Thinking of Christmas Already

So school is starting and what does that mean????? Thinking about Christmas! yup. I have this tendency to start thinking up my lists. Lists of gifts. Lists of food. Lists of parties/events. And thanks to Steph and her handy dandy Holiday Organizer I put it all right at my fingertips. DOes this mean that I forget all of the other events in between? absolutely not. Does this mean that I have the most organized Christmas ever? double absolutely not. But it does mean that I really think through like what worked last year and what didn't. Like I am really going to do the Advent Wreath: last year came and went before I even got to the dollar store for a gold charger to put it on. And I love, love , love the idea of family devotions, preferably at dinner time. This will take me from now until December 1 to get done. What else? well, if you remember in one of my last posts I said that I will not be buying anymore toys for the rest of the year. So far so good, but that also puts a little cramp in the Christmas style, and means I need to think about other types of gifts. Which also means I may need to start making things if I decide to go a handmade sort of route.
So what is important to me this Season? My family knowing why we are even celebrating Christmas and being thankful that Jesus was born. To celebrate Advent (help! Amy, Jodi and Steph) To experience the Season: take in the Nutcracker, go to Leavenworth, make cookies, host parties, go to parties, watch Christmas movies and just make it as cozy as possible. To give back in the form of Operation Christmas Child and some other local venue. To be rested and happy when the 25th comes around.