It's the Little Things

You would think that the Big Kid would have been the easier one to shop for this Christmas, but you would be wrong. Tiny Human did a far better job of expressing what she wanted than her sister did.

Tiny Human was so very happy with her quickly crocheted stuffed monster.

She didn't even mind that it wasn't completely done.

Alexis, on the other hand, didn't really know what she wanted. She hemmed and she hawed but she never really came up with much more than a few ideas for stocking stuffers. A few books, some clothes, and Shopkins.

Shopkins are this year's dumbest thing little girls can ask for, in case you didn't know. They're tiny little hunks of plastic that more closely resemble a choking hazard than a toy. They were hard to find, but I snagged some off of Amazon early in my shopping quest. Then in an act of genius, I let them be Mila's gift to Alexis.

$20 worth of choking hazards were Alexis' every dream come true.

I mean, seriously.

Alexis thanked Mila approximately 25385523498523 times and showered her with hugs.

Because of some hunks of plastic.

That Mila will soon steal and spread all over the house whenever she isn't choking on them.

The fact that Alexis was SO happy with her crappy little toys made it completely OK that we didn't have a "big" gift or her this year. She didn't ask for anything specific, so we didn't buy anything specific. Instead, I turned something that I bought for *me* into a gift for Alexis.

Guess who gets to go with me to the Maroon 5 concert this spring?

Shhhhhhh! Don't tell her that I really bought those tickets for my own benefit!

Merry Christmas, y'all. I hope it's a good one!

I Unwrapped a Couple of Something Specials

What Are The Rules, Internet?

We have previously established in this space that I have a very serious addiction to Christmas trees. Right now there are ten fully decorated trees scattered around our house. Well, OK, there are technically twelve of them, but two need to be stripped and restrung with lights because they aren't working right.

Except, there aren't really twelve of them because I seem to have acquired some rules over the years. For one thing, I only "count" a tree if it's more than four feet tall.

That seems kind of silly.

I also only count trees that are fully decorated, meaning they have to have lights and the whole nine yards.

That seems kind of silly, too.

So, that leaves me to wonder, what should count? Because if I count every single little and big tree in the house?

HOOBOY.

Related, I think the tinsel trees definitely count, but what about the ladder tree? It's my new favorite thing. BUT DOES IT COUNT.