in their places. But, the dining room table is piled high with breakables for me to find a home for as well as the content of a cabinet I emptied from the kitchen. And while the boxes have been returned to the basement (by the kids, they deserve the credit for doing the work), the living room floor is covered in baskets and bins of shoes, coats, sports equipment, hats, gloves and whatever else we took out of the mudroom.
Yup, we started our mudroom makeover this weekend! I’m so excited to get this project done, but it’s going to be at least a week of living in a disaster. Once again, not actually enjoying the holiday season. Showing my kids the stress behind the holiday instead of the beauty of the season.
But There’s Hope
At least I think there is! June-Bug was listing her favorite traditions we have at Christmas during Sunday School this week, so hopefully the kids won’t remember my stress and only the good stuff.
O-Man is quite happy since our Elf, Elfis, has arrived. He has watched the Elf on the Shelf movie at least 12 times in the past 5 days. Our elf is a bit non-traditional, I’ll have to share his story another day. But he did appear
He stands out against the newly whitewashed brick, at least! And when he showed up he brought a little present for O-Man
The little guy is quite happy. Guess I’m not a complete failure!
Help is on the Way
In the form of the gifts that is! Quite a few of my gifts are already purchased. I do start my shopping early, picking up things almost all year when I see something I know someone would like. I also took advantage of the Very Merry Gift Certificate Bundle I told you about last week.
Note: IronFish, STOP reading now!
As we worked on the mudroom makeover this weekend, IronFish frequently said, “Ok, whatever you want.” Seriously, the most romantic words possible a husband can say to his wife, especially in the middle of a renovation project!
He’s a fan of hot sauce. While moving the refrigerator and cleaning behind it this weekend, we came across the recipe he had used last Christmas eve for a spicy bar-b-que sauce. The Delux Hot Sauce Kit is a perfect gift for a hot sauce loving chemist. The bundle saved me $15 and since it can be delivered through Amazon Prime, shipping was free.
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Using that gift certificate alone and I broke even on my bundle. I’m trying to decide what to order from Hope Ink before Monday the 12th, so I can take advantage of the additional free 8×10.
This year’s Very Merry Gift Certificate Bundle comes with $180 worth of gift certificates including:
- Around the World Stories
- Artsy Couture
- Atlas Coffee Club
- Bloom Naturals
- Crunchy Balm
- Ecocentric Mom
- Healthy Moving
- Hope Ink
- Life Without Plastic
- Porteen Gear
- Strawesome
- The Kombucha Shop
But Time is Ticking
There is plenty of time to shop, the gift certificates are all usable until February of 2017, but to get 12 $15 gift certificates for only $15 ($180 value) you’ll need to act fast.
So, while I’d planned on sharing a Christmas project with you today in addition to this sale, the project was tabled in favor of my sanity. Tonight when I sit down for a few minutes, I’ll continue using my gift certificates and doing my Christmas shopping.
