Jingle Bells Batman Smells

It is officially that time of the year. That time when you hang the stocking with care, put up the tree and decorate while listening to Christmas music. Time for backing cookies, sending out family Christmas cards, buying tons of gifts, and family dinners.

I have to be honest...

I don't look forward to this time of the year.  It has been years since I have been excited about the holiday season. I wasn't always like that. I used to LOVE this time of the year. It was my favorite holiday....other than my birthday (Yes, that is my personal holiday).

I vividly remember Christmas time growing up. We would go out to pick out a Christmas tree on the first weekend of December.  It was alway a big ordeal in our house. It seemed like the tree would get bigger and fuller every year. My dad and brother would trim the tree in the garage while my mom would get the ornaments out of the attic and spend hours trying to untangle the lights from the year before. Then of course we had to test the light out to see if they still work. My theory is just throw them away and buy new ones...but that's just me.

Then the fun would begin. My dad would put on the Temptations Christmas CD and the singing and dancing would commence. It's amazing because I remember that we started with a record moved to the cassette tape and finally to the CD. Decorating the tree together was always fun. My brother and I would fight over who was going to put the angel on top of the tree.

The night before Christmas we would bake cookies for Santa...I don't know how he fits down the chimney with all those cookies he eats. When I was little I would have to sleep in my brothers room on the top bunk bed so that I wouldn't sneak downstairs and open presents. That didn't really work well. My brother and I had opening presents down to a science...you cut along the seam on the bottom, take a peek and tape it back up.

Then when 5AM hit...it was officially on. We would run into our parents room to wake them up and run down stairs. We would have to sit on the couch and wait until my parents got their cup of coffee. We would then proceed to rip the present to shreds trying to get them open while my dad video taped it all for evidence(I think).  Those were the days.!!

Now things are different. Once My parents got divorced Christmas was never the same. It didn't have the same feel but I still had the Christmas spirit. Once my dad passed away I think my Christmas spirit died with him. He was one of the major players in making Christmas time so special for me.

I have a family of my own and my daughter now and I want here to have to special Christmas memories that I had. So I am trying to get back into the Christmas spirit.  I'm having a hard time getting back into it partly because of me and my husband's work schedules. With my husbands new job we are having to work opposite schedules. He works in the mornings and I work mainly at night.  It is very rare that we are both home at the same time...unless we are asleep.

There are so many things that I want to do as a family this Christmas but I don't know how we are going to work things out. I am determined to make Christmas a special time of year for my family. Anyone have any tips they would like to share?