Figgy pudding and a pocket knife

We’re almost done with all of our Christmas shopping and let me tell you, it hasn’t been easy this year! Every Christmas, when I ask the kids what they want, its always the same thing – Legos, electronics, and dolls. This year I gave them a challenge. To them though, it was more of a punishment: If all the usual things were off limits, what would they put on their list? My hope is that we can get away from mindless things like video game systems and get them to think outside the box a little. So, after a few days and a little hot cocoa, I gathered all 4 of them onto my bed to help write down their list.

Here are some of the more interesting things they came up with.

Ethan- A new pocket knife is at the top of his list. His last one was confiscated after bringing it to Sunday school and the YMCA. If he gets a new one, he promises to ONLY use it when I ask him to cut open something around the house... (Cause yeah... I'm always like "Hey Ethan! Come cut open this carton of ice cream for me!")  I worry his finger will be the first thing cut open.

Logan- Hot wheel toys. Good. A watch. Fine. And he really would like some figgy pudding….

“Logan! Really? Figgy pudding?”

“Yeah Mom! I’ve always wanted to eat some figgy pudding!”

“OK, I’ll add that to your list. “  :/

Houston- Super hero guys. OK. And a puppet theater. Perfect!

Evelyn- A camera. Good. A car seat for her baby. Ok. And a collection of teeth.

*Slightly horrified* “A collection of teeth? Like ones that fell out of people’s mouths?!”

“Yeah! Or like shark teeth or something!”

“Ah…I’ll have to talk to your dad about that one.”

So really my bright idea for challenging my children to think outside the box turned out to be more of a challenge for me and Jonathan. Because where in the world am I supposed to find a collection of shark teeth and figgy pudding!?

Sometimes I wish there really was a Santa.

We have never really done the whole Santa Clause thing With our kids. We tell them that it might be fun to pretend, but when Christmas morning comes,the gifts under the tree are from us. Evelyn just doesn't want to believe it though... She KNOWS that Santa is real and every time she hears someone say that he's not, she says that they're wrong! It's pretty cute :) ..... I bet Santa couldn't find a "collection of teeth" either.