2015 Day 23 - By the Chimney

It was a different year this year by the chimney - one less stocking.

Lee had a rough year this year and is now living in extended care and requires a wheel chair, special food and assistance that we are unable to provide in our house for her.  PJ asked about whether we were setting up her stocking this year and I asked him what he thought and what Graeme thought.  Neither of them thought we should put it out which feels really awkward and sad, but I guess if she isn't coming over, it makes sense.

We all missed her in our Christmas celebrations this year.

2014 Day 23 - By the Chimney

Today is all about Santa's gifts - we have stockings down on the main floor and gifts up in the bonus room under the tree.  It takes me about 30-45 minutes to get everything into stockings and under the tree on Christmas eve.  

On Christmas morning, we come downstairs to see if Santa came and then we have to wait until everyone in the house is around before we open anything....and it can be a painful wait.  Thankfully Santa leaves 1 gift unwrapped so we can play with it as we wait for everyone.  Then PJ gets going at unwrapping everything....paper is flying all over.  We watch him do his so we can make sure nothing gets lost/put in the paper recycle bag with the gift wrap.

After that, he helps US unwrap our gifts - this is only the 3rd year that he's been interested in opening gifts, so to keep him occupied, he helps us too.

Then we get dressed and have breakfast and poor PJ has to keep away from the gifts under the tree while he waits and waits and waits for the grown-ups - its tough, I'm sure, but he does it!

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This year on Dec 23, PJ had a 1/2 day camp up in St. Albert - during this time, I did grocery shopping (yay)

In the afternoon I made the pizza bun sauce & more baking.

2013 Day 23 - By the Chimney

I still use the stocking I got when I was a wee girl.  My mother made it out of felt - there's a tree and presents and my name embroidered on the top.  She made an almost identical one for my brother.  She also made stockings for my father, Granny and herself.  They were plainer - just had their names on it - Dad, Mom & ME (LOL!)  The funny thing was my mother intended the ME one for her, since she made them, but because us kids figured Mom meant her...even though they called Granny MOM...so ME became Granny - which actually worked because her name was Marjorie Ellen (ME)!

We didn't have a fireplace in our house so we had the 5 stockings spread out in front of the Christmas tree.  If you look closely, you'll see stockings behind the boxes of turtles.

My Granny LOVED the stocking stuffers the best - probably because there were lots to open and most were perfumes, soaps, bath salts, bath beads...and candy...the stuff she liked best.  One year my dear cousin Brian came for Christmas and I made HIM a stocking!  Gee, I had forgotten about that, I miss him. 

I brought my stocking with me to our house and kind of "made" stockings for each for DH & MIL.  I had purchased the kiddo's (actually purchased TWO at the same time so if we were lucky enough to have another kid, they would be similar and there would be no complaining) and had his name embroidered on it.  I guess I didn't actually "make" the other ones - I purchased the stockings from Michael's and decorated them with pre-made felt Christmas shapes.  BUT...I did cut out their names on felt with my cricut.

Every year my mother says I should get myself a bigger stocking...because its so much smaller than the ones used for the others at our house for Christmas morning - but NO WAY - that's MY stocking that my mother made for me and its staying!