Let's go shopping!

Today is the day that I start my Christmas shopping!

Well, technically not start, as I've already bought a few stocking stuffers here & there.

But today is the day that I start buying the big ticket items! Both boys want a Nintendo DS, so the plan is to get one today, and then get the second one after the next paycheck. I have three kids to buy for, plus nieces & nephews, so spreading out the expense is key.

I'm super excited for Christmas this year, too. We're going to be heading down to FL this year. December 23rd and 24th with the in-laws, and then Christmas Eve and Christmas day/weekend with my family. A few more days in Daytona with hubby's family and then it's back to Charleston to unpack, do laundry, and repack to go to a hockey tournament over New Year's weekend.

Okay, maybe I'm a little un-excited for that last part.

I am so tempted to bring along my Christmas cd's in the car today to get me in the spirit, but I will try to show restraint since my friend is coming along with me and I have already been teased about listening to Christmas music way too early. That's usually something I do when the kids are in school and the hubby's at work and no one is coming over to the house. I'm a closet "early Christmas music listener."

Hey- at least I'm not donning red sweaters with reindeer and Santa knitted into them!

Going down...

I was running to the post office to mail an Etsy order (http://jenscraftcorner.etsy.com), and saw something that made my heart skip a beat. Gas was $2.69! It's been under three dollars for just over a week now, which is defnitely something I never thought I'd see again. But it's slowly creeping closer to $2.50 a gallon! Hallelujah! I can almost afford to gas up my Tahoe again!

Emotional Tug-of-war

While I was out running my errands today, I noticed that the stores are starting to stock their Christmas items. Normally, this is my favorite time of year. I love to decorate my house for the holidays, and I actually enjoy Christmas shopping. But this year it's different. Money is tight, and I won't be able to decorate how I want to. We are in a new house this Christmas and we finally have a big front yard to do up, and nothing to do it up with. Sure, we have our Christmas lights from last year, and with any luck they'll all still work this year, but for once we have a lawn and I won't be able to make it festive. I have a feeling our yard will be reminiscent of Charlie Brown's sad little Christmas tree.

As for Christmas gifts, we'll be getting pretty creative this year. I already plan on making most of the gifts that we will be giving (really not a problem for me...I'd like to consider myself a military wife version of Martha Stewart), and the rest will be inexpensive, but meaningful.

I know that we are not the only family having to cut back on Christmas this year. Maybe we should all just revisit the Christmases of the past and bask in the fact that we have our loved ones near, and make it a great holiday despite the current economic situation.