Ever hear the old saying "A Day Late and a Dollar Short"...? Well, that seems to be a way of life for me. I was so sure I was scheduled for the 15th, that I didn't even bother to look until tonight at work.....only to see that I was really scheduled for the 14th!!
That seems to be a theme for me this year. The kids and I literally put our Christmas tree up last night. And with the crazy hours both Mike and I are working right now, it's been really hard to get into the Ch
ristmas spirit. But we are trying!!
This year, I took the girls to the Festival of Lights in East Peoria. It's really beautiful. They have all sorts of floats and light shows set up in a park and you drive through it to look at the lights. Then we went and visited Santa. The girls told him what they wanted for Christmas (so at least now I know what to get!!) Then the 3 of us went out for dinner. It was a great Girl's Night Out! 
OK....traditions. In the Toland household, we actually kind of fly by the seat of our pants. There aren't a lot of "traditions" we really have. We go back and forth between families for dinner, but we always spend Christmas Eve with Mike's parents. It's nice because I usually spend the latter half of the evening doing the whole "Santa" routine with wrapping presents and putting them out under the tree for the kids. I'm really going to miss all that when the Santa experience is over. Right now, it is still magical....at least for the girls.
But Christmas Eve is nice. We always have dinner and cookies and warm hot chocolate with the in-laws. And the once-a-year viewing of Christmas Vacation. Sometimes, I think the Toland's and the Griswald's have a lot in common!! It's a quiet evening before the Big Day....and it's one that I will always treasure.
I'll leave you with a clip from Christmas Vacation!!
Merry Christmas to you and yours!!
Monday, December 15, 2008
Blogger's Advent Calendar - The Toland's
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
16 comments:
enjoy it while the kids are this young!! It really does change later... but at the time we live vicariously thru our kids eyes and seem to enjoy Christmas so much more that way.
LOL! We cancel each other out, I was a day early. Your girls are getting so big!
lol, the Griswald's...I've watched those movies so many times.
My family has no children at this point...we're at that stage where the youngest members are already in their twenties, but nobody has children of their own yet. I really miss the Santa Claus magic! I remember that even when I stopped believing myself I'd play along for my younger cousins, and it was a lot of fun.
Lovely pics of your daughters. I wish you a very merry Christmas here from cold and dark Denmark. We are also busy working and it is hard to find the right Holiday spirit, but the Blog Advent Calender has really been able to put me in the mood many days. There are a lot of great posts and yours is no exception. And then it doesn't matter that it was a day late and a dollar short ;o)
Louise
My husband and I don't have our tree up yet. Sometime this week. And my mom is busy repainting the living room, so no tree up yet for her...and she's hosting Christmas Day dinner...but we're good, we're good.
I love that clip from 'Christmas Vacation' - we just watched that last week to launch our Christmas movie blitz.
The girls look so cute. Glad you guys were able to get out an enjoy the festival!
My son still believes, but I think that this will be the last year! He has gone out of his way to find all his presents, and he's doing a pretty good job of it so far. Going to have to be more creative next year I think!
Thanks for participating Stephanie!
I love Christmas Vacation :D It's a tradition of ours to watch that one. The pictures of your girls are really cute! Merry Christmas to you and yours Steph.
I am glad you got a post up at all, Stephanie! I was looking forward to it. :) I think the biggest thing about Christmas for me is when I stopped believing in Santa. I hated the idea that he didn't really exist, so I pretended that I hadn't found out so I could still enjoy a bit of the magic... See, this is why I read fantasy books! I so want to live in a fantasy world. lol
Thanks for joining in! Merry Christmas!
I hope that by the times you got everything done and that you're not busy anymore, that you get the relaxation and rest that you deserved :) That is a lovely picture of your daughter with Santa and I love The Christmas Vacation movie. I watch it every year, it one tradition for me *grin*
I wish you and your family a Happy Holidays!
Merry Christmas Stephanie!
The best/worst thing about Christmas with kids is that the stuff gets done. It has to, and then it puts you in the mood, ready or not.
Great pics.
Hope you and yours have a great Christmas! Love the clip, I don't think I've seen it before.
Your girls look so cute beside Santa.
Here's wishing you and your family a happy holiday season!
Awwwwww. The girls are so beautiful. Merry Christmas!
Yikes--I guess that makes me three days late and three dollars short!
I'm a big fan of Christmas Vacation as well, but I'm at work so I can't see the clip you posted. :(
I hope you and your family have a wonderful holiday season this year. And I don't think Christmas will be any less magical once your girls get older--I know it isn't for us!
Running a little late on the Advent Tour. Playing catch up.
I am so happy my 8 year old still believes in Santa!
Thanks for sharing!
Happy Holidays!
Post a Comment