Not your average family

We are not your average family.

It's 11am on Christmas day and my children have not opened their gifts yet. In fact, my 5 year old has only asked about gifts once today, to ask if the cats needed help wrapping their present to her (she has strange ideas).

Growing up, I received an overabundance at Christmas to the detriment of the rest of the year. There were times when I did not have what I needed, like a winter coat that fit (and I grew up in Michigan). But come Christmas day, there was a mountain of wrapped packages underneath the tree. I don't even remember what most of the gifts were. I do remember complaining about receiving bath towels when I was 17 (they were "boy" colors and too small to wrap around your body). My husband is not so into the Christmas machine. He dislikes the consumerism, the music, the hoopla, the drama and all that. I do not disagree with him*.

We do not do "Santa", and we decided that before children were even a glimmer in our eyes.

This year, my kids will get about 4 gifts each. One is something they need (towels for swimming class). One is something Natalya has wanted- a sleeping bag (got sleeping bags for both of them). A couple are something to play with (cars / trucks / wood blocks for Aleksandr, wooden toy cutting food for Natalya). They each get a couple of books (one is about poop!!!). The books were all purchased secondhand and cost under $1 each. And one is more of a family gift- a giant Rubbermaid container of Legos. Some were mine as a child. Some were Mike's. Some I bought this summer at a garage sale. Our kids love blocks and we both loved Legos as children too.

I have a stocking for each child, with a few candies and a few little things like socks and chapstick and fancy bubble bath.

I'm baking homemade bread and making a birthday cake for Jesus. I'm cooking the $5 turkey I purchased around Thanksgiving.

Yesterday we visited family and exchanged gifts (ones I purchased frugally, of course, and were very well received) and had a meal together. Today we are home relaxing.

We are not your average family. I donated as many gifts to Toys for Tots as I purchased for my own kids. I donated as much food to the Mid-Ohio Food Bank as I purchased for our holiday meal and my holiday baking.

It's okay to not be average. To not get caught up in the consumerism, drama, hoopla, overspending, overeating, overindulgence of the season. There is more to Christmas. To me, Christmas is about spending time with my children and husband and our families and remembering the greatest gift that has ever been given to anyone.

*I do love National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation and the Grinch Who Stole Christmas (the cartoon version and the book). My husband could mostly do without watching those every year!