Category: Christmas

Christmas with a toddler… Part 2

Posted on by Pints with Pops

At the age of 3 and a half, he gets what Christmas is. It was a blast. He loved the Christmas story, was fantastic at church, and you couldn’t stop him from helping everyone open their gifts. Every “white elephant” exchange, he was in the middle of. Every present, he had to have a hand in. As annoying as some of it was, it was so much fun.

Then there were the secrets. Some children are great at keeping sectets. Ours, not so much. I took him with me to get my wife’s present, a new necklace. I always go to Kay Jewelers. They sell stuffed animals to support St. Jude Children’s Hospital, so he got a new “stuffy”. This was my ploy. Get him a new stuffy and he won’t talk about mom’s gift. When we got home I told him to hide his new stuffy so mom wouldn’t see, knowing full well he wouldn’t keep that secret. Mom got home, “you see my new stuffy?” I tried to deflect with a “new” stuffy he brought out his bedroom. He proceeded with “no, behind the tree, my new stuffy!” Dad fail. But, no mention of the necklace. Winning!

Christmas Eve we pick him up from my parent’s house to go to my wife’s family’s Christmas. He sees mom and the first question he asks “why you no wear your new necklace?” Me, face in palm, ugh. Can’t take that child anywhere.

We get to my in law’s house, “grandma, you like your new wine opener?” Face in palm again. Buddy, come on, we’re not even in the house yet.

Then there were everyone else’s presents. “Me help you open?” And again, “me help you open?” Everyone was nice and let him help. But, how annoying? And this is my kid! I just want to open my presents by myself. Is it so hard to listen.

Yes. Yes it is too hard to listen. Every… single… present.

What a fun Christmas. I hope you were able to enjoy yours as we were ours.

Merry Cristmas and Happy New Year!

Christmas Season with a 3 Year Old

Posted on by Pints with Pops
We’ve had a fun holiday season so far and are looking forward to the next week and a half getting to spend some quality time with family and friends.
As the Christmas season came into focus Layton found his book about the story of Christmas and Jesus’s birth, so we’ve spent lots of time reading that, many times it’s been read 3 or 4 times continuously. With that he also found his book about the story of Easter. So if you’re reading about Jesus’s birth you might as well read about Jesus’s death at the same time. This led to a more interesting conversation about Jesus coming back after he was buried. The conversation turned to Layton asking about Jesus coming back and that it was Jesus’s spirit. This led to Layton asking about Jesus’s body and “how he poop with no body”? The minds of toddlers are amazing.
Attention: Potential Santa spoiler. Stop reading if you are age 137 years or younger and do not wish to read Santa spoilers.
On the other end of the spectrum, Layton has been rather easy on Santa this year. He’s kept his request the same from the first ask through today. So Santa and his helpers haven’t had to pivot mid-season. It is also a reasonable ask so we are hopeful Santa can deliver. We are also of the mindset that mom and dad will step in for any “big” gifts and requests to Santa should remain modest as he needs to deliver to all the children and may be stretched too thin if he has to bring “big” gifts to everyone. Layton had three visits with Santa this year. Visits two and three were impromptu encounters. The second visit was a little sketchy and flirted with disaster. Layton got up on Santa’s lap and Santa asked Layton’s name. Layton responded “I tell you last week”. Ok, this should be interesting. My wife stepped in and informed Santa of his name. Then Santa asked what he would like for Christmas, same response, “I tell you last week”. Santa was at a loss. Again, my wife stepped in and got Layton and Santa out of what could have turned into an ugly situation. Layton asked after “why Santa not remember”? Again, props to my wife, she explained that there are millions of children that Santa talks to and he needs help remembering who each child is and what they want, that’s why he checks his list twice. He accepted that explanation, crisis averted… for this year. Consider this my apology in advance if my child ruins Santa for your children in any way now or in the future. He’s apparently too smart for his own good.

End of spoiler, continue reading.

With that, I hope you are able to take time to be with those who matter most to you. I hope you can embrace the time you have with your family and loved ones no matter how short the visit may be. I know, as you all do, this can be a stressful time of year going between family visits, parties, and preparing for your own festivities. Take time to stop and pause during it all, take a breath, and give a hug or a smile. We do all of the “hustle and bustle” so we can spend time with those that matter to us, be sure to stop the “hustle and bustle” and be present for the spending time part.

Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy, Healthy New Year!