And just like that, the holidays are over. Did they always go so fast when we were younger? Or is this only something that happens once you have kids?
Our morning started at 6:25am, when Buddy bounded into our room, begging to go downstairs. Desperate to let Mimi sleep a little longer, we let him watch TV in our room until 7am, at which point we knew we couldn’t delay the inevitable, and woke Mimi up.
The opening of the presents was its usual crazed frenzy, each kid shouting, “It’s my turn!!!!”, tearing open the paper and moving on from gift to gift at rapid speed. Buddy – who I KNEW was on the lookout for Skylander Giants – kept getting a slight flash of disappointment on his face whenever he opened a present and found something that wasn’t a Skylander.
Mimi, on the other hand, was experiencing her first Christmas where she really kind of understood what was going on. She was thrilled with her Minnie Mouse pillow pet, Sofia the First toy shoes, Anna doll (from “Frozen”) and a few other small gifts.
Finally, Buddy got to open the mysterious envelope under the tree that read “Open Me Last.” Inside was the following poem:
For your last gift
I will say no more
Except that you should take a look
Outside your front door.
He ran to the front door opened it up and found …
And then we got our first real squeal of joy and excitement. Which lasted about five minutes, before he flopped dramatically in a chair and pouted for awhile. For those who might remember, this also happened last year, when we surprised the kiddos with a trip to Disney World, and his only comment was that he was sad he didn’t get any Legos.
Sigh. I thought maybe this year might be a bit better, since I tried to prepare him in advance for the fact that he may not get everything on his list. But I also have to keep reminding myself that he’s only 7, and kids that age are still all about me me me and I want, I want I want; yet I admit, I found it hard not to feel sad (and a little annoyed).
Thankfully, his disappointment only lasted a short while, and then he moved on and began playing with the gifts he did get. (And, needless to say, he was over the moon when he opened up several Skylanders figures later in the day from my parents.)
We continued on with our stockings, and Mimi was ecstatic about her Hello Kitty chapstick I found in the $1 bin at Target. Honestly, I think it was her favorite gift. She put it in her Minnie Mouse purse to bring to Christmas dinner, and kept taking it out over and over again to reapply.
We’re soooooo in trouble with this one.
I, on the other hand, am so excited about my new cycling shoes (which will actually arrive this weekend). I have been taking spin class for nearly 5 years and my instructors keep teasing me about the fact that I haven’t made the leap to cycling shoes. Everyone says they really do make a big difference, so I can’t wait to try them out in class next week!
Parents: How do you deal with disappointed kids on Christmas morning? And for my fellow spin enthusiasts: Do you use cycling shoes?
Dollops of Diane says
Glad you guys had a great Christmas! Someone at church asked Isabelle what her “big present” was from Santa and she said Checkers. Of all the presents, Checkers is her favorite – ha!