I used to Christmas Toy shop at Target all summer long. You know that end of summer toy clearance sale Target has? Wow. I'd stock up. Lego building kits, anything Barbie, anything you can play with outside. By the time the Christmas Countdown got down to the wire I had all the gifts bought, wrapped, labeled and hidden.
I was super Christmas Elf.
But in the last few years Christmas has gotten more complicated. And it's because I'm buying for teenagers now. And teenagers are very, very specific in what they want. And the things they want are very expensive. You can't buy that in the summer. Because what is hot in July will be old news by December. The latest and greatest will come on with a generation 2 just before Thanksgiving. So save your cash.
Also, my teenagers are really into fashion. Clothes. Now I know, I know, the sales on clothes after Christmas will be fantastic. But I have to put something for them under the tree. I've bought boots, sweaters, pants, shirts, socks and even underwear this year.
I did luck out and hit a 30% off sale at JCrew in Dallas. They had a large section of items already marked down. So combine the mark downs with the 30% off with The Engineer's student 15% off............ I scored some pretty sweaters at a decent price. Teenagers can be very designer conscious. So the JCrew label will score points for me!
Don't tell I.T. girl, but one of her sweaters is wrapped in a JCrew box. However it came from Gap. I heart Gap. I.T. Girl - not so much. But what she doesn't know won't hurt her.
We decorated Gingerbread Houses last night.
Fun and they enjoyed it.
Here's how it looked when I woke up at 4:30 this morning. Yes, I've been waking up that early this week. It's a good thing I did because look what was waiting for me..
This:
And this:
Wow. What did I use to clean it up? My handy dandy Donny Osmond Broom, of course. I'm telling ya, that thing can clean it ALL. I should do some research on this broom. If anything ever happens to it I'll be up a creek without a............. BROOM!
Teenage Christmas is busier. Teenage Christmas is more expensive. Teenage Christmas requires a lot of FOOD.
Speaking of food, here is what was eaten today:
Biscuits, eggs, turkey meatballs with sauce, chips and salsa, crackers and cheese, rice krispie treats (homemade by Dancer Girl) Christmas Cookies (homemade by I.T. girl)
catfish, shrimp, french fries, salad, oranges and pears (I cut up the fruit and put it in front of them. ) And the night is young!
I ran the dishwasher twice already today. I'll start it again before I go to bed.
I had to make an emergency run to Kroger this afternoon for more food and toilet paper. I forgot about needing extra toilet paper!
I love having these teenagers in the house. I love that they are still interested in hanging out with Mom at home. I love that they are excited about Christmas. I love that they enjoy each other.
I love having extra food in the refrigerator and extra laundry by the washer.
Christmas is good this year
This year, our teens were so busy they couldn't find time to give us a wish list. I said if they didn't they'd get nothing but socks and underwear in their stockings and the kids immediately showed me EXACTLY what kind of socks and underwear they wanted. That is so different than how it used to be!
ReplyDeleteHa! That's funny. And crazy. Yes, Christmas is different with teens. But just as much fun. So, did you get the underwear?
ReplyDeleteOh, yes, I got the underwear! And both kids were very pleased.
ReplyDelete