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Since my husband is working nights this week, we decided to celebrate our Christmas in July a few days early – opting for Sunday so he could be there for all the festivities.
Saturday night I wrapped a few gifts to put under our little paper tree. I even stuck a couple little candy canes to it. (Yes,we still had some left over!)
Our daughter was so excited when she saw the presents under the tree the next morning that she did her “happy dance.” (Wish I had a video of that!)
Once little brother had woken up, they wasted no time opening gifts. Seriously, it was much faster than I’d ever seen them open gifts before…
See that doll in the picture? That’s Dream Glow Barbie – from the 80’s. Yes, she was mine… No one said Christmas gifts have to be brand new – already gently loved toys are just as special! And honestly, I bet Barbie is just glad to be out of the storage box she’s been in for the past 20+ years.
Little guy also got one gently used gift – a Matchbox playset that folds up for travel. He was pretty excited with the 2 Hotwheels he got, too.
Once they opened all their gifts, and played for a bit, Daddy read them each their new books (I love giving new books for gifts) while I made our traditional Christmas breakfast – goetta!
(I’ll have to post the recipe for this yummy German breakfast food when it gets a little closer to fall — traditionally it is eaten in colder months.)
The rest of the day we spent playing with the kids – no Internet, Mommy took a little break from cleaning, just good ol’ family time. Priceless.
Kristen says
Why I have never thought of doing this?! I have so many toys at my parents’ that I could’ve done the same thing with instead of just letting the girls have at it. I guess it is never too late to start a new tradition though. Maybe we could make it a Christmas about books…
OneMommy says
Christmas all about books sounds like a wonderful Christmas to me!
This was definitely a new thing for us to do – and I think we will repeat it next year and make it a little family tradition; they had so much fun, and so did I just watching them get excited!
Donna says
What a great idea. You are just too creative. And you’re right. No one said gifts have to be brand new.
OneMommy says
The best gifts are from the heart – homemade, new, or gently loved already…