I enjoyed watching the Christmas devotional tonight. The music was great as always. The talks were uplifting. The words from President Monson were great too. It amazed me that the words of our Bishop during tithing settlement were so close to his.
This year we decided to tone it down for Christmas. We feel that our children have so much. The house is also over flowing. So It was great to hear that we need to think about what we are spending our money on. And then how much is it needed. We have also been taking a bunch to DI. (I love DI. The dress that Delta wore today came from there. It still had the original tags on it!) The main expenditure is the plane ticket for Julia to come home for the holiday. We just don't need to go over board. It won't fit in the front room anyway. Can you imagine? 9 peoples presents in the front room?? It will be packed. Then where does it go after being opened?
I remember one mom who use to tell the kids that they needed to count the presents, and that is how many things they need to get rid of. Elyse has done great at this. She has sent more to DI than the rest of us, except Tony. (Yes, I did say Tony was the winner!) I am going through toys, and what hasn't been seen all year can go away. What have the kids outgrown? What do we not have room for? What clothes do we not fit in or wear? It needs to go away.
I want to get back to the fun Christmas things. Reading stories. Making goodies. Singing songs. Doing kind acts for others. We are decorating, but we just do a bit each day. And it is mainly the kids doing it. They love it, so why not? (We have lots of paper chains and pipe cleaner decorations.)
Tonight we made some goodies, and everyone helped. Delta and Emma got to add the chips to the cookie bars. Elyse made the fudge (her first time) with a little help. The rest of us made the 7 minute pile-ups. (graham cracker crust, coconut, choco chips, butterscotch chips, nuts, then pour sweetened condensed milk on top. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.) It was fun. Little stress. I loved it. I think the kids did too.
Then we read our Christmas story for the night. The Last Straw by Paula McDonald. Now we can start our yearly tradition of copying the McDonalds', and doing acts of kindness for each other.
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3 comments:
Sounds like wonderful things you are doing this Christmas. I have yet to hear the Christmas devotional. Will look to see if it's online. This Christmas, hubby and me have decided to cut out the candy. Yes, no candy this year. I also just came up with the idea of making jars of honey snaps of Christmas presents for friends. Will get the children involved in doing that. I'm sure they'll enjoy it as much as how your children enjoy baking with you.
I think a toned-down Christmas is really needed. That's awesome you get them to take stuff to DI before Christmas.
We donated a bunch of stuff to Susie Hodson to take to the homeless shelter. It was great to hear B say his heart felt so happy! We also have the rule in our home that Santa only brings one gift. My parents actually started a trust fund for each of the boys, and at Christmas and Birthdays they just add money to it instead of a big gift. I love it!
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