For the first time ever we were on our own for Christmas morning. It was novel and weird and I don’t think we want to do it again (we are fans of family and hubbub) but it was also kind of nice. We slept in, had our lovely cinnamon muffins and we got to really enjoy all the gifts as they were being opened.
This year Santa was very practical. Kate asked for a massage pad and foot massager. Jill asked for a Regal movie pass. Ellie didn’t really ask for anything so we got her a really great duffle bag (so good for a college student) and a custom pair of converse. That way she got something practical yet something fun too.
I have to say, though, that the best gift was given by the girls to Allen and I. Hands down! They know how much we like podcasts so the three of them got together and made two 30 minute podcasts for us. One was called ‘Spectacular Parenting’ where they took turns sharing all the things Allen and I did as parents that they thought was great. For example:
Paying all three to babysit each other- When the girls were old enough to be left on their own (instead of with a babysitter) we paid all three of them to be good. Jill made $3, Ellie made $2 and Kate made $1. They got nothing if there was trouble!
Play together naptime – My girls had rest time EVERY day until Kindergarten. Mama needed a break!The girls would beg to play together quietly (instead of apart in their rooms)upstairs. Sisters playing together and I still get my break? Um…ok!
Broccoli Truck – Very early on we told the girls that the ice cream truck was a broccoli truck. Amazingly they never begged us for money to run out and meet it!
No batteries in the toys – I am not a fan of noisy toys. My kids were noisy enough! So the girls never knew their toys could play sounds until they saw the same toys at a friends house. That’s what imagination is for!
Quality time with each parent – The girls appreciated that we intentionally had dates or trips with them all separately.
The second episode was called ‘Favorite Traditions’ where they all talked about their favorite traditions we have as a family. For example:
Lottery tickets in cake – We like to put lottery tickets in our birthday cakes. I grew up with money in our bday cakes and, surprisingly, so did Allen. It was definitely a tradition that needed to continue. Over the years it morphed from change to dollars to lottery tickets. So fun!
Playlists – When the girls were little we started making playlists for our trips to Palm Springs. I knew that music had the power to bring back great memories so I wanted to tie fun trips to fun songs. We now spend hours together, multiple times a year, finding new music and debating the merits of songs before publishing playlists we all listen to over and over. We still do spring break and Christmas but we also have January, Summer and Fall too!
Pool Olympics – Mr. Fun loves a good competition and loves to outdo himself year after year. He and the girls would try to jump into as many different pools as they could in a single afternoon in Palm Springs. 2017 was the last year and there were over 70 pools they managed to dunk in in a single afternoon!
Christmas Card Picture – I LOVE that my girls are still so into this even though two of them now have their own colleges. We keep our process and card top secret until it hits the mail!
Birthday Scavenger Hunt and Parties – Mr Fun had scavenger hunts for his birthdays so he started making them for all of the girls’ parties too. Their friends would always look forward to these hunts. As far as the parties go, I did tend to go a bit overboard. I just think it’s so much fun to pull together a theme. Even after I told the girls that I wouldn’t be doing anything so elaborate I just couldn’t help myself.
Jill and Ellie got Kate out of school early so they could record these podcasts. They parked in a quiet parking lot and sat in the back of the car to record them. Then Jill spent quite a few hours editing them all together.
What a gift! To hear that your kids appreciate all the hard work that you put into THEM, and the giggling and stories that went along with all of the points they were trying to make…PRICELESS!!
Here are some pictures I took of Christmas morning but they were of gifts that were far less meaningful. Pretty much nothing could compare to what they gave us. We are so thankful!