Countdown to Christmas

Andrew is a complex boy to be sure.  At times he is an utter mystery; I have no idea what's going on inside his head.  Other times, he is as transparent as glass, hinting, smiling, eager to be the recipient of something special.  He can be a pure pessimist, claiming the inability to do anything, easily frustrated by simple tasks of life.  On the other hand, he is ever the optimist: UPS, Fed-Ex, or USPS trucks cause him to pose the same question/statement day after day after day (no exaggeration).  "Wouldn't it be great if we received a box with all of the toy NASCAR racecars?"

Being as there is now exactly 2 months (less than 9 weeks until that blessed-birthday-turned-commercial-craze), Andrew set to work writing down a list of the most-desired NASCARs.

Little does he is know that Christmas is now being reduced to a formulaic endeavor.  I've always been a year-long shopper, picking up items of interest and stashing them away for the holiday season.  Most of time they are corralled into a central location, but on occasion I have followed in my mother's footsteps of losing things then declaring in the midst of paper-tearing-mayhem, "Oh, wait!  There's one more!"

Sometime last year I stumbled upon one mother's solution to equality under the tree (all children shall have the same number of presents) and a more systematic method of shopping: 

Want * Need * Wear * Read

While all kids want a pile of shiny presents, I'm not a fan of buying cheap stuff just to have lots of gifts.  I think it's much better on many levels to concentrate on quality of construction and length of play rather than the current fad (nothing's worse than the exciting gift that immediately breaks, leaving you holding a bunch of useless plastic).

With this, child gets item of great desire, but I don't have to feel bad about gifting something that's needed.  Clothes are always useful (pjs, anyone?), and good books are always appreciated.

"I don't get around much anymore" to hit the clearance racks of nifty stores, but when I do stumble across interesting items, I can match it up with the checklist.  (NASCAR falls into the "Want" category).  So far, Andrew is covered at 100%; Stephen 100%; Matthew 50%; Jonathan 75%. 

This doesn't include my favorite part of all - stockings - but that's a whole different story!