I've learned a few things having a large family.
Anything that is chaotic for a normal-sized family is exponentially so for a large one. I like to have a labeled gift bag with each stocking so they can immediately put their gifts in a bag. This prevents their little breakable gifts from being stepped on. I can't tell you how many candy canes got broken.
Christmas is all about eating cookies and candy, so I can only expect rotten behavior from anyone under the age of...oh, let's say nine years old.
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| This was the best picture we got of Ian. |
Some kids weren't happy with what they got, but sorry Ian. I'm not buying you a new phone. And Daniel? You asked Santa for a drone. He brought you a drone. Crying about not getting $30 and a video game just isn't fair.
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| This is the hat that I made for Daniel for Christmas |
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| This is Daniel not wearing his hat! |
I crocheted or knitting little presents for all my kids that I knew would wear them. Genna got my Afterthought Socks. Fiona got socks and a hat to match. Daniel and younger got hats. It was fun making things.
Genevieve and Fiona got to make things too! We were gifted a special dollhouse from a friend who is moving. This house was built for her by her grandparent's friends when she was a little girl. She wrote her name in puffy paint on the roof and when her little girls started playing with it, their names were added. She would like us to add our names to hers and keep the story going. Of course! The girls painted the bedrooms, added rugs made of scrapbook paper, and built furniture out of cardboard and clothespins.
Our favorite gifts-well, mine and Mark's-were puzzles from the dollar store. I bought six. The 500 piece puzzle didn't match the cover picture, so it was really fun putting it together. Together. The kids' favorite gifts were Forza 5 for the Xbox, the Kindle, and the drone. Mark also replaced a broken RC car that Daniel got from the local Santa event. All the boys loved playing with it, but Shane blew out the wiring when he tried to modify it to run off a 9V battery and go really fast! Ha-science!
