Tag: Santa

  • Christmas Lists

    Photo by gazzat via Flickr (creative commons)
    Photo by gazzat via Flickr (creative commons)

    It is December 12th.

    Less than two weeks until Christmas and I don’t think a single gift has been purchased. Not a little one, not a big one.

    It’s not that the kids don’t have lists… it’s that Kristen and I are avoiding their lists.

    A couple years ago we decided we wanted Christmas to be about Jesus and not gift giving so we toned the whole thing down. So now we have told the kids they will get 1 big gift and a couple small gifts. But somehow that always mushrooms at the end and they end up getting a lot of little things.

    In the past I’ve had an issue with Christmas. Consumerism. Santa Claus. Baby Jesus. You know, the normal.

    This year I just don’t feel like it. Maybe its the weather here in San Diego and maybe it’s life circumstances? But the thought of heading to the mall and buying things my kids really don’t need with money I really don’t want to spend… it’s just not as appealing as it was last year.

    I know that is anti-American consumerism of me to say. But I really just want to skip gift giving in 2009.

    And yet, we will do it for the children.

    Where are my car keys? The mall opens in 15 minutes.

  • If Santa were a Calvinist

    If Santa were a Calvinist, we’d all be on the naughty list!

    For non-church folks, here is a link to help you understand the Calvinism joke. [Total depravity] Seeing that we now go to a Presbyterian church, this seemed to fit right in.

    HT to Paul R. for the idea

  • 7 days til Christmas

    Christmas PresentWith less than a week until the big day, there’s much still to do. We have the staff Christmas party tonight, the Light Force party tomorrow night, a small group party Friday night, a killer service on Sunday, and MainStreet on Monday. (We’re actually still trying to squeeze a family party in there somewhere with Kristen’s folks.) In other words, Christmas is just kicking into high gear for me.

    This year I’ve actually been into Christmas. “Into” for me means that I don’t complain about it. We’ve had our tree up for a while, we’ve gotten most of the shopping done, and Kristen has done a great job of keeping the Christmas drama away from me. (Selfishness about presents… our kids get 3 small presents from us and they think its normal and fair!)

    santaOf course, since I’m labeled the Christmas hater… I can’t be seen enjoying it too much.  Paul is a hard core Santa-hater. There was a Santa at Buffalo Wild Wings on Sunday (I thought maybe he was too drunk to drive home Saturday night, odd place for a Santa) I asked Paul if he’d be willing to have his picture taken with St. Nick. Paul told me, “I would punch him in the face and put him in the garbage!” Ah, a disciple.

    Merry Christmas! 

  • Paul’s Thougts of Christmas

    PaulPaul is 4. He is mostly into Power Rangers and otherwise lives in his own pretend world of karate chops, animals, adventures, and other play things. And while Paul rarely looks like he is paying attention in KidsTown he really learns a lot.

    Here are some things we talked about this morning:

    • When the advent calendar is over, it’s Christmas.
    • Christmas is about someone’s birthday, but not Santa’s.
    • Santa is just pretend, but Jesus is “for real.”
    • Christmas is Jesus’ birthday.
    • Why do we get presents on Jesus’ birthday? “I don’t know.” (He’s right, it makes no sense!)