Christmas

What an amazing Christmas..My aunt Carolyn, (the one who lost her son a few months ago) was scheduled to come up for the holiday, but fell out of her house the week before, and broke her leg and arm..She is in a rehab center and will be there for a bit. Pretty sad. She has had a brain bleed a few years ago, and is so fragile. I just can't wrap my head around her heartache this first holiday without my cousin Darren...But there was nothing we could do to get her here..
My dad is here and we decided NOT to go to the Gaylord or Church this year. It ends up getting so hectic and causes stress, so I cooked a bunch of appetizers and the girlz played in the neighborhood and we all just relaxed...I made a small meal (Wow Go Figure, I cooked!!) and then let the grownups open some gifts. The girlz opened their gifts from each other, and their gift from me..
I always get them new pjs, but this year I got them some bath stuff..We have fallen in love with LUSH, a fabulous company that makes natural stuff...So to give the girlz a treat treat for their Christmas Eve bath, I got them a bath bomb, the Christmas Eve bomb. I also got them a Silver Star bath melt..They were really tickled with this. They love finding special treats like this. What I  love is that these products are all natural and NEVER tested on animals.
I premade breakfast casseroles for the fam, and when the girlz got up, we did the grownups stockings, and let "Santa" gifts be opened...I had gotten tons of clearance stuff from Justice and oddly enough, Macy's..They had one of the best sales. I also finally broke down and got the girlz PillowPets lights. Again, on a 20% sale. I saved $14.00 dollars off of each of them..I took that savings and bought a couple of Shared gifts. I got a cotton candy machine and a couple of family games. The girlz opened their gifts and then it was time to give them their Ipads. And it was awesome. Anna wants a keyboard for hers but there are so many different kinds so I didn't get that yet. I found smart pads on ebay with free stylus' and they have been tickled with that. But I am going to get both of them some sort of carrier for them. My sister got them ITunes cards to buy them their favorite games and turns out, because they share the account, when one child buys a game, they both get it!! SCORE!!!

My parents loved the treats we bought for them. I always do those Yankee Candle car in a jar for their stockings, and also get them some sort of silly funny treats..This year I found the perfect keychains for everyone from Coach..HUGE discount at the outlet store. HUGE!
I know that I am dropping several "name-brands" on this post, but honestly I buy this stuff once a year, and have been so impressed with the savings and discounts that were offered this year. From my list of favorites, the only company/retailor/store that I wasn't impressed with was ToysRUs..They never seem to have great storewide discounts. They choose certain products and discount those..The girlz wanted Nerf guns this year and they did offer half off the second gun. So when I went there, I looked about to see what else they had on discount. The headphones were all about 40.oo, uhm no..their Ipad cases all about 40.oo  another no...and because my girlz LOVED the movie frozen, I wanted to get some silliness from the movie..They had a small selection but not enough of a savings. So I left TRU with 2 items..

The only other retailor/store that I usually go to at Christmas time is Bath and Body works..Sadly, we aren't going there as we switched over to Lush..The only product they are lacking is a hand soap for daily use. As soon as they develop that, I think they will be complete!!

We are still celebrating and enjoying family time. I am finally getting my house together and putting away things that we are no longer using..Bye Bye American Girl..You are going into the attic!
OHHHH, I finished this semester and got A's in my courses. WHew, what a huge relief. I start my next round of classes in a week, so I am gearing up for a whole lot more reading!

So happppy holiday my friends. Enjoy your time with family and friends!