Have a Traditional Festive Christmas

food’s purchased, and I’ve even watched a couple of Christmas movies. I think I’m finally ready. :)

Just ordered the last two prezzies…one for Da and one for R. I purchased ingredients for and made the cheese poufs for our party at work tomorrow. I also found a few outfits in my own closet that fit way better than anything I tried on in the store tonight (and have come to the conclusion that I am built way differently than the “average” woman nowadays).

That leaves the jewelry, which will wait until I my order arrives. And will probably not take me an hour once it does.

Bring it! I am ready for the Christmas!

I have one more thing to buy for R, one more thing to buy for Dad, plus a holiday outfit to wear to the office party. Once my latest shipment from Fire Mountain gets here, I’ll finish Mom’s jewelry and get with Dad on who’s giving her what. (I’m feeling quite glowy about that…Dad was so appreciative of my efforts. :) The cards are sent, everything but the aforementioned presents are wrapped, and I’m about to make party mix and my feta cheese triangles for the office potluck (yes, we’re having two parties).

Oh, and I’ve moved the Christmas movies up in my queue…next week I can curl up in my Grinch pajamas and watch holiday movies by the light of my tree. Happy merry. :)

I went a little nuts with the jewelry making. I’ve already made Mom nine things, and that doesn’t count the in-progress projects (I ran out of a few key items and had to reorder). Oh, well…I’ll give her some and let Dad give her the rest. :)

As soon as I clean up and warm up from my trek in the rain, I will start wrapping. Pic of decked-out tree to come.

I will not say just how much I spent tonight, only that it was more than I’d intended. However, I’m also making things for Dad to give to Mom, so I will get reimbursed for those items.

At any rate, I’m done shopping for Mom. Way done. :D I have one more thing to purchase for R, a few more things for Dad, and then the office party presents ::groan:: and, of course, the cards!

I’m really excited about this holiday season. I may even need to get R to take a picture of me in a Santa hat for my avatar…that’s how excited I am.

Today I decided to look through the jewelry component catalog to get some ideas for Mom’s presents. (As I will likely be making presents both from me and from Dad, I’ve got some work ahead of me.) Boy, how things have changed since I last shopped catalogs for jewelry parts! The catalog is over 400 pages long…and it barely scratches the surface of what’s available on their website! I’m in idea overload right now. (I’ve also come up with some ideas for Dad and R.)

Which is not a bad thing, mind you.

Aside from R’s big present, I think I’m about done shopping for him. (Or so I say now, but I keep seeing things I just have to buy for him.) Still have a bit of shopping to do for Mom and Dad. Mom, of course, wants jewelry – so all I have to do is decide what I’m making, get the parts, and put them together. Dad’s harder. I’m thinking DVDs, maybe some tools and computer toys. Oh, and the hat – I got some great suggestions on where to buy hats that I’ve not explored yet. Now I just need to pinch pennies to finish the shopping…once that’s done, I can start planning the baking and decorating.

And all of this is awfully ambitious for someone who’s tied to a heating pad and medicated to the gills, but I am at least capable of online shopping.

Just bought tickets for me, R, and my parents to see the Trans-Siberian Orchestra on Dec. 20. I’d planned on taking the 21st off anyway, just because I can – seeing the show the night before will be a nice way to kick off my holiday week!

but it’s worth a shot. I want to get my dad a hat. Winter or summer, doesn’t matter – he needs something to keep his head warm when it’s cold and something to keep the sun off his face while he’s mowing the lawn. The problem is this: most hats I’ve found aren’t big enough for him. The biggest I’ve seen is XL, and those are usually tight. I’m looking for a really big hat here.

Where do you find such a beast? I’m not a hat person, so I really don’t know. I’d like to get him a proper hat, not a beanie…I don’t think he likes beanies.

_{Only the fact that I’m female and much shorter than he is saves me from the same fate, I know. Our poor mothers…}