All Rileyed Up

Over at MomDots, the Blog Party rages on. All around the internets, I hear the virtual refrain of “It’s getting hot in here…” It actually is getting hot over here. I took unexpected trip to Urgent Care last night for The Boy and the Curious Case of the 102 Degree Fever. No worries - he’s all better now, even if I am still hyperventilating (FYI, I don’t normally freak out over a random fever, but until all MRSA is eradicated from this house, all digressions in health receive Alert Status: Red treatment).

The Day Three question has to do with buying presents and such: “Have you started your Christmas shopping yet? Do you budget for the holidays? Do you always stick to your budget? Share with us any budgeting tips you may have!”

Let’s see… no, no, no, and sure, why not!

I have not started my Christmas shopping yet unless you count the purse I won in a raffle that I was thinking about giving to Lawyer Girl for her Christmas gift because she’s into cool bags (she won’t care whether or not I won or spent money on her present, so I have no qualms announcing that here).

Before I had kids, I did my Christmas shopping in October because I wanted to avoid the crowds. I couldn’t shop any earlier than October, though, because I would get too excited about the items I purchased and wind up giving them to the recipients (“I bought this for you for Christmas but I just couldn’t wait!”).

My entire gift-giving ritual these days is this: around Thanksgiving, I’ll write out a list of people we will be buying presents for (family, friends, coworkers, teachers, etc) and then cross them off as the presents are bought. I tend to lose that list and rewrite it several times throughout the holiday season. I always put ALL the people back on the list, just so I can cross off the ones I’ve bought for already to make myself feel accomplished. Ah, the tricks we play on our minds.

Some Things That I’m Doing This Year That The Budget Savvy Might Approve Of:

1. Gift exchange. We’re doing a white elephant gift exchange for Christmas gifts for the adults this year (the kids still get presents). There’s between 10-15 adults, which is a good number for that kind of gift exchange. Plus, it enables me to clear a few things out of my house that, while lovely, get little use here.

2. Baked Goods. I hope to bake/cook presents for some of the people on the list, the teachers, the bus driver, my neighbors. My mother used to make plates of lumpia for all our neighbors while another neighbor made BBQ ribs—that sauce was unstoppable. My friend Brassy Girl is the Queen of Baked Goods. I am always so excited when her cookie package arrives. I love food presents. Possibly a little too much.

3. Gift Wrap. As for gift wrap, I reuse old gift bags and whatever is left gets wrapped in paper grocery bags that the kids color. In the case of small presents, I also use the kids’ preschool artwork as wrapping paper. It’s always a good conversation piece. “What’s that? An orange? A balloon? Oh, A seven-legged spider (because the one leg got bitten off by a bird) playing the drums? I can totally see that!”

So. What are you big plans for holiday gift giving?

This Blog Party Day sponsored by Appledonia, Hippos Toes, and
My Bag.

There’s a party going on at MomDot and you’re all invited. They’re posting a Christmas question every day from Nov 12 – 27th, and even though today is the 13th, I am starting with the original question (which is sponsored by La Belle Toile and This and That by Randi:

“Introduce us to your family and share Holiday pics of years past.”

I think you all know my family by now, but just to recap, there’s me, Riley, the witty and beautiful writer of this blog (did I mention I’m conceited?); Husband, the hard-working vegan who puts up with me (did I mention I’m a know-it-all?); and my wild wide eyed children The Boy and Little No Limit. Here they are putting on a show of their new presents at Nana and Papa’s house last Christmas:

Like how warmly dressed they are? That’s what Christmas in southern California is all about, baby.
Santa gave the kids bicycles and while they are riding them outside in the above pictures, they have a different place to ride them at home:

That’s right – I used to let the kids ride their bikes inside the house. I have all wood and tile, and they were just getting the hang of it, so why not? It was fun for a while, but nowadays, they’re more interested in riding their bikes outside, where they can get in better speed and distance than one could ever hope for in a hallway or living room where the random dog or toy or parent’s foot might be in the way. I guess it’s time for the training wheels to come off!