Christmas in July

The time to start thinking about Christmas is really July.

I am not suggesting that one should begin shopping in July.  For me, that’s a bad idea.  I often forget where I hide my Christmas gifts or leave them out to be discovered accidentally by their intended recipient.  But it is a really good idea to start thinking about Christmas when the actual event is a good six months away and my head is somewhat clear.

We celebrate a mish mash of holidays (religious and pagan) in late December and Santa Claus does visit.  It is not an over-the-top event.  We bake special treats.  We share a great meal with friends and family.  We attend a church service to hear my middle child sing in the choir (remarkably, the church does not burst into flames when our party enters, even though it is predominantly an atheist crowd).  We host or attend a Solstice celebration.  Santa visits and brings all in attendance a stocking full of fun stuff.  The kids each get a gift from Santa too.

We agreed upon the Santa thing early in our parenthood.  At our house, Santa brings ONE GIFT… and a stocking full of cool things.  The one thing doesn’t have to be huge.  It’s sometimes the one thing that I didn’t want to buy for my children but they REALLY WANTED.  One year, I caved and bought them Deluxe G.I. Joe gift sets.  They nearly peed their pants.

The stockings can be a real problem if I put them off to the last minute.  If I am cruising the aisles of the outdoors outfitter, desperate for something small for my husband’s stocking, I can really blow the budget.  If I think about it in advance, I can plan it more carefully, get the things that he really needs, pick up some stuff the make him chuckle, and stay within budget.

While cleaning rooms with the boys, I noticed that neither had a full deck of cards, so I put cards on the list.  They both are fighting over the limited supply of water bottles, so I put Nalgenes on the list.  My daughter has been coveting the boys’ headlamps, so I put a headlamp on the list.  My husband finally got an ipod, so I put earbuds on the list.

I do buy some things early if they are incredibly cheap and too good to resist.  I got my daughter a mini paint set for a dollar.  I found a cat butt car air freshener for my brother.  Who can resist such treasures?  I’ll hide them in the same lame spot as I do every year and hopefully I’ll still remember where that spot is come December.

But, if I make a list in July, and add to the list as ideas materialize, Christmas shopping will be a breeze.  I don’t want it to be stressful or excess, this giving of gifts.  Beginning to imagine it in July helps to make it thoughtful.