Saturday, January 12, 2013

Christmas 2012

I was definitely in the mood for the holidays this season and it started very early on. We got the tree up during Thanksgiving weekend and I did 90% of my Christmas shopping online this year so everything was shipped and wrapped well before Christmas Eve, unlike years past.

Some of my shopping was reduced because of a decision made by George's kids that we only buy for the little ones this year, which we went along with with the exception of George's youngest, since he has no children yet. My family also does a Secret Santa instead of buying for everyone which is fun and a lot less costly considering how many there would be to buy for.

I was my son's Secret Santa this year. He is a difficult person to buy for because he usually just gets what he wants when he wants something. I had to be creative and knowing Eric's love for fast food, I decided to make the rounds and get gift cards to all of his favorite spots. I then picked up a bottle of his favorite booze and wrapped all the gift cards and taped them to the bottle. I thought it was a great idea and he was cracking up when he opened them. Then he said, "Well so much for my New Year's resolution to stop eating fast food." Oh well...I tried.



Eric opening his gift cards.


My brother Dave and Sara

Great Niece Kendall pretending to be swallowed up by the sofa

Group shot with a couple people missing

We stopped to visit my Brother in law and his family on Christmas Day and had a great visit. This is a shot of my brother in law Ray and my sister in law Diane with George's grand daughter Amelia, who was also there visiting.


Amelia

All in all it was a fun couple of days but I have to admit, I was happy once New Year's was over. Sara arrived at the house on December 21st and didn't go home until January 1st. I love her to pieces but she leaves a trail everywhere she goes and there wasn't a single inch to spare on my bathroom counter with all of her hair and face products. I spent January 2nd cleaning her room, changing the bed linens and straightening up the bathroom.

So on to 2013 and hopefully it will be a great year!

5 comments:

AliceKay said...

I loved seeing your Christmas photos. That is a great family photo, too. It's hard to get everyone in one shot.

Our Christmas and New Years was off this year. Too many illnesses and sickness to enjoy the holidays. Hopefully, 2013 will be a good year. It didn't start out very well, but maybe things will get better.

My son is hard to buy for, too. If he wants something, he buys it. No family to buy for. Things will be changing now. He's looking for a house to buy. He was finally given his own Sheetz store to manage in the Pittsburgh, PA, area and has to move to an area closer to that store. When he messaged me Christmas Day to tell me his news, I could read the excitement in his words. He's earned his own store. He's worked hard, and I'm very proud of him. He takes over the store next Friday, and it goes under his name on the 25th. :)

Deanna said...

You really did get into the holidays early! Great pictures and great memories. I'm not sure how I would deal with it if one of my children returned home for a couple of week!

Lainie said...

AliceKay, congrats to Marty! What a great opportunity for him!

ChicagoLady said...

Great idea for Eric's present! Sounds like the family had a very nice Christmas!

Intense Guy said...

:) I love the photos - how's Eric's resolution working out? :)