I also talked Rhett into letting me get a pre-lite tree this year. I guess he was sick of having to take cover and listening to me curse the tree while trying to put the lights on! So I even got our tree up and mostly decorated the week after Thanksgiving (a first for me). 
So while I am a scrooge, I try hard to be happy, excited, and stress-free for my kids. I want them to love Christmas! We took them to get a picture with Santa, of course. But that sure was an exercise in patience for me!
We use to go to a tree lot in Sandy where they have a giant sleigh, reindeer, and the cutest Santa ever. But this year, the cutest Santa ever was not there. Instead they had some young, Hispanic dude in a terrible costume. Plus, instead of taking your picture, you had to bring your own camera and tip Santa for a photo. I didn't bring my camera.
And how do you respond to your 6 year old when he asks "Why does this Santa Claus look so different than the real Santa?" (Logan is very observant, so we had to have a talk about how the Santa's at the mall and other places are 'helpers' and not the real Santa.) We did eventually make it to a mall to get a picture that turned out okay. Of course Colton was terrified of Santa!
Ti's the season for family parties and get-togethers. We had our fair share of those as well and had a lot of fun at all of them! It was also fun for the kids to be surrounded by their cousins and all our family traditions! And the first time I pulled out the "Santa is watching" card, Logan responded with "I don't care cuz if I'm on the naughty list I can do whatever I want and it won't matter!" What the.....?!?! Okay, I wasn't prepared for that one! Good thing Logan is a pretty good kid, most of the time!
Christmas morning was great! Both boys slept in till after 9:00. We had to go in and wake them up. (We would've let them sleep in longer if we didn't have to be at Rhett's parents house for dinner.) Logan, of course, was so excited! He had a blast passing out and opening up presents. He was so cute with Colton trying to explain to him what all the toys were and what they did. Colton on the other hand was more interested in the wrapping paper, boxes and bows. But he did finally come around to his own toys! Logan was so excited that Santa came and brought him exactly what he asked for! Amazing how Santa knows! :)
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Over all it was a fun morning for all! The kids had fun and Rhett and I had fun watching them! Even thought it is a lot of work and preparation, it is so worth it to see the smiles on the kids faces!We hope you all had a Merry Christmas as well with wishes for a great new year in 2010!
So, um, i learned something valuable from a co-worker this year that might come in handy for you sooner rather than later. Her observant six year old asked how, even when they don't make it to the mall to see Santa's helper, and don't write a letter, Santa still knows what Cody wants. His mama said "Because I have Santa's phone number. I just call him and tell him." So then Cody wanted Santa's phone number and wasn't too keen on the idea that it was moms-only sort of info. I'll have to tell you about her creative solution elsewhere. But I could totally see that as a convo you and Logan would have in the future. :)
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