Christmas in October; kids version

Although Christmas is still a good 2 months away, we have started talking a little about my favorite holiday. I'm one of those people who will pull out a Christmas c.d. in the middle of summer. Ella was even dancing around the house singing Jingle Bells today. It's ok if you are rolling your eyes right now. We've never claimed to be normal people.

I may or may not have watched two Christmas movies in the past few days. I know. I'm ridiculous. This year I'm blaming it on the Eiffel Tower tree topper I saw at Pottery Barn. Pottery Barn's Travel Christmas collection is killing my "thou shall not covet" pledge.

I usually shop early because I like to actually just enjoy the month of December and not be focused on finding gifts. There are so many other fun things to do in December and it is a relief to get the shopping done. We don't exchange too many gifts, so it's pretty easy to finish early.

Currently, we are on the prowl for an indoor tent for the kids. Basically, this would be their "Santa" gift. I've been calling all over America trying to find this particular one at H&M. Bonus points to you if you find it and pick me up one. (I'd reimburse of course)

via

Ella has been obsessed with "The Nutcracker" ever since I took her last year to see the ballet. She's already asked about going again this year. Since she also really loves Barbies, I scored these below on ebay. Note: You can't get these in stores. It's an older Barbie movie, so any products have to be found on ebay or something like that. (We will also take her to see the ballet again; our church has a ballet program and they put it on for less than 10 dollars a ticket. Perfect place for little ones to experience this ballet)

She and Audrey are also getting these Holiday sisters Barbies. Another ebay purchase. I would like to point out that before I became a mom I said we would not get into the whole Barbie thing. We say a lot of silly things before we become parents. You know why we love Barbie? Because it provides hours of creativity and make believe...and that's all I care about.

Besides a few books, here is the last thing I purchased for all of them. Even Jacob loves to play kitchen/tea party. The wooden cupcakes we have are one of the most played with toys in the house. So, I decided to add these play macarons to their tea party:

via

I've also had this Madeline doll sitting in my closet for over a year thinking Audrey would like her own Madeline doll at some point. I think this will be the Christmas she will get her own. Again, another ebay purchase:

That pretty much covers the girls. I have a couple books for each child.

Then, there is Jacob. Since his main (and really only) interest is in trains and sometimes cars, I guess we could buy a few additions to the train set. I did buy him a green double decker bus because he plays with the red one so much. I couldn't find a picture to show you. Again, another ebay purchase (are you seeing a trend here?)

I'm also trying to decide which one or two of these to get to add to our Geotrax. Yes, of course that's Big Ben and the Eiffel Tower. Do you really expect anything different from me at this point?

via

via

via

To me, that really seems like a lot. I know it probably does not compare to what some kids get, but we still try to be careful. It's not even so much about the money as it is that when kids get too much, many toys will just get pushed aside and never played with. We try really hard to only invest in things that we feel like will really be played with a good deal.

How do you all do Christmas? At the moment, we are thinking of saying only one thing from Santa. Ella understands that things cost money, so I don't want her to get in the habit of asking for multiple things from Santa thinking that it is "free".

We are so excited about Christmas this year!!! It is going to be a magical one this year and for a few years after.