Christmas 2019

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sweetpumkinpye

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Oh I don't let them get to me. I will think, plan and talk Christmas all year long and when it comes time for the Christmas season my family and I will be ready to enjoy it with less stress and more activities while the rest are stressed out still trying to figure out what they are going to, what to buy and how to pay for it.
This is exactly how I feel too. I hit the Christmas season with gifts and stockings wrapped, treats and food ready to go and feeling very relaxed and stress free. I wouldn't have it any other way.
 

sweetpumkinpye

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Mary, You could always try the CIJ get together this year and see how it goes. If you and the rest of the family miss the Christmas Eve get together you could always go back to it.
I think a Summer get together sounds like a lot of fun, you could play games and eat great food and just sit and relax without heading off to mass etc.
Let us know what you decide.
 

sweetpumkinpye

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Faye, there is a lot of eye rolling in my house too but over all the whole family love Christmas....
 

Rose94

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Thankfully there isn’t to much eye rolling in my house but than again it’s mainly DH and me, alone with youngest son who seems to only appears for meals. In college with a heavy school work load. Thankfully DH loves Christmas as much as I do and mention a few weeks ago how he is going to miss helping to shop for toys in a few years. Grandchildren are starting to become grandteens.
 

missjane

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Rose, I have to get DS and DDIL to help me with ideas for DGSs now that they are getting older. I try to buy things for hobbies/sports they are involved in or favorite player/sports team they have. It can be a real brain workout sometimes!
 

PamelaG

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Rose, I have to get DS and DDIL to help me with ideas for DGSs now that they are getting older. I try to buy things for hobbies/sports they are involved in or favorite player/sports team they have. It can be a real brain workout sometimes!
A great gift idea for the older kids is to give them an experience they will remember for a long time - concert or a sporting event tickets, a membership to a museum or zoo or other such place that they enjoy.
 

Holiday_Mom

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A great gift idea for the older kids is to give them an experience they will remember for a long time - concert or a sporting event tickets, a membership to a museum or zoo or other such place that they enjoy.

I was going to suggest this too. Another thing my teen children enjoy are the lunches out with their grandparents, doing an activity with them, or receiving gift cards to to clothing stores or restaurants that the they like.
 

sweetpumkinpye

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I was going to suggest this too. Another thing my teen children enjoy are the lunches out with their grandparents, doing an activity with them, or receiving gift cards to to clothing stores or restaurants that the they like.
I agree with the gift of spending time with the grandkids.
May I also suggest a gift from the grandparents that the kids can keep. If Grandma or Grandpa do a hobby such as knitting or wood work it would be nice to have a sample of their handiwork to pass on to the grandkids.
Maybe grandma could write a recipe book or her memories of the grandkids so that the kids have a sample of her handwriting and a book of her memories.
My kids would cherish these gifts.
 

sweetpumkinpye

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I am counting down the days too Faye. It seems such a long time to go but I know that it will be here before we know it.
 

MinnieCo

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Mary, I've hosted several CIJ parties and we've had a blast. I've posted this before, but we have theme parties. Some of the themes we've done are silly Christmas hats or headbands, a Hawaiian Christmas, and our favorite was a Mad Men theme. Each had food appropriate to the party and honestly I've not had it the past few years because my daughters grown and out of state, but my friends still ask me EVERY year if we are doing it. I do only invite the people that will appreciate it though for sure. No Bah hum bugs!

But if it's the ONLY time the siblings get together than that's definitely something to take into consideration.

I've also done a CIJ scrapbook party with my friends...that was SUPER fun. I've only done it once because I've never been able to get everyone back together again for that, but I'd do it over in a heart beat.
 

sweetpumkinpye

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missjane

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I must say I'm looking forward to having more time (hopefully!) after I retire to Christmas shop. No more having on a few limited Saturdays. I'm hoping to catch some of those unexpected bargains when I am having time to just browse.

And...days and days to wrap presents and decorate. It seems so unreal right now.
 

sweetpumkinpye

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missjane, the lead up to Christmas will be different for you this year for sure.
 

FrostyShimmer

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As Summer approaches (my least favourite season) it's so good to see people already talking about Christmas 2019!

DH was away for last Christmas, but if all goes well he'll be here this year. I'm really hoping to make it an extra special Christmas for the kids.

Aunt Jamelle - We did Disney last fall. Make sure you book those Fast Passes as soon as you can! We'd gone thinking the old system where you swipe your card and get a fastpass was still in place and didn't realize we had to book rides in advance. We had to get our tickets at the gate and didn't have the chance, so our first day we only managed to get on three rides. The girls didn't even want to go back the next day. When we went home that night we were able to book some rides for the next day and they had a much better time. Some of the really popular rides you need to book weeks in advance to get on though, so we did miss some things entirely.

We ended up paying a fortune to take them to Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party so they'd be able to get on some rides when there were fewer people in the park.
 

AuntJamelle

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As Summer approaches (my least favourite season) it's so good to see people already talking about Christmas 2019!

DH was away for last Christmas, but if all goes well he'll be here this year. I'm really hoping to make it an extra special Christmas for the kids.

Aunt Jamelle - We did Disney last fall. Make sure you book those Fast Passes as soon as you can! We'd gone thinking the old system where you swipe your card and get a fastpass was still in place and didn't realize we had to book rides in advance. We had to get our tickets at the gate and didn't have the chance, so our first day we only managed to get on three rides. The girls didn't even want to go back the next day. When we went home that night we were able to book some rides for the next day and they had a much better time. Some of the really popular rides you need to book weeks in advance to get on though, so we did miss some things entirely.

We ended up paying a fortune to take them to Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party so they'd be able to get on some rides when there were fewer people in the park.

Oh my goodness, so sorry to hear about that!!! :( Yes! I will be on my computer bright and early the morning our Fast Pass window opens!!! Probably will divvy up the list of ones to get with our travel agent - that is how we handled our dining reservations and it worked great!

We're going to Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party while there - which I am super excited about!!! :)

I'm feeling the pressure to get AS MUCH as possible ready for Christmas very early this year. I've been trying to stay very aggressive on completing craft projects meant as gifts. Will start work on Christmas Cards in the next month or so to get those done.

Disney just takes so much work - and then when we get back we'll have a big Halloween camping trip a month later - so time will FLY!

Have to keep myself organized and on task this year!!!!
 

FrostyShimmer

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Oh my goodness, so sorry to hear about that!!! :( Yes! I will be on my computer bright and early the morning our Fast Pass window opens!!! Probably will divvy up the list of ones to get with our travel agent - that is how we handled our dining reservations and it worked great!

We're going to Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party while there - which I am super excited about!!! :)

I'm feeling the pressure to get AS MUCH as possible ready for Christmas very early this year. I've been trying to stay very aggressive on completing craft projects meant as gifts. Will start work on Christmas Cards in the next month or so to get those done.

Disney just takes so much work - and then when we get back we'll have a big Halloween camping trip a month later - so time will FLY!

Have to keep myself organized and on task this year!!!!

It's okay - we still had a great trip....though we made the mistake of going in on Veterans Day and pretty much walked right out it was so busy. That one was on us though - we have Remembrance Day here, and it isn't even a day off, so we didn't think much of it.

I think the new Star Wars park will be open when you go too, so those rides will probably book of quickly. Avatar was difficult to get (we couldn't get on it), and the Toy Story rollercoaster. We ran for it when the doors opened and there was already a 2 hour wait. Frozen is hard to get on too....our kids love Frozen, but we weren't willing to wait the three hours.

Also, most rides are walk on at opening, so if you book a fastpass for first thing, you can go get on another ride first since they're good for an hour. Even Splash Mountain, which usually has about an hour wait was walk on at opening.

The Halloween Party is probably awesome. I'm extremely frugal, but I don't regret spending the money on the Christmas party at all. The parties are a great time to get on rides too. We stayed until the park closed at midnight and even DD2 managed to stay up the whole time. Something magical about riding the teacups late at night :)
 

sweetpumkinpye

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Have to keep myself organized and on task this year!!!!
AJ you are one of the most organised people I know. I think that you will manage to get it all done. A busy time ahead for you but how exciting.