Christmas Central



Wow! Less than a week to go until the big day. All of my shopping is done. I think. I hope.

We have an extra bedroom upstairs that is basically a junk... I mean, a storage room. I call it a junk room because it's important to understand that this room is clutter and chaos. Anything that doesn't have a place eventually ends up thrown in there. By the time Christmas rolls around, we could make an appearence on one of those Hoarders shows. The annual closet, dresser drawer and toy clean-out foragings end up there and it also becomes my gift hiding and sorting room at this time of year. Despite the inherent risks of entering a room riddled with boobie traps, it's a challenge to keep the boys out of there. Steve's already visited it at least once, when he dropped off some presents for Jonas, and Jonas always seems to have something urgently important to ask me whenever I'm in there. I have to be a bit covert going in there. It's no wonder I'm a little less than confident about what I have in there.

I am no Martha Stewart. I wish I was one of those women that has her Christmas shopping done, wrapped and organized by July. I dream of having a wrapping room so I could have everything perfectly wrapped with coordinated paper, tags and bows before December starts. I long to be give people gifts where the pattern on the paper lines up like a perfect wall paper job.

My inner Martha Stewart is too far inside to have a room like this.

That's so not my me. In my world, things are more fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants. Some would call it erratic. I call it personalized.

For better or worse, we have a kid and cats. We can't put our presents under the tree too soon, for fear of a kitten attack or a peeking 8 year old. This results in piles of gifts in the junk room, sorted by the household they're going to. These piles migrate to the dining room about a week before Christmas. Right about, oh... this past weekend.

My dining room has transformed into a rag tag satellite of the North Pole. It now looks like Christmas central, with groupings of gifts on every chair and ledge. My dining room table has become an operating theatre for presents, with scissors, tape, tags and ribbons. The next phase of Christmas is upon us: The great wrapping! Wish us luck!



My helper elf

 One more thing:

Dear Santa, please don't let me forget that
Steve and Jonas's presents are still in the junk room
and need to be wrapped by December 23rd.
Please!

Cheers!