Enough of the Christmas badgering, I can’t take much more. My eight year old is completely obsessed with Christmas gifts this year. The thought of gifts hiding in the closet is apparently driving him nuts. He must have asked me 50 times today, what he was getting for Christmas. What was I going to put in his stocking?

When he received his allowance today, he tried bribing me. Was there a gift he could buy from me for eight dollars? No, well could he make a down payment on a gift and get it today. Was there another job he could do to earn the full purchase price of a gift? He badgered Super Dad one night for so long that Super Dad finally took him upstairs and showed him one of his gifts that was in the closet. Unfortunately, that did not calm his nerves. He keeps trying to buy that gift from me.

Usually I have all of my Christmas shopping done by the end of November and wrapped from prying eyes by now. However, I couldn’t seem to get into the Christmas spirit this year. Here it is less than a week away and I haven’t even finished shopping yet.

I couldn’t even get in the mood to decorate. The children kept asking me when we were going to put up the Christmas tree. I kept giving them nonspecific answers. They finally put up the tree, decorated it, and hung the stockings on the fireplace themselves. I guess that helped because that is when I started my shopping. Joy and enthusiasm can be contagious in a house full of children you know.

My son’s enthusiasm has helped me a little as well. I could hardly maintain a bah-humbug attitude with eight children singing Christmas carols. At this time of year, it sure is nice to have a large family around me.

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Photo Credit Julia Fuller 2006