Christmas

How can there be more to write about December???

But I need to at least write about Giving Day.  It is my favorite Christmas tradition to help each of my kids make each family member a special gift.  And I have to write about shopping dates, because it is going to be a new tradition.

Because of the Mexico project, our Christmas budget was small this year.  We decided to just spend $20 to fill each person's stocking.  I had the older kids help play Santa for each other.  I took each of them on a special date out to eat and shopping for their sibling.  It was the perfect way to shop for Christmas, by giving my kids what they really want: time with me.  We had a wonderful time and were surprised at how far we made that $20 go.  The younger kids didn't buy sibling gifts because I knew it would be hard to keep a secret, but they still got a date and bought their cousin gift with me.
It was so much better than in years past when I'm doing all of the shopping by myself and trying to keep it all straight and make sure everyone has equal gifts and sometimes just buying stuff to even the score.  This was joyful and meaningful, and so much fun in so many ways!  The kids loved filling the stockings on Christmas Eve, and they loved the joy of watching their siblings open the specially chosen gifts. 

Even though Giving Day was squeezed in between packing up for Mexico and our Idaho trip, and we knew we had to leave the next day, it was wonderful.  We woke up and ate breakfast and started the game.  We drew names and everyone got to share their special gifts.  I was helping Ruby finish one of her gifts while we sat there, but it was finished just in time!
Who gave what:
Dad:  Dallin miraculously came up with 8 incredible poems that perfectly matched each member of the family.  I had to dry my eyes more than once as he read these individualized poems that he was able to pen so quickly.  He started in October, but only had 3 of them done by mid-December.  There were some late nights and serious editing sessions, but he did it and they made up some of his very best work.
Sarah:  What a blessing that I made microwavable "corn bags" for each of my kids at the Sisters' retreat in the fall.  I tried to pick out fabrics that matched each kid.  They love them and are still loving them as I write this (in March).  They stay warm in your bed all night long.
Nathan: It had to be snowball cookies.  It was so sad that he was making dozens and dozens of cookies all December but they weren't for the kids to taste!  He made up for it as each person got their own little baggie of them.
Brandon:  This year Brandon did the ultimate gift.  I got a coupon for some breakfasts in bed.  Dallin and Nathan got some cool paracord keychains that he made.  The other 5 kids got homemade hobby horses with a pvc pipe stall!  It was such a fun project to get out the fake fur that I've collected at various yard sales over the years and realize how perfectly that particular color would match each person's style.  We had scraps of PVC for the poles, and bought a little more to make the stall.  We even had old tights in just the right colors to cover the pipes and give them a nice finished look.  Each one has its own removable halter made from various spools of trim found in my stash.  Sullivan got a blue-grey named Dobbin with a duck halter.  Sarajoy got a white unicorn with a pink horn and fancy pink halter named Princess, of course.  Daisy got a bright red horse with a white star on its forehead and a white rickrack halter: Red Velvet.  Ruby got a white horse with a brown patch down its nose and I can't remember its name.  Simon got a dark blue horse with a silver diamond on its nose named Blaze.  He had them all in their stall with nametags and covered it with a blanket.  It was so great to have the kids hop on their horses and ride them around and around the kitchen island. 
Ruby: She made Nathan an awesome reusable sack lunch bag out of old corduroy pants with velcro and a snap to make different sizes.  Brandon got a Kindle case out of the same great material.  It had pants pockets just the right sizes for his earbuds and cord and book. Dallin got a new chapstick/nailclipper holder that looks like a cute little sweater.  It keeps his chapstick from rolling around in his pocket and rolling itself up into the lid.  Daisy got a sweet little fleece blanket for the lifelike doll she got for her birthday.  Sarajoy got a needlepoint bear and candy cane ornament and Sullivan got a nursery rhyme piggie ornament.  Simon has this goofy looking little doll that he wanted so he could have matching clothes with it like the girls have American Dolls.  It was one of those Ebay purchases that just doesn't come looking like you imagined it.  But he loved it, and had been making stapled together outfits for it.  Ruby and I made it the cutest little Santa suit, and it finally didn't look so weird.  It was made to wear that Santa suit, and Simon absolutely loved it!  Ruby made me a pillow that she had embroidered with a picture of a temple and "Families Are Forever" on it.  I was so impressed with what a great job she did on a project she did without help!
Daisy: She just really really loves making chocolate-dipped pretzels for us!  It is fun and easy, and it made a great snack for our trip to Idaho.
Simon:  This was another really great project.  Simon invented a toy recently that was pretty ingenious.  He took a toilet paper roll and made it look like a grasshopper and showed me how if you press on one end, it actually hops!  We saved toilet paper tubes, and he made a reindeer, a cheetah, a cat, a bunny, a monster, a bear, a frog, and a dog.  He was a little sad that I knew what he was making so I told him he could make mine by himself and I would be surprised.  I almost cried a little when I opened my gift and saw he had made me the cutest elephant (my favorite animal) that I've ever seen!
Sarajoy:  I knew I was going to have her help me with the photo ornaments I do each Christmas, but I didn't know what I would do.  You do photo ornaments for a few years and you start running out of ideas!  I ventured over to Pinterest for my first time, and saw some really cute cookie-cutter ornaments.  I suddenly remembered that I had bought a box of silver cookie cutters 2 years ago after Christmas and forgotten about them!  She helped me glue the pictures and put glitter on them and wrap them up.
Sullivan helped me make and hand out snack bags to take on our trip.

When we got up to Idaho, I had a great time helping my mom with final food preparations and helping her finish up a few sewing projects.  She was very generous and bought each of the grandkids a miniature pillow pet.  She purchased so many of them it was really hard to choose which ones my kids would like best!!  And she surprised my kids by having a few "Santa" gifts under the tree that they were not expecting.  Nice shirts for the boys, a Karaoke machine and a Hairstyling head for the girls.  Play dishes for Sarajoy.  A mini soccer ball for Sullivan. A fun little playmobil set for several of them.  Nerf guns and a toolbox for Simon that he can lock up with the locks and keys he got for his birthday.  I got them a rubberband bracelet loom and the game Spot It which both have been a lot of fun.  We are so grateful that she was willing to make the day extra special that way.  We always love Christmas breakfast Souffle, and we had our Porter Party on the very day since it was the day we could all be together.  A lot of really great talents were shared and we had a fun gift exchange where I got to reveal to the Stingers the menu plan/shopping list system that I use and customized for their family.  I also got them each a treat they enjoy.  My mom blessed us with a really neat family history binder with the stories about many of my ancestors.  She also got us some of our special wishes and surprised me with my own little playmobil set of Santa's workshop.  Never too old to get toys for Christmas, I say!  I love watching what everybody gives at the gift exchange for adults.  We were blessed to get the "grinch bag" for the first time.  It usually contains some kind of gag gift.  It had a Grinch shirt for Dallin and an Uncle Si Chia pet.  That lovely thing graced our counter for weeks in its green-bearded splendor!

There will always be things I forget, but it was a very memorable Christmas!