Best Christmas Gifts!!

I have spent the morning finishing up the wrapping! I have one gift left to wrap, and it’s for Barrett. Since he won’t leave my side, I can’t really wrap it right now!

We really don’t go “all out” for Christmas, although you know–the kids really get a TON of stuff. Most of it, the things the already need. Both older boys are getting the lounge pajama pants–they would normally just get them now, but with Christmas coming–I decided they could way a few weeks, and have something else to open. That didn’t really come out of their Christmas budget, but will add to the Christmas haul.

My boys are fanatic sports lovers. They get that from their dad. Early on I could see some of that stereotypical father/son behavior starting, and I decided it was up to me to put an end to it. How did I do that? Bonding moments. Moments with just dad and his boys. So the kids get tickets for their birthdays and Christmas. Last Monday was the Bulls game that Jake got tickets for on his birthday. The three of them got home after 10 pm on a school night, but all I heard from them all (including dad) was how amazingly fun it was. I was thrilled for them. And so with Christmas here, they will be getting another ticket to a Bulls game with dad–only dad also decided it was time to introduce his boys to his favorite sport…hockey! So hiding amidst the branches of the Christmas tree there will be tickets to the Bulls game for both boys and a ticket to a Blackhawks game. Needless to say, those two things took up the bulk of their Christmas budget–so I’m padding it with things like their basketball season at the Park District. Again, not normally Christmas, but they will open that as well.

The most important part of Christmas to me is family, and that is why there are tickets. Everything else is just fluff. Seeing these boys come home having had a great time with Dad is priceless. It’s teaching them some basic things about being a dad that I hope they can take and pass on to their kids.

As for Blakelynn, last year she got Diego tickets with Dad. She got to go last March, and I still hear about it today. It’s a memory that she cherishes as well. For Christmas she is getting a ticket to the Nutcracker with mom and Gramma Jo. Well, it might be mom, or it might be Grandpa–depending on when we get the tickets for. She will love these moments with us as well.