Sunday, November 29, 2009

kids & christmas

I just saw some poor guy on tv who'd lost his job. he has, among other responsibilities, a disabled child. that is really rough. I know many people are in similar positions and I really wish them well with getting a new job and being able to continue helping their families. of course, he was also concerned about what to do for christmas.

I will share a little secret I remember from my childhood... kids will ask for EVERYTHING because they have no clue how much stuff costs. however, most kids don't expect to get most of that stuff. they just want to get something off ther 30 page list. maybe 3-4 somethings, but certainly not everything (unless you have spoiled them to an insane degree or unless you are so rich you really can buy anything they want).

if you get the paper, save the colored funny pages (or get someone to do this for you). this makes great gift wrap, especially for kid's stuff. look at your junk mail, those cards that fall out of magazines... anything... cut out cute images and use these to make decorations for packages. sometimes you can get free gift tags here and there, but if you don't, use plain paper and these decorative objects to make your own. doing this allows you to cheaply wrap more packages. and that, in turn, makes it economically feasible to wrap you kid's presents in ways that make it look like the most packages. kids LOVE to unwrap stuff. so, wrap up as many as you can, even stocking stuffers, in this cost effective manner.

if you make cookies right before christmas wrap these up! you can use one of your resealable bowls since, if it's your own kids, you'll get these back. if you're giving them as gifts, you can get little containers fairly cheaply.

if your child has a doll and you can sew, make some outfits. if the child doesn't sleep with the doll, you might dress her in the new outfit and put her under the tree (unwrapped) as a surprise from santa.

remember, your children love you. just do your best... try to think of fun activities to add to christmas fun. also, be on the lookout for bargains! :)

good luck and happy holidays. :)

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

That's sweet.
I hope everyone has a better Christmas than I am going to have.

shampoo said...

this is going to be my first christmas without my daddy. I miss him so much. I miss my mother as well, but i've gone through many christmases without her.

one of my sisters can't come in for christmas and who knows about my brother.

also, at my other sister's my brother-in-law's mother will be missing... she died shortly after daddy. his father died years ago.

christmas can be hard for many reasons, but people really shouldn't worry so much about getting every toy. maybe if there's one thing the kid really wants, try to get that. but otherwise, there are many cheaper objects that are fun for kids.

one year daddy was unemployed for some months, plus we had three extra kids, and one to two extra adults. pennies were pinched like crazy and our house was really crowded. but I don't remember being deprived although I know we didn't get as good of food as usual or as many presents. but, having both mama and daddy around all of the time was pretty neat.

Anonymous said...

The first Christmas I spent without my dad was hard too. My mom was really sick as well and she was also 3/4 of the way out of her mind and behaving like a lunatic.
I wish you could spend Christmas with me. Not that that would be all that great at this rate, but at least you would be with people who aren't as critical.
Many Christmases when I was oung were done on a shoestring budget, but we always had a dinner and a few things. I always enjoyed it. Hell, give me candy, a couple of toys, and a dinner and I'm still pretty set.

shampoo said...

I remember when that happened. I prayed with the chaplain at the hospital here for your mom. I kept meaning to go find him while daddy was in the hospital, but I spent so many hours in daddy's room keeping watch over him that I never did find him... his name is john and he was very concerned about your situation. he used to advertise with the paper and I was the one who waited on him because my jerk boss didn't like him. that's not very christmas-spirity, to say that. oops.

Anonymous said...

Wow. You know, I forgot about that. You told me, but I forgot. I had so much on my mind.
I wish I could do more to help you. I pray every night for you and Billy and you are never far from my thoughts.

shampoo said...

I appreciate you praying for me (and billy). :) I always appreciate someone taking the time to do that. I know you have plenty to worry about right now... i'll pray that things get better.

Anonymous said...

Yeah, Mom is working on a second coma. She's even refusing to get help like last time. It's been over 2 weeks since she's eaten and the only time she isn't grunting and moaning with pain is when she's asleep. I wish she'd just go on to the fucking hospital.

shampoo said...

oh, how awful. I hope she will agree to get help soon.