Big Businesses, Christmas Memories

Looking at this map of the Growth of Walmart brought on some Christmas memories for me. I think because my dh family is really into Black Friday and they all go bonkers and buy a ton of stuff. My dh and I don't see the point. I don't want a present just so I can open something. We did get some really thoughtful presents this year. A nice framed picture of our boys and a framed silhouette of each boy.

But, I realized this Christmas that since becoming a family our favorite Christmases have been the ones where we lived out of state. My favorite was Southern California when I wore shorts and a tank top and we went looking for a place open for Breakfast. Our tree was maybe a foot high and that was all we could fit in our 400 sq ft cabin. But, it was lovely and sweet and meaningful.

We have had very little money these last few months, so we did not get our children presents. But, many other people did. We still ended up opening presents 3 times. My parents did tone it down this year and yet my children were still happy...surprise. The most used gifts so far have been the board games. I went shopping with my mom and we decided to get board games so we could go upstairs and have game and pizza nights. The boys love them!

I like spending time with family (we live with my parents and Grandmother) and my husband's family. It's so nice to have this time with them again, especially my Grandma whom I spent a lot of time with as a young child. But, sometimes I realize how truly different my husband and I can be from our own families. How we have melded together and formed our own little definition of family. I hope I can respect that as my own children grow and join their wives.

Having snow in Washington State was lovely for the boys. My parents have a huge hill for sledding and we got snowed in a few days.

I hope I don't sound cynical about Christmas or Holidays in general. I do love Holidays. I just don't want to be another family celebrating presents and giving. I want to celebrate Christmas and be thankful for the birth of Christ.