I packed up Rob’s gifts, then had to repack them because the box wasn’t big enough, then had to repack them because the bigger box would have been $58 to mail and it was actually cheaper to use two flat-rate boxes, and the USPS is no longer a service but a capitalist organization that gives extreme discount prices to giant businesses and passes those expenses on to small businesses and individual citizens—but anyway I got them packed and dropped them off at the post office, and this is just what it costs. That piece of Christmas has clicked into place, or perhaps it will click into place when it arrives successfully at Rob’s apartment; anyway, my part is done.
I acquired a gift and a gift bag for my annual friend-group Yankee Swap, and now the party and gift are completed, and one of the first celebrations of Christmas has been a lovely success. CLICK!
I assembled the gift box for Paul’s sister, and went out to get a couple more things because it had empty spaces, and I filled in the empty spaces, and packed it up and took it to the post office. Now the piece of furniture that was covered in shipping boxes (for my parents, for Rob, for Paul’s sister) is cleared! CLICK!
On that same shopping trip I picked up a couple things for my workplace Secret Santa assignment, so that is now assembled in a gift bag for whenever I feel like bringing it in to work (I feel like waiting until a little closer to Christmas). Not a CLICK yet, but a click in launching position.
This weekend is the drop-off for the local Christmas organization, so tomorrow’s task after work is taking all those purchased items and assembling them as specified by the organization (a surprisingly layered process, including labeled/numbered bags within labeled/numbered bags), and filling out the organization’s inventory form, and making sure I remembered to print out gift receipts for everything, and remembering to include the rolls of wrapping paper and tape, and so on. I am looking forward to this (last year I got a HUGE rush of Happy Community Feeling from it), but also I am looking forward to having all those boxes and bags cleared out of the house!
Then, let’s see. Wrapping the rest of the kids’ and Paul’s gifts, and checking to see if there are any gaps that need to be filled. One more thing each for my brother and for my sister-in-law, and then wrapping the presents for them and for my niece and nephew, and arranging to meet my brother halfway between our houses (we’re about an hour apart) to exchange bags. Going to Trader Joe’s to see if they have Kringles for Christmas morning (we got an almond one and put it in the freezer already, but I am hoping for a seasonal flavor). Putting gift cards out for various delivery people. Sorting through the piles of stocking stuff.
Is this actually getting wrapped up? I wonder if my stress always ramps up RIGHT before everything starts sorting out nicely. What are you working on, if applicable, and what still looms?
Yay! I don’t have much to buy but still find I’m late in being sorted. Here’s to the next week for getting it all done!
Pirate Ship – it gives you the same access to the discounts as the big shippers and it’s free to use. (I mean you still pay for shipping of course you just don’t pay a membership fee or anything to pirate ship). Definitely worth using and not enough people know about it!
You beat me to this! Pirate Ship – so easy, prices are very decent and you can avoid going to the USPS.
I recently tried Pirate Ship after hearing about it a few times, and it is great! Cheaper prices and no standing in line at the post office or the UPS store (if I don’t expect to see UPS soon, my UPS store has a place for people to leave prepaid packages)!
This is amazing, Swistle! Go go go!
Well. I *think* I have now met all my Christmas work deadlines so I’m hopeful that I can wrap up all the final little work bits I have left to do and finish for Christmas after Monday. YAY. Tick.
I sent our Christmas cards this week (I missed the international deadline, like every year. That’s ok. I can send an E-card if I feel inclined…) tick. I’ve finished all my work-based social engagements for December and I don’t have to travel for work again until the NY. Tick tick.
I re-realised yesterday I need to sort a hostess gift for my mother for when we stay with her (she is Hard Work and going feels a bit like a penance in some ways, hence not remembering earlier that it is just good manners…) so that still needs sorting.
I ordered my husband’s coffee subscription last night (couldn’t do that too early or the first bag of beans for his stocking might not have been fresh). Tick.
I am sad that the Christmas cracker gift I do with my school friends seems to have lapsed this year. Most of us really enjoy it, one friend does not. She proposed doing a shared recipe book instead this year which… if I’m honest, I did not want to do. It feels like more mental load to find and contribute two recipes than just to pick and wrap and post a lovely gift. And I am very specific about recipes so unlikely to actually USE someone else’s one unless it meets all the criteria of what I like…. Anyway, long story short we were split and we were polite and now we’ve left it too late for either option.
Next week is earmarked for mulled wine drinking, checking to the gift piles and adding where necessary, and wrapping.
Love this, Swistle! What a great feeling!
“I acquired a gift and a gift bag for my annual friend-group Yankee Swap, and now the party and gift are completed, and one of the first celebrations of Christmas has been a lovely success. CLICK!”
What did you give? What did you get?
Yay Holidays!
I gave a bottle of the new CHOCOLATE Bailey’s Irish Cream, plus a canister of Bailey’s Irish Cream chocolates and a box of Bailey’s Irish Cream cookies. (We are a very Wine Mom group, and the gifts are pretty often alcohol-themed.) I received a cool vintage bar set, which is amazing timing because Paul has JUST started experimenting with cocktails and had mentioned needing some supplies such as a muddler. And now we have a muddler, along with a shaker and some other things!
I don’t know of you or Paul follow Quinn Cummings. She has migrated to the tik and insta. Anyway she runs cocktail classes occasionally on zoom. They seem like a good time, I have not attended but I thought about attending the last one and forgot. I don’t drink but I thought it would be a hoot regardless. Usually she asks for a donation to the cat shelter. Sometimes someone makes a big donation and underwrites the class. Quinncummings.com
Oh the Baileys items sounds divine!
So fun!!
Our Aldi also has kringles…I don’t know if they all do at Christmas time. They have almond and raspberry. But out Hy-Vee has loads of different flavors (in case you have that store close to you, might be a Midwest store only).
It’s a great feeling when it all starts to fall into place, isn’t it?
Currently, I’m wrapping up gift buying (just about to CLICK buy). I’m still a few gift shy for a couple of people; but I’ll think about that tomorrow – so almost there in the gift department.
Next week is “bake” week (technically, unfreeze the dough I froze in October/November and throw in the oven) and (easy) candy/distribution.
Wow, that is a lot to click into place! I have to wrap and mail my brother’s presents and get one more thing for my mother-in-law. I didn’t do cards this year. Mailing stuff has gotten so expensive! Our out-of-town friend left his hoodie in my car and it cost almost 15 bucks to send it back to him! I counted that as his gift, haha!
Many, many “well done!”‘s for Swistle! That is so many important tasks that you and your family will be benefiting from! I genuinely felt inclined to clap!
Let’s see if I can mention any achievement I made. I spent 4 weeks anxiously waiting for the results on my final assignment for my final class which would bring me very close to being done with university, but was disappointed to hear that I did not get a passing grade and would have to redo it. HOWEVER, after some brief Depressed Moping, I emailed the professor in question to ask for a meeting to discuss what I did wrong, and then I PREPPED intensely for that meeting with a bunch of questions, and then thanks to the elaborate preparation I was able to ASK ALL OF THEM in the 30 minutes he’d planned for me, so now even though I still need to redo the actual paper and then probably wait another month for those results, I’m decently hopeful it’ll go right this time, and proud that I took action so quickly instead of wallowing in the disappointment.
Oh good job you! That’s hard.
Oh, that is VERY GOOD!! It can be so hard to shake off a wallow!!
I am switching to reusable sacks this year and am pleased to find that it saves time in addition to paper. I’m doing multiple bags to keep the experience the same. Santa may wrap his gift but that’s it.
Small gripe. Every year my spouse comes to me a few days before Christmas and says “what do you think we should get kids/nephew/ others?” Meanwhile it’s done. Or mostly anyway. He’s always shocked and annoyed. And it’s not like I haven’t asked for input (from the recipients and him!) this kills me, especially for the gifts we have to mail.
My husband: When are we going to your sisters?
Me: ARE…Are you kidding me? Have you not been listening for the last FOUR WEEKS?
After YEARS of me taking care of pretty much all the gifts, in just the last year or two my husband has started trotting out MORE Christmas gifts for the kids on Christmas Eve (this happened on Valentine’s Day too, when separate gift baskets arrived from him for me and the two kids). This leads to kind of busting the budget, plus he ends up a bit miffed that sometimes all my carefully-planned gifts overshadow his, and I end up a bit miffed that I could have saved some time/money/effort and gotten less for the kids if I’d known he was getting stuff.
I know my husband collaborates and plans stuff at work – why those executive functioning skills don’t get used at home puzzles me.
I have mailed all gifts to friends and family, planned meals, and written the letter that will go in the Christmas card. Cards have not arrived because I ordered them late as usual— I will be writing them next week, but since I celebrate the 12 days of Christmas I am not stressed about that.
I have zero stocking stuffers and I AM stressed about that, but I have all the gifts bought.
I did my annual “walk through the lights in the park with friends” and went to dinner afterwards and it was amazing.
I have been helping to stock a little food pantry for students at my college who are food insecure and this week I brought holiday treats (candy, drinks, stuffing, etc) and that made me really happy.
That is SUCH a nice idea to add holiday treats to the food pantry! <3
I spent an unpleasant strenuous amount of time trying to find the perfect thing for my work Secret Santa yesterday, but it is DONE and I brought it in to work with me today!
I need tablecloths for the work potluck.
All the gifts in the house are wrapped and I REALLY think I’m done shopping.
There are still a few amazon boxes out there we are waiting on delivery for but it is POSSIBLE the things in those boxes will be deemed “santa” gifts and get put out “naked” with the stockings.
I kinda want to do something small for all 17 of my co-workers, but that is optional and might or might not happen.
I have procured many frozen appetizers and I know what I want to cook for Christmas Breakfast, but that will all come together in the normal grocery procuring process.
The children (and husband) have school for three more days, but starting Thursday any remaining tasks or errands can (and will) be delegated.
We are close!
My week LOOMS. Festive looming, like a crooked Christmas tree. Sunday includes a Brownie activity that involves an unfamiliar drive and parking (ugh), Monday I need to do some fun shopping followed by a work meeting followed by Brownies decorating cookies and resulting sugared children. Tuesday another meeting, dropping party supplies at school, and going to Costco (always ack), Wednesday more unfamiliar driving and errands, Thursday multiple school parties at unrelated times plus Solstice dinner prep, Friday sneaking in errands before early release. And of course there is a layer of holiday theme dress up days for the elementary school over top of all this. Just as Jesus intended.
“Just as Jesus intended” made me snort coffee
This year is a hot mess.
Husband brought home covid almost 2 weeks ago when we were at the tail end of our kitchen remodel. Because of dust allergies, we didn’t recognize his symptoms as covid until he tested positive and by that point I was exposed (& ended up sick) as well as our eldest.
The kitchen is finished, but contents of our kitchen are still packed and filling the window seat all the way to the ceiling. I have excavated the silverware, but nothing else yet.
We finally got a Xmas tree on Saturday (fresh, hell on allergies but the kids love it), but somehow it fell over at 2:30am Sunday. Our eldest heard and woke us up; I went to investigate, saw a glitter ornament exploded, and came back to bed with no further thought. Buuuuuut, I didn’t realize the tree levered the stand over with it and dumped the water all over the freshly refinished hardwood floor. So the puddle sat there for 4-5 hours and now there’s cupping.
Husband and I both took paxlovid. He seems to be rebounding now. All amphetamine or amp derivatives are contraindicated with paxlovid so in the height of the worst mental load time of the year, I not only get to be fuzzy because of being sick, I also have to stop my adhd meds so I can barely remember my thoughts at all. I continue to be surprised when I look at my orders, because I’ve forgotten what I’ve purchased already. I *think* all presents and stockings are purchased. Wrapping however….well, that will happen later this week once the last (I think) of the orders arrive.
I’m supposed to be hosting my family on Saturday, but I’ve put them on notice that someone else may need to take over. I have at least started adding things to those shopping carts, but need to remember to finish the orders.
I did order charcuterie and pies for the extended family dinner on Xmas day. But if we’re not well enough to be around the family elders – one of whom is 99 – then I’m not quite sure what I’m going to do with that much food. And it’s an hour drive to get to the gathering, so a quick masked drop off isn’t going to happen.
I did just have the realization today that our youngest is in an aftercare program and now I have to navigate gifts for those providers. I hate having to figure out what is the “right” amount and this is why I love that we do class gifts for the teachers if families want to participate. Off to buy/print some gift cards!
I think I only have one last present to get (need to check the list), and it is wrapped and waiting for me to pick up.
OTOH, I have taken over all the meal production for Christmas up at my mom’s, which is fine except for the part where certain siblings are not answering my texts about when they’re going to be there and if there’s anything they are particularly looking forward to or particularly don’t want to see.
Fine. I am passive-aggressively not buying jellied cranberry dressing, then. You had yer chance.
Still looming is regular work-work. Christmas on a Monday messes up the idea of taking off the week before to do all the prep, and I am not enjoying the catalog that needs proofreading, nor the meetings. WHO schedules meetings the week before Christmas?! My coworkers, that’s who.
Anyway, other than that, I just need to do all the wrapping, and maybe buying 4 small gifts for my daughter’s high school teachers by tomorrow. And right now, the teens in my kitchen making cookies (“Mom, where’s the food processor attachment?” “Moooom, do we have vanilla extract?” etc.) are looming as well. They’re sweet, and I’m happy they’re here/occupied, but for the love, they need to figure it out.
I felt like updating several days later because I’ve gotten so much done! I wrote, addressed, stamped AND MAILED my cards, which is a win over last year when I had a stack of stamped, unmailed cards taunting me into February when I finally threw them away. Stocking stuffers have been purchased. I remembered to get a small gift for my daughter’s boyfriend, who will be visiting us shortly after Christmas. I got the Christmas crackers, a family tradition I also forgot last year until it was too late.
I have also done laundry, changed all the air purifier filters, and taken a load to Goodwill.
Wrapping gifts is the last Christmas thing on my list besides grocery shopping! I have a small list of things I still haven’t done but they are not Christmas related and can wait. (They mostly involve dust bunnies.)
Your absence is making me sad and nervous. I hope you are just pleasantly busy. We miss you.
Same. Hope all is well chez Swistle. X