Christmas Blah

It's December 2nd and I can't quite figure it out, but I'm not feeling full of Christmas cheer. It might have to do with the unseasonably warm weather.

Growing up, there were a few times when I could go without a jacket at the beginning of December. Now it seems to be a regular occurrence. It's bizarre to live in the Midwest and not have cold weather in December.

It seems to be tricking my brain. Cognitively, I know that I'm supposed to be prepping for Christmas. The calendar says December, the ads on TV are holiday-themed, my kids are excited, etc.

The reality is that I have no compunction to make Christmas cookies. Part of that is I'm trying to lose weight. I am like a cornfield in Iowa when it comes to cookies; if I bake them, I will come...and eat them all.

So I have no strong desire to make my usual legions of delicious baked goods.

Shopping? I never like shopping, even under normal circumstances. My strategy is to make a list, grab the things in the store that correspond to that list and leave.

My kids are at an awkward age when it comes to gifts. Jeremy and Bekah want a merry-go-round for Christmas. I have asked for clarification on this gift many times. I tried to explain that our yard isn't big enough for a merry-go-round (or a tree house, the other request they've had).

They have a nascent belief in Santa. They don't quite understand how the whole thing works. As soon as the tree went up, they started checking on a daily basis to see if Santa had brought gifts.

I've tried, futilely, to explain that Santa only comes on Christmas Eve. They don't really understand the calendar, either, so it's all kind of tricky. Cute, but tricky.

I want to keep the present count to 3 per child. This makes things even trickier. It's my strong desire that my kids not be overcome with consumerism.

The purchases, then, have to be strategic. An anonymous donor left two bags worth of toys on our front stoop last year. I still have some of those toys left and have handed them out judiciously at friends' birthday parties.

I have a 2 gifts for Doug, one for Jeremy and none for Bekah. I have some ideas but am unsure about how I'm going to pull it all off.

This makes Christmas stressful, not joyful. The saving grace is that Brian and I have not exchanges gifts for several years. Grandparents gifts are done and my brother isn't really expecting anything.

I am hopeful that, as the month wears on, my spirit-o-meter fills up. Cause I gotta say, I've never been one for "Blah Humbug"; let's hope this year isn't the first.