A Family Christmas

It’s a tradition for us to be at HOME on Christmas morning.  I love this tradition, and I hope it continues for MANY years to come!  The past several years, we have invited Cecil’s parents to come have breakfast with us and watch the boys open their presents.  Our boys (believe it or not) do really well waiting to open gifts until after breakfast!

 

We had a wonderful morning and everyone received some wonderful gifts!

The boys were, of course, SPOILED again!!  I can’t help it!  I LOVE CHRISTMAS!  I LOVE to buy people gifts that I know they will love—and I love to watch them open that gift!

 

 

the BIG present for the boys this year were DS Lites.  They BOTH got one!! 

 

 

Power Ranger TV game…..

My big gift was a new pair of sunglasses!!

New athletic pants…..

Books!

New NFL shirts (incidentally, they would all load up the next day and head to Jacksonville to watch the Jaguars play in the SNOW!)  Yes, Carter likes the Patriots and Nolan likes the Jags.

Let’s be realistic here people.  What is Christmas without new socks?

New cookie sheets!

Bath toys!

I figured Cecil loved ESPN so much he might like some nice lounge pants with their name on it!  HA!

I’m not sure why the face in this picture—but don’t make him mad—he might use the new knife on YOU!

One of Nolan’s favorite gifts was a remote controlled wheelie car thing…unfortunately, it didn’t work. : (  SAD LITTLE BOY!

When it was all said and done…here’s the piles of stuff!

Overall, it was a great family morning!  Stay tuned again!  We still have Christmas with my Dad and brother, sister-in-laws & Nieces!

~CB~

Christmas at Mimi’s and Grandaddy’s

I’m sure you recall from last year, that we have 5 different Christmas “sessions”.  We have the great-grandparents’ Christmas to celebrate, and there are 2 of those, my brother and Dad, our immediate family Christmas, and then my in-laws Christmas.  Whew!  Before all is said and done, we’re exhausted from all the activity!

This year, “Part I” was to celebrate with Cecil’s grandmother in Alachua and that side of the family.  We don’t do a gift exchange there anymore, instead we choose to just enjoy the season by gathering for dinner at Grandma’s house and catching up with each other.  Sad to say that I don’t believe I took one single picture there.

Part II was CHRISTMAS at MIMI’S and GRANDADDY’S.  This is my in-laws……it’s a safe bet to assume that the kids are going to be SPOILED. ROTTEN.

We always do a nice gift exchange and then have a delicious meal!

And when I say “gift exchange” I mean more like we all bought out the stores and this is what it looks like!  We’re talking iPads, iPods, cookbooks, clothing, guitars, bicycles, Garmins, gift cards, coupon holders, CDs, books, music, Wii Fit Plus, and SO MUCH MORE!!!

Grandaddy sure did rack up this year!

Everyone has to have new GATOR clothing!

Carter opening his new DVD player…..

 

Jenni (Edward’s girlfriend) got an iPad!  SCORE!

Bass Pro Shop games….

Carter desperately wanted a new “buckle belt” as he calls them.  You know, like a real COWBOY BULL RIDER.  My oh my.  As if there were any DOUBT in my mind…Carter’s Mimi pulled through for him and not only got him a new buckle belt, but new Cinch jeans, and a new Cinch shirt as well.  Merciful heavens.

New dress shirts for the “big boys”.

Uncle Edward and Jenni pulled through with an awesome gift NIGHT VISION GOGGLES for the boys.  OH dear.

Mimi was beside herself about her new Nikon binoculars!

And I got the treasured PIONEER WOMAN COOKBOOK!!!

And I’m LOVING my new coupon holder that Edward and Jenni got me too!

Edward’s TREASURE gift was a new iPod Touch!!!

and last but NOT least of all, new BIKES for the little boys!

Jenni even got in on some of the go-kart action!

This about wraps up our Part II Christmas…stay tuned as there is MORE TO COME with 3 other Christmases and another family celebration!

~CB~

The great GIFT CLOSET cleanout of 2010

Since I was HOME ALONE for a few days, I decided to clean out and re-organize my gift closet.  Yes!  I have a GIFT CLOSET!  I love it!  This closet has saved me so much time, energy, and MONEY!  It’s perfect for when one of the boys brings home a birthday party invitation on Thursday for a party that is 2 days away!  It’s also perfect during the holidays when you “forgot” a gift for one person on your list—you just go to the gift closet, grab, wrap, and go!

I try to find items on sale, clearance, etc.  and stock up!  The BEST time to find the BEST sales are the day after Christmas!  Look for items that aren’t “wintery” or don’t have a holiday theme to them, if you want to use it for a birthday item.  I stock up on holiday plates, cups, napkins, boxes, tissue paper, wrapping paper, etc. PLUS bath sets, lotions, candles, dish towels, movies, and all sorts of other items!

The BAD news is that my checking account shows it!  The GOOD news is that I’m DONE with birthdays for this year (and probably next), and DONE with Christmas for next year for the boys’ teachers, Sunday School teachers, Principal, Asst. Principal, etc.  I also have items stored away in case a friend needs a “pick-me-up” or if I just feel like sending in something to the boys’ teachers.  The GIFT CLOSET is a life-saver!

I had SO MUCH stuff and had lately been just throwing it in there and it was getting SLOPPY!

Here’s the loot I bought the day after Christmas and a few days later…..

WHEW!  That’s A LOT!  I was DETERMINED to make it all fit in the GIFT CLOSET along with what was already there!

The first thing I had to do was set aside all the “classroom goodies” for the boys’ classes for next Christmas.  I bought the paper goods and some cute plastic cups for their classes, plus a bunch of items like bubbles, notepads, mini pens, etc. to fill a bag with.

After completing that task, on to the GIFT CLOSET I went!

This is a Rubbermaid container full of lip glosses, puzzles, Barbies, sidewalk chalk, Star Wars thingies, pajamas, Crayola Color Wonder kits, bath sets, books, cookbooks, movies, and MORE!  The whole container is probably worth $250 and I paid under $40 for ALL of it!

This is one side of the closet shelving which has some 3-D outdoor Crayola chalk kids, Transformers which were normally $4 that I got for $2, bath sets, etc.

The other side of the closet shelving has board games, bowling sets ($6 the day after Thanksgiving), Army sets, etc.

This is the bottom of the closet and I have Bath & Body anti-bacterial soaps (1.33 each), a few gifts, and my bags of ribbon, scissors, tape, etc.  See those bags in the cellophane next to the pink bags?  They are brown cloth bags from Yankee Candle that I got for $1.00 at the Yankee outlet in Ellenton!  YOU CAN’T BEAT THAT!  It’s PERFECT for throwing a gift in and then giving it!  No WRAPPING necessary!

More Bath & Body soap/lotion gift sets that I got the day after Christmas.  They are normally 16.50 and I got them for under $8.00!!

If you don’t have a gift closet, I encourage you to get a container, drawer, tote, shelf, or SOMETHING and just TRY it!  I ALWAYS cruise the clearance aisles!  You NEVER know when the PEFECT gift for someone will be there!  This does not mean I don’t care about the person I’m buying for!  In fact, it means I can give them MORE because I’m getting items at a lower cost!

Hope this has inspired you!

~CB~