Monday Morning Christmas Quarterbacking

Like that quotable giant Yogi Berra once said, "It ain't over until it's over."
And it's over.
Officially.
Christmas that is....
It was lowkey and simplified.
I never set foot in a Mall or WalMart beforehand so I am calling it a Successful Holidays!lol

#2 son loved his Beatles CDs....

Daughter oohed and aaahed over her 'fake' Uggs I picked up at that ridiculously great sale at 6pm.com for $9.99!.....

And #1 son seemed to gush over the Jack Daniels Zippo lighter his SECRET SANTA gave him.....

And the belly laugh award does to Daughter's SECRET SANTA, who packaged her $20 bill inside an Austin Powers Penis Enlarger.....

Yes, it was INSIDE of the gag gift enlarger and she had to 'extricate' it, all the while voicing her protest with many "ewwww"s.lolol

Here are a few of the gifties Sluggy received.

From my SECRET SANTA(who turned out to be #1 son)

And from the Hubs......"the book that is not to be named"....lol

If you are real nice to me McVal, I'll let you read it. ;-)

And also from #1 son/Secret Santa, I got this....

And I'll be sharing these pearls of human stupidity every day on the blog in the coming year.
I know all you readers are shivering with antici.......pation!

The BIL and Nephew came over for dinner mid afternoon.
I set out appetizers of crudities, cheese and sweet bologna cubes, crackers, chips, tortilla chips, salsa, 2 kinds of dip and a fruit plate.
After everyone mowed through that spread, I served Ravioli with Italian Sausage and Meatballs and homemade Sunday "Gravy", along with a very elaborate Salad and those TMF Pepperidge Farm rolls.
Many cookies and 2 kinds of pie followed later.

And here's the very full and happy crew.....

The day after Christmas we said goodbye to #1 son as he headed back to western PA on the bus.  He has a job for the 3 weeks before school starts up again so he was only home 1 week.  I miss him already.....

We basically just relaxed after he left and did a little cleaning up here and there.  Hubs knee was paining him, Daughter is still sick with some sinus-y crud and my sinuses aren't feeling very clear either so we took it easy.
We ate more pie and watched as the Blizzard of '10 headed up the coast toward us.  The snow started around here at approx. 3pm.  At around 6pm I realized I didn't get out and get my Sunday papers(coupons)yet!  So silly me headed out in the snow at 6pm to the newspaper box to get some papers.....but they only had 1 paper left, I had to drive 1 mile further and go to Rite-Aid!ack


Needless to say, Rite-Aid was empty except for me and the employees.
I quick grabbed a paper and a few other things and headed back home.
Hubs thinks I have lost what was left of my mind going out in that mess for coupons.

The roads were a mess and it was probably the worst part of the storm for us, since the plow trucks weren't out because it was a Sunday evening.
No other After-Christmas shopping for me on Sunday.  

We only received about 3 inches Sunday night and by late morning on Monday it was bright and sunny, but still cold as a witch's teat and windy.

East of us got dumped on, upwards of 2 feet of snow!  Even south of us in Philly got a big helping of it.
We got 3 measly inches.
My brother in southern VA got 18 inches.  That's a very rare thing down there.  He should have come up here to the mountain for Christmas to avoid it....crazy talk, right?lol

So what did everyone else get for Christmas?
Was Santa good to you??

Sluggy

Simplifying the Holidays....Define YOUR Celebration

So what do I mean exactly when I talk about simplifying the Holidays?

What I mean is to make a deliberate plan of action this Holiday Season on how to fill your time, keeping in mind that there are only 24 hours in a day and realize that you can't do everything that is available to do, and you can't spend beyond your means.
By cutting out some activities this Holiday time, you will have more time for enjoying the ones you choose to keep and everyone around you will feel calmer for the slower pace you proceed at.

The specifics of Simplifying your Holiday Season will mean something different to every person because after all, everyone has their own likes and dislikes, family situations and amount of cash to spend available to them.  I can't tell you HOW or WHAT to include or not to include in your Holidays....that is your job to decide.  I can bring up some topics to explore and get you thinking about what you do now for the Holidays and/or consider changes you may want to make in your life.

But before you can enjoy your Holiday Season, you need to make a plan, a master list of how you plan on celebrating this year.  Even though you have a plan, remember that you still need to be flexible and open to changes if "life happens".

Yah, I know it's still Oct. but sit down and really think about what you want your Holiday Season to be like before the Yuletide craziness starts.

Ask yourself....What do you like about this time of year?
If you could celebrate exactly how you wanted and not how everyone else thought you should celebrate, what would you do/participate in this year?

Is it the shopping and hunting for just the right gift that you love?
Or do you think about the shopping & gifting part is just way too much hassle and money spent for no good reason?

Do you like to decorate.....the tree, the rooms, the lights outside and everything else you can think of to drape garland over?
Or do you prefer a few well placed festive touches in your home or nothing special at all?

Are you all about throwing or attending parties?
Or do you prefer to visit one on one with close friends or like to hold up on the couch watching old movies alone with your dog, sipping on a mug of egg nog?

Are you the Holiday baking Queen and your kitchen emits scrumptious smells as you create food with love?
Or do you keep your favorite bakery or caterer on speed dial for your eating pleasure?

Face it--if you tried to do Everything at the Holidays, you would kill yourself from the work and the stress.
You would not enjoy anything because you would not be present in the here and now.  You would be going through the motions alright, but your mind would be thinking ahead to the next thing you needed to cross off your list...your very long list!

People set themselves up for failure by trying to do it all at the Holidays.  There are only so many hours in the day you can devote to the added strain involved in craving out time for celebrating.
The laundry, the cooking dinner, the cleaning, the regular errands of life, the homework supervision still needs to get done.  Now you have to add all those Holiday things on top of your life?
*Sigh*
When you try to do too much, nothing will live up to your expectations.
It's better for you and your family if you pick and chose specific activities and rituals to participate in this year instead of rushing head first into Holiday overload!
It will help restore a bit of sanity to your life by scaling back the scope of your plans.

So find a few quiet minutes in your day in the coming week and realistically figure out what shape your Holiday Season will take.
Choose the rituals you feel speak the Holiday's language for you....

Send cards?
Give gifts?
Bake treats or special meals?
Parties?
Church/Synagogue services and fellowship?
Christmas Tree...Deck the Halls?
Volunteer or Charity Donations?
Holiday Trips?
Special Activities with the young people in your life?
Caroling?
Winter Sports?

Don't forget to consult your spouse or significant other too!  Hash out a list for the Holiday Season that is realistic and that you both can live with.

I suggest once you have a list, to go back and number the items on it so you set up a Priority system.
That way you have a clear idea of which items are more important than others and if time runs short and you find you can't do everything on that list, you know which items are the most important to accomplish in the time you have available.

Next time I'll share my Holiday To-Do List with you.
Feel free to share your List or any Questions/Ideas for me in the Comments section.

Sluggy