Christmas Prep

I'm a huge Christmas fanatic. Who isn't? But now with three children and a ton of additional family to bestow gifts upon, being thrifty is key. Thrifty - not cheap!

So I've been perusing the crafter's paradise - Pinterest - for inexpensive Christmas ideas. There are several I've found that I think I'm going to try for family and friends.

I think this will be a great teacher gift - because, yes, we are suck-ups.

For friends and extended family I think this is awesome paired with a bottle of wine:

 For some of those special girls in my life, I would love to attempt this and see if it works:

And I think I'm going to make these for the kids to hang on the tree this year:

Are there any awesome Pinterest Christmas crafts I'm missing out on? Share them with me!

Have a Christ-Centered Christmas!

I wanted to wish each of you a Christ-Centered and Filled Christmas this week! 

I hope you are surrounded by family and friends. I hope you are stuffed to the gills with delicious food and hearty laughter. I pray that the love of Christ permeates every inch of your holiday!

I will be taking a blogging break this week and will return to you in January! God bless you!

Luke 2 (New Living Translation)

The Birth of Jesus

 ¹ At that time the Roman emperor, Augustus, decreed that a census should be taken throughout the Roman Empire. ² (This was the first census taken when Quirinius was governor of Syria.) ³ All returned to their own ancestral towns to register for this census. ⁴ And because Joseph was a descendant of King David, he had to go to Bethlehem in Judea, David’s ancient home. He traveled there from the village of Nazareth in Galilee. ⁵ He took with him Mary, his fiancée, who was now obviously pregnant. ⁶ And while they were there, the time came for her baby to be born. ⁷ She gave birth to her first child, a son. She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no lodging available for them.

The Shepherds and Angels

 ⁸ That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep. ⁹ Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, ¹⁰ but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. ¹¹ The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! ¹² And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.” ¹³ Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven—praising God and saying,
 ¹⁴ “Glory to God in highest heaven,
      and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.”
 ¹⁵ When the angels had returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, “Let’s go to Bethlehem! Let’s see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”
 ¹⁶ They hurried to the village and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in the manger. ¹⁷ After seeing him, the shepherds told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child. ¹⁸ All who heard the shepherds’ story were astonished, ¹⁹ but Mary kept all these things in her heart and thought about them often. ²⁰ The shepherds went back to their flocks, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen. It was just as the angel had told them.

Jesus Is Presented in the Temple

 ²¹ Eight days later, when the baby was circumcised, he was named Jesus, the name given him by the angel even before he was conceived. ²² Then it was time for their purification offering, as required by the law of Moses after the birth of a child; so his parents took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord. ²³ The law of the Lord says, “If a woman’s first child is a boy, he must be dedicated to the Lord.”^{[a] 24} So they offered the sacrifice required in the law of the Lord—“either a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.”^[b]

The Prophecy of Simeon

 ²⁵ At that time there was a man in Jerusalem named Simeon. He was righteous and devout and was eagerly waiting for the Messiah to come and rescue Israel. The Holy Spirit was upon him ²⁶ and had revealed to him that he would not die until he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. ²⁷ That day the Spirit led him to the Temple. So when Mary and Joseph came to present the baby Jesus to the Lord as the law required, ²⁸ Simeon was there. He took the child in his arms and praised God, saying, ²⁹ “Sovereign Lord, now let your servant die in peace,
      as you have promised.
 ³⁰ I have seen your salvation,
    ³¹ which you have prepared for all people.
 ³² He is a light to reveal God to the nations,
      and he is the glory of your people Israel!”
 ³³ Jesus’ parents were amazed at what was being said about him. ³⁴ Then Simeon blessed them, and he said to Mary, the baby’s mother, “This child is destined to cause many in Israel to fall, but he will be a joy to many others. He has been sent as a sign from God, but many will oppose him. ³⁵ As a result, the deepest thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your very soul.”

The Prophecy of Anna

 ³⁶ Anna, a prophet, was also there in the Temple. She was the daughter of Phanuel from the tribe of Asher, and she was very old. Her husband died when they had been married only seven years. ³⁷ Then she lived as a widow to the age of eighty-four.^[c] She never left the Temple but stayed there day and night, worshiping God with fasting and prayer. ³⁸ She came along just as Simeon was talking with Mary and Joseph, and she began praising God. She talked about the child to everyone who had been waiting expectantly for God to rescue Jerusalem. ³⁹ When Jesus’ parents had fulfilled all the requirements of the law of the Lord, they returned home to Nazareth in Galilee. ⁴⁰ There the child grew up healthy and strong. He was filled with wisdom, and God’s favor was on him.

Welcome!!! Have Some Ice Cream!!

Oh, thank goodness you're here! I was having a hard time keeping the ice cream away from the kids! I saved it just for you.
In case you haven't heard, it's my SITS Feature Day!

It's like a birthday, only better because I get comments. But the double-fun is that my birthday (yep - the 3rd anniversary of my 29th birthday!) is on Christmas Day, so we can celebrate BOTH!
Two scoops for everyone!

If you're new to A Few Sprinkles Short of a Sundae or not, it doesn't matter, I have ICE CREAM! Just don't touch my sprinkles! I'm already short.

For those of you NOT used to my sarcasm and superfluous use of exclamation marks (!!!!), I'm Allison. I'm a Christian woman, wife and mother - both biological and adoptive. I'm an avid adoption blogger and I also strive to let other moms out there know that they are not alone in this vast world of motherhood and all the twists and turns our busy lives provide.

This is me, wild hair and all!!

And yes, that is a halo above my head! Actually, I took this pic of myself at Bloggy Boot Camp Atlanta and I had the hardest time trying to hide that darn halo. Just ask my Tribe Members - I bet they saw it!

This is my family:

 

We are made up of two crazy trombone players who met when we were 13 years old, started dating at 17, and got married at 22! We have a biological daughter, SB, and an adopted son, Mac. We also have two heaven-bound children whom I cannot wait to see one day seated at the feet of Jesus.

Now, to find out more about who *I* am, check my about me page, and please please check out My Testimony about trusting God! These both include abridged versions of our story regarding infertility, miscarriage, giving birth and fighting tooth and nail to adopt.
And if you just want to know what the best posts are, I have a tab for that, too. See The Posts You Don't Want to Miss!

Oh, you want to know why I'm A Few Sprinkles Short of a Sundae? Good question. You see, way back in 2006 I started a blog about my pregnancy. Then it evolved into talking about my baby and our quest to adopt through foster care. And then we went into the fight of our lives to keep our son both with us and safe, so that blog came down and this one - which is slightly more anonymous - came up. I called it "Mommy's Scoop." And from the scoop came being "A Few Sprinkles Short of a Sundae," to indicate that I don't have all the answers.

There is so much more that I want to say, but I'll stop here and let you explore! I hope you enjoy your stay and have another scoop of ice cream!


Follow @SprinklesofAlli




 

I'm on Facebook, too!

My Nativity Scene: Gaudy but Sweet

I love Nativities. All sweet and lovely and the picture of the Christ-child when He was born. It's a nice visual for the kids, as well, to learn what it might have looked like in that time.

Except I'm sure that Mary did not look like a 30-year-old. She was probably 14 or 15. And probably not only was she pretty naive, but also scared to death. I mean, if someone had told you you were going to birth God's Only Begotten Son and don't screw Him up - wouldn't you be freaked out? I would be. I would have been scared to touch Him - I'll be honest. I'd be afraid of breaking God's Child, especially as a young teenager.

And nativity makers don't seem to have their facts straight. The Magi, or Wise Men, did not come to Jesus et al in the manger. When they went to Herod and told him of the Child, he ordered that all baby boys under the age of 2 be killed; hence why God told Joseph to take Mary and the baby to Egypt for a time. (As said in Matthew 2.) But anyway, the Magi did not go to the manger in Bethlehem. They went to where the star stopped, over the place where the Child was. So, no Wise Men (and no record of how many, just that there were three different gifts) at the manger. Some say the arrived at the Day of Epiphany, January 6th, 12 days after the birth. Others have no idea - sometime less than two years after he was born.

But anyway, I do like the nativity because it does help the children see that Christ is the real reason for Christmas. Not gifts, not trees, certainly not Santa.

Except, I don't like my nativity. Shhh, don't tell anyone. It was a gift from my in-laws and came from Sam's Club. The reason I don't like it has nothing to do with my in-laws, I promise. It's just so big. And kinda gaudy.
And very, very breakable. Just ask the kids, because minutes after my "Don't Break the Nativity or Baby Jesus Will Cry" speech, I went and broke the nativity. Not on purpose! Shame on you for thinking that. I foolishly hung a picture above the nativity and the picture dropped, breaking an ear off the donkey, the frankincense off a wise man and (HORRORS!) part of Mary's shawl. Don't cry Baby Jesus! I fixed it!

You mean you don't have Lightning McQueen lurking in the back of your nativity? Why on earth not?

I had to clear about 985 things off the credenza to make room for the nativity. And there's still tissues, coasters and apparently a birthday hat on it. And we all know a bouquet of fake poinsettias was the back drop for the nativity, right? (On a related note: SB was very upset that we did not have a an actual manger in which to set the Blessed Characters.)

So, that's my nativity. I don't love ours, but I do love nativities. Maybe someone will read this and get me a new one. Maybe smaller and not so breakable. Anyway...that's my nativity.

This post is written following MamaKat's writing prompt: Your Nativity Scene.

I'm a Christmas Cheapie

I am an avid Christmas shopper. I shop year-round and prefer being DONE by November 1st. That doesn't always happen, but sometimes it does. I am always on the lookout for amazing deals so I can be as CHEAP as possible.

And I do mean cheap. I pride myself on being as cheap as possible. I have friends and family who go all out for Christmas. My old boss spent $500 per child - and she had 4 children! $2000 on Christmas gifts? Was she crazy?

I guess because we also have birthdays close to Christmas, my kids already get plenty of gifts. And let's face it - even as lower middle class citizens, we are richer than something like 90% of the world already. So mix Birthday and Christmas and we have plenty!

We are also very cautious to keep gifts to a minimum. Christmas is not about gifts. It's about Jesus. We give gifts to show that we love someone, and we point out to the kids that someone gave them gifts because they are loved by that person. As I've said before, we only give our kids 3 gifts on Christmas.

Anyway, I digress. I am all about being cheap. I buy things second hand or on a super good sale. Earlier this year, someone gave me an unopened Barbie - her child was not interested in them. Viola! Gift! Someone else was selling a table-top air hockey game super cheap - gift! A stack of books from the consignment store? Gift!

In all I spent under $40 for each of my children for Christmas. I am so proud of myself. It is a personal goal to be as cheap as possible for Christmas - especially with us going to Disney in January!

Santa Doesn't Come Here

I am recycling a post I did last year about this topic. My view hasn't changed, so neither has my post!

Sorry, Virginia, there isn't a Santa Claus.

I think I'm going to upset someone with this post. Oh well...

Why is it that at Christmas it's okay for your child to sit on the lap of a costumed complete stranger - one whom you have no idea where he was or what he was doing just an hour before? At any other time you would be clutching your child to you, running away from the laps of strange men like people running from a shark at the beach. And why else is it okay for said strange man to break into your house in the middle of the night while you and your children are SLEEPING? At any other time this would be a panicky situation and the police would be called.

And I don't want to hear about the "spirit of Christmas" making it okay. No. It's not fun. Imagine yourself as a 4-year-old. Mommy & Daddy are paranoid about making sure you don't go near strangers then they plop you down into the lap of one. He might be a child molester. You just don't know. And then telling that child he's going to break into your house?

There's a reason why children cry and scream when they see Santa. He's scary!

We don't do Santa at our house...but this is not (the whole reason) why we don't do Santa.
Now, I do appreciate Saint Nicholas and all he stands for. Saint Nicholas - the precursor to Santa Claus - was a Greek man and a Christian man. Nicholas was known for anonymously giving to those who had nothing. One of the most famous legends about him is when he provided a dowry for three young girls so that they could marry. He put the coins into their drying stockings hung over their fire.
In his legend, his name became the Dutch Sinterklaas (Saint Klaas). This gave way to the American Santa Claus, which roughly translates to Saint Claus (Claus being a short form of Nicholas).

So Santa was born out of the spirit of giving, which I think is wonderful. But in today's America, Christmas and Santa have come to represent the GIMME, GIMME, GIMME attitude of the world. We tend to think of Santa as a free pass to ask for and get whatever we want (provided we've been "good," which none of us really are).

We only give our children 3 gifts at Christmas. When the Magi came to see Jesus, he got 3 gifts, so that is our basis for 3. But we also do this to emphasize GIVING rather than RECEIVING. Marshall and I have worked hard to explain to the kids that we give presents to those we love as a way of showing that love. We only receive gifts because others love us.

Now, of course, we want the main point of Christmas to be Christ's birth. Not Santa & gifts. We want our children to know that while you can't see Jesus, He is there. His birth is why we have Christmas, not because we want presents. While watching Glee this week, one character said that Christmas trees were the "basis for Christmas." Um... no. I already covered trees before, but really. The world doesn't want us to think about Christmas having anything to do with Christ. I don't want to add to that for my children, Santa is a distraction.

Before we had children, we had friends (a revelation there!). One set of friends had two little girls and they said they did not do Santa. I was so intrigued and we talked at length about it. Marshall and I talked about it. We agreed.

One of the biggest reasons Marshall and I are not doing Santa in our house is that it is blatantly lying to children. Sure, it's pretend and fun, but my kids know when they're playing cowboys they're not really cowboys. With Santa, people want children to think he's actually real. I have a problem with that, purposely lying to my children. I can't do it. And if we lie about Santa, what's to keep them from thinking we're lying about God?

My kids know who Santa is. They've heard of him, but they will tell you that he's just a man in a costume. It's just pretend. They call "Santa hats" "Christmas hats," and most of the time little Santa figurines are called "Christmas men." We tell them about Saint Nicholas and how he was such a wonderful person who loved Jesus and people want to keep his spirit alive by pretending there's a Santa Claus.

Most of my friends do Santa with their children. I have told Sarah Bradley & Mac that people like to pretend he's real and to go along with it. But if she ruins it for your child, I'm sorry. But I won't apologize for for following my heart.

Felt Tshirt Appliques: Mickey Mouse & Reindeer

I'm pretty crafty by nature. I like to create things. So when I joined pinterest you know I was Ooh-ing and Aah-ing over all the DIY craft projects. It's like etsy without feeling like you have to buy something - you can just make it yourself.

So when I saw some adorable applique shirts I thought, "I can do that," and an idea was born. Off to Michael's Craft Store on Black Friday to get plain tshirts and a butt-load of felt. I'm assured by the good people of the internet that I could indeed do this with felt. Don't let me down, Almighty Internet.

I had two ideas in mind. Reindeer for Christmas and Mickey & Minnie for Disney World. I pulled up my Pinterest Pins and studied my ideas and set to work.

It was pretty simple, really, I just cut felt. I did 4 Mickeys - well, 2 Mickeys and 2 Minnies. I also felt ambitious and cut out names - SB, Mac, Mom & Dad. Then I couldn't believe I was making a shirt labeling myself as "Mom" and not "Allison."

Next I did my little reindeer - complete with pink heart bows for SB's reindeer. On a side note - do you now how hard it is to find matching/coordinating clothes for girl/boy sets? It's HARD. There's all kinds of things for girl/girl and even boy/boy, but girl/boy just doesn't happen (at least not for under $50). So I have to make it myself.

Then all that was left was to sew them to the shirts. I like leaving the edge exposed, the "unfinished" look is very in these days, so I'm told, and I like it, so there. That's what I did. A simple straight stitch finished the job and VIOLA!

Shirts for Christmas and Disney!

To Do or Not To Do?

Christmas is a year-round thought for me. I start the count-down in January. Seriously. On Dec 26 I announce that there are 364 days left until Christmas (365 this coming 12/26, since 2012 is a leap year).

So I start shopping early. I like to spread out the cost. And I like to order my cards very early and I usually send them out the week after Thanksgiving.

But this year...see...this year I'm not sure I'm going to do cards.

I know! I know! I need to! I should! I finally have a gorgeous picture I want to use!

But it's the price. $25 for cards. Then another $20+ for postage? Eek. We're approaching $50 for CARDS. Cards that people will throw away (I can only hope they will save our picture, that's why I send cards, after all, to share our pictures).

So I am thinking of not doing Christmas cards - at least not getting the fancy printed one. Maybe just a generic card with a 4x6 print in it. And maybe not mailing cards this year. E-cards for those far away and hand out cards to those we see. So maybe $15 for picture printing? I think we have generic cards somewhere (or the Dollar Store has boxes).

I'd much rather do that and save my $35 for Disney World (and yes, that is more important this year than you getting a card). Will you still love me even if I don't send you a Christmas card this year? I hope so.

Christmas

And just like that, Christmas is over. So quickly the stores tear down their decorations. So quickly the turkey or ham is devoured and cast aside. So quickly the presents that had been so carefully wrapped are now strewn about, scattered to the four corners of a room.

But the gift - the gift stays with us forever. Thank you, Lord, for the gift you give eternal. Life, abundantly.

Without it, we all would perish. But you brought us life. Wrapped up in rags one cool night in the company of donkey and sheep. Blessed is He. Blessed is He.

And that's what Christmas is All About...

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.” ~Luke 2:8-14

On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise him, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he had been conceived.

When the time of their purification according to the Law of Moses had been completed, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord”), and to offer a sacrifice in keeping with what is said in the Law of the Lord: “a pair of doves or two young pigeons.”

Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying:

“Sovereign Lord, as you have promised,

you now dismiss your servant in peace.

For my eyes have seen your salvation,

which you have prepared in the sight of all people,

a light for revelation to the Gentiles

and for glory to your people Israel.”

The child’s father and mother marveled at what was said about him. Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.”~Luke 2:21-35

And my favorite line in the entire telling of Christ's birth:

But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. ~Luke 2:19

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Sponsoring a child

This year my Bible study sponsored two little boys from DSS for Christmas. This is something so near and dear to my heart because these are children who don't have a family to call their own, and since Marshall would shoot me if I started bringing home children on a weekly basis, this is the next best thing in my world.

(I also have an idea for a Birthday ministry - remind me to talk about that later)

So we sponsored 2 little boys. The kids helped me shop for brothers A & E. Miss Amanda, Mac's old social worker, said to spend between $50-100 per child. So $100-200 total. Yeah, I wound up with over $250 to spend! I was so shocked at the generosity of the ladies in my group! They provided the funds, I did the shopping. I loved it - I went all out for these boys getting almost every item on their wish list plus some.

Then last week Miss Amanda called me up in a panic - several children had been sponsored through an organization and it had fallen through. Could I help?

Of course. She sent me info for a little girl, S. Again, I took the kids shopping. (I was thankful I didn't need to use any of my own money for the boys - I was able to put it toward this little girl.)

SB was very curious as to why these children's parents weren't shopping for them. I told her they didn't have a Mommy or a Daddy to love them. They were waiting to be adopted just like Mac has been before he came home to be with us. With tears in my own eyes, I told her more than anything these children want a family to call their own and we should be praying for them to find a family.

She said we should give them a great Christmas until their new parents could come for them. That's my girl.

So we got S all the things on her list. I actually made the decision to NOT grocery shop this week and instead spend our grocery money for S to have Christmas. We have plenty of food in our pantry and plenty of love in our home...S needs that too.

If nothing else, I hope we can show the love of Christ to these children this season. If only I knew what to do the rest of the year... I'll have to call Miss Amanda and ask her.

In leiu of a picture, I want to share this song by Stephen Curtis Chapman. He and his wife adopted three gorgeous little girls (one of whom is heaven-bound now). It's called "All I Really Want for Christmas is a Family."

Three Gifts

For Christmas we only give the children 3 gifts each. Well, 3 gifts plus their stocking, but 3 presents they will open Christmas morning.

I've had some people ask why we do this. The reason is very simple - Christmas isn't about the gifts, it's about the event of Christ's birth. I find that in many cases the idea of presents overshadows why we have Christmas in the first place.

Something I try to overemphasize is that we GIVE gifts because we love someone. We want to show to our family and friends that we love them, so at Christmas time we give them gifts. We only RECEIVE gifts because others love us and want to show that love.

Something else we also do is sponsor children through DSS. I'll post about that tomorrow. But it again drives home the idea of giving rather than receiving.

I also think only doing 3 gifts really helps keep me under a good budget and helps me from over buying. Sure I want to get my kids everything they ask for - but they don't need it. And I don't need the clutter in my house.

But why 3? Well, when the Magi came to the Christ child they brought him three gifts. Good enough for Christ - more than enough for our children.

This year both kids are getting a pile of books (I think it's like 5 or 6 each, as one gift), something for their bed (a pillow for Mac, a tent/canopy thing for SB), and an educational game. All useful, nothing I would really consider "fluff" gifts (we leave those for grandparents), and all things I think they'll love.

Top 10: Best Christmas Gifts

My "critics" seem to think I have absolutely no Christmas spirit whatsoever. Oh well. I can't please everyone and if you don't like what I have to say, you can just not read my blog. Seriously.

But I do have Christmas spirit - tons of it. Ask my Bible Study - I used "jazz hands" just the other day.

Here are, in my opinion, the Top 10 Best Christmas Gifts.

1. Anything home made by a child. Bonus points for things made of macaroni.
2. Music. Music is the universal language and everyone appreciates music. So maybe Aunt Donna doesn't appreciate your taste in music, but iTunes is always in style!
3. Omaha Steaks. My aunt has gotten in the habit of sending us some Omaha steaks and potatoes. Who doesn't love free steak?
4. Spa packages. Doesn't matter if it's only for a few dollars. Anything that will make a woman feel pretty is a winning gift.
5. Jewelry. And I mean the real stuff. My husband has been telling me for 13 Christmas's now that he started off bad when for our first Christmas he got me a diamond cross. He says topping it each year is too hard. But always a winner!
6. Pictures. Either an actual picture of the receiver's loved ones or the gift of pictures - as in a gift card to their favorite photography studio. Memories are the best gifts!
7. A book or book gift certificate. For me at least... books are worth their weight in gold. Bonus if you get someone a Kindle.
8. A new car. Yes, it's far-fetched and I doubt it would ever happen. But we can all fantasize, right?
9. A Bible. Letting someone know that God loves them is an amazing gift. Plant the seed of love and pray for it to grow! And you can never have too many Bibles.
10. Time. I don't care who you are, a date with someone you love is the very, very best gift. We put little slips of paper with prizes in our advent calendar. Each person has a slip of paper to get a "date" with each other person. Giving the gift of time is the best gift anyone can ever get.

 

Top 10: Worst Christmas Gifts

We've all gotten them. Bad Christmas gifts. From your cousin Jackie, from your Aunt Sue. I think mother-in-laws are notorious for giving bad gifts (Thankfully my mom-in-law is a great gift giver, I promise! She's like my personal scrapbook supply store and I love it.).

So I thought I would compile a Top 10 list of worst presents.

1. A Snuggie, especially one in camouflage. Unless you like camo, then the color choice would be cotton-candy pink.
2. A treadmill/exercise machine. Even if you ask for it. Because nothing says, "I love you" like telling your loved one they're fat.
3. Earrings shaped like French Fries. I had these. I loved them. Thankfully it was the 80s and I was a kid and nobody cared. But still a terrible gift.
4. A blender or other appliance. If you need an appliance, go get it. It's not a gift. Men: this is grounds for immediate dismissal by your woman. This also applies to cleaning supplies.
5. A Perfume SAMPLE. They are tiny. They are free. They are a terrible gift. Splurge the $45 and get your wife/girlfriend/mother a real bottle - even a tiny one.
6. Fruitcake. Seriously, does anyone actually eat fruitcake? One time at church we did a "fruitcake toss" game and broke ceramic Santas. (Go figure, the game was the brainchild of the lady who convinced me not to do Santa.)
7. Christmas ornaments. I love ornaments and I love getting ornaments from those I love. But giving me a Christmas ornament AT Christmas isn't always a great idea. You'll just pack it away until the next year.
8. Candy dispensers that "poop" the candy. Just don't. It's gross. Nobody likes it except for 11-year-old boys.
9. Any type of clothing that lights up. Not cool. Just not cool.
10. Pre-Packaged Lotion sets. You know what I'm talking abuot. It's $5 at WalMart (or $3 at Dollar General) and has lotion, body wash and a loofah. It smells terrible. Unless this is from your 8 year old nephew, it's a bad, bad gift.

Now, we all know it's not the actual gift that matters. It's the love and thought behind it that matters. Hopefully most people know that. But it's still a funny list! Hopefully you don't get any of these yourself this year. And if you bought one of these for a loved one - take it back and try again!

The Fat Man in Red

Sorry, Virginia, there isn't a Santa Claus.

I think I'm going to upset someone with this post. Oh well...

Why is it that at Christmas it's okay for your child to sit on the lap of a costumed complete stranger - one whom you have no idea where he was or what he was doing just an hour before? At any other time you would be clutching your child to you, running away from the laps of strange men like people running from a shark at the beach. And why else is it okay for said strange man to break into your house in the middle of the night while you and your children are SLEEPING? At any other time this would be a panicky situation and the police would be called.

And I don't want to hear about the "spirit of Christmas" making it okay. No. It's not fun. Imagine yourself as a 4-year-old. Mommy & Daddy are paranoid about making sure you don't go near strangers then they plop you down into the lap of one. He might be a child molester. You just don't know. And then telling that child he's going to break into your house?


There's a reason why children cry and scream when they see Santa. He's scary!


We don't do Santa at our house...but this is not (the whole reason) why we don't do Santa.
Now, I do appreciate Saint Nicholas and all he stands for. Saint Nicholas - the precursor to Santa Claus - was a Greek man and a Christian man. Nicholas was known for anonymously giving to those who had nothing. One of the most famous legends about him is when he provided a dowry for three young girls so that they could marry. He put the coins into their drying stockings hung over their fire.
In his legend, his name became the Dutch Sinterklaas (Saint Klaas). This gave way to the American Santa Claus, which roughly translates to Saint Claus (Claus being a short form of Nicholas).

So Santa was born out of the spirit of giving, which I think is wonderful. But in today's America, Christmas and Santa have come to represent the GIMME, GIMME, GIMME attitude of the world. We tend to think of Santa as a free pass to ask for and get whatever we want (provided we've been "good," which none of us really are).

We only give our children 3 gifts at Christmas. When the Magi came to see Jesus, he got 3 gifts, so that is our basis for 3. But we also do this to emphasize GIVING rather than RECEIVING. Marshall and I have worked hard to explain to the kids that we give presents to those we love as a way of showing that love. We only receive gifts because others love us.

Now, of course, we want the main point of Christmas to be Christ's birth. Not Santa & gifts. We want our children to know that while you can't see Jesus, He is there. His birth is why we have Christmas, not because we want presents. While watching Glee this week, one character said that Christmas trees were the "basis for Christmas." Um... no. I already covered trees before, but really. The world doesn't want us to think about Christmas having anything to do with Christ. I don't want to add to that for my children, Santa is a distraction.

Before we had children, we had friends (a revelation there!). One set of friends had two little girls and they said they did not do Santa. I was so intrigued and we talked at length about it. Marshall and I talked about it. We agreed.

One of the biggest reasons Marshall and I are not doing Santa in our house is that it is blatantly lying to children. Sure, it's pretend and fun, but my kids know when they're playing cowboys they're not really cowboys. With Santa, people want children to think he's actually real. I have a problem with that, purposely lying to my children. I can't do it. And if we lie about Santa, what's to keep them from thinking we're lying about God?

My kids know who Santa is. They've heard of him, but they will tell you that he's just a man in a costume. It's just pretend. They call "Santa hats" "Christmas hats," and most of the time little Santa figurines are called "Christmas men." We tell them about Saint Nicholas and how he was such a wonderful person who loved Jesus and people want to keep his spirit alive by pretending there's a Santa Claus.

Most of my friends do Santa with their children. I have told Sarah Bradley that people like to pretend he's real and to go along with it. But if she ruins it for your child, I'm sorry. But I won't apologize for for following my heart.

It's Beginning to Look alot like Christmas

We put up our Christmas tree last night. I love doing our tree and it's become a family tradition for all of us to help put it together.

The kids helped Marshall get the tree together...

Then we get the ornaments out...

Marshall then does the angel - simply because the tree is 6 feet tall and so is Marshall!

Here we are with our completed tree!

It's really feeling like Christmas now. I can't believe there are only 19 days left before Christmas.

So putting up our tree made me wonder why we put up a tree in the first place. Here's what the end-all, be-all of the internet says (aka Wikipedia):

The Christmas tree is a decorated evergreen coniferous tree, real or artificial, and a tradition associated with the celebration of Christmas. The Christmas tree is often brought into a home, but can also be used in the open, and can be decorated with Christmas lights (originally candles), ornaments, garlands and tinsel during the days around Christmas. An angel or star is often placed at the top of the tree, representing the host of angels or the Star of Bethlehem from the Nativity. The tradition of decorating an evergreen tree at Christmas started in Livonia and Germany in the 16th century.

The tradition of the Christmas tree as it is today known is fairly young. It was established by Martin Luther as a Protestant counterpart to the Catholic Nativity scene. Luther established the Christmas tree as a symbol of the Tree of Life in the Garden of Eden.

Huh. I had no idea. See? Here at a Few Sprinkles Short we aim to educate! 19 days until Christmas! I can't wait!

Twas the month before Christmas* *When all through our land,* *Not a Christian was praying* *Nor taking a stand.*

*See the PC Police had taken away,* *The reason for Christmas - no one could say.* *The children were told by their schools not to sing,* *About Shepherds and Wise Men and Angels and things.* *It might hurt people's feelings, the teachers would say* * December 25th is just a ' Holiday '.

*Yet the shoppers were ready with cash, checks and credit* *Pushing folks down to the floor just to get it!* *CDs from Madonna, an X BOX, an I-pod* *Something was changing, something quite odd! * *Retailers promoted Ramadan and Kwanzaa* *In hopes to sell books by Franken & Fonda..* *As Targets were hanging their trees upside down* * At Lowe's the word Christmas - was no where to be found.* *At K-Mart and Staples and Penny's and Sears* *You won't hear the word Christmas; it won't touch your ears.*  *Inclusive, sensitive, Di-ver-is-ty* *Are words that were used to intimidate me.*

*Now Daschle, Now Darden, Now Sharpton, Wolf Blitzen* *On Boxer, on Rather, on Kerry, on Clinton!* *At the top of the Senate, there arose such a clatter* *To eliminate Jesus, in all public matter.* *And we spoke not a word, as they took away our faith* * Forbidden to speak of salvation and grace* *The true Gift of Christmas was exchanged and discarded* *The reason for the season, stopped before it started.* *So as you celebrate 'Winter Break' under your  'Dream Tree'* *Sipping your Starbucks, listen to me.* *Choose your words carefully, choose what you say*

*Shout MERRY CHRISTMAS ,  not Happy Holiday!* Please, all Christians join together and Wish everyone you meet during the Holidays a  MERRY CHRISTMAS  Christ is The Reason for the Christ-mas Season!