We hurled ourselves into the holiday spirit 100% yesterday.
After an overnight of dog sitting, (one was a bolter, which could be a whole other post), we loaded into the van. Giant list in hand.
Being that I hadn't thoroughly thought out our morning, we inconveniently hit the road all hungry and ready for lunch. So, after barely passing go, we found ourselves in Quiznos; two blocks away. Slowed us down slightly, but even I am not crazy enough to embark on christmas shopping with 3 HUNGRY kids.
With full bellies we continued on to our first stop on the list: Michael's. The place was packed, my kids were smitten with all the shiny, prominantly displayed goods, BUT were there ever deals to be had! Woot! So with only a few 'we aren't here shopping for you' statements, a mild disagreement over who was going to be in/on/pushing the cart, and an exasperated Madison re-organizing our picks in the cart so they soothed her OCD twitches, we left there with some mega deals (A gorgeous frame, regular $60 for $14, to name one!), 4 people crossed off my list, and a few things towards others. Michael's 0 - Grove's 1.
Next up, Mayfair Mall. Specifically Toys R Us, first and foremost.
We spent what seemed like HOURS combing EVERY isle of that toy store. Touching everything, pushing every button, lighting up all we could. I kept my eyes open for ideas for a couple small people (other than my own) I'm shopping for, but the main idea was to finalize the 'Santa' letters. All three of my kids had some ideas, but I wanted to broaden the horizon a bit, and honestly possibly sway one idea that I think a particular kid would have been disappointed with. Maybe not fair, but when I'm going to buy whatever they actually want, I'd like to be sure it was an informed decision and hopefully not something that will be gathering just in the closet by New Years.
We left dazzled, worn out, thirsty and hungry (again!). Sounds like a food court stop right?! You betcha! We shared a poutine and a couple Orange Julius smoothies. Yum.
Refreshed we set out again and over the next couple hours checked out and shopped at West 49, Seeing is Believing, The Source, Aeropostale and Stitches. Plus played with the remote control tanks and cars at a kiosk, watched a young boy play a baby grand piano, evaded the giant line to sit with Santa (bad Mama?!), listened in on a group of violinists and checked out the fish in a salt water aquarium.
By the time we headed back to the van I had found several more gifts, played with everything you can touch at Seeing is Believing and bought multiple items for the christmas crackers I am making for this years dinner. Successful? For the most part, yes. Unfortunately, we had also covered biting, punching, scratching and tears too. Those parts, not so fun.
As we made our way out of the mass of cars in the parking lot, I had a crying and angry toddler and sulking tween. Haha. Good times.
Last stop on the way home was Save On Foods. I had to grab something for dinner and wanted to hit up a few of their buy one/get one sales in my efforts to load up the freezers for over the holidays. Everyone had composed themselves by then and it was a painless, and even fun at times, shop. Resulting in more than I intended to get (this always happens, doesn't it?) but a whopping 'You saved $60' at the bottom of my receipt. Again, woot! Love good deals.
Our day ended with dinner, assembling some christmasy Michael's crafts (should have read the labels more carefully, there were close to 300 pieces between all 3! Oops!), walking up the street to the most impressive christmas light display I've ever seen, popcorn, eggnog and Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer.
All in all? Crazy? Sure. Rough spots? Of course. An overall awesome day with my 3 favorite little people that had our love and christmas tanks topped up to FULL?! You better believe it.
Smiles, Be Well, Crystal
After an overnight of dog sitting, (one was a bolter, which could be a whole other post), we loaded into the van. Giant list in hand.
Being that I hadn't thoroughly thought out our morning, we inconveniently hit the road all hungry and ready for lunch. So, after barely passing go, we found ourselves in Quiznos; two blocks away. Slowed us down slightly, but even I am not crazy enough to embark on christmas shopping with 3 HUNGRY kids.
With full bellies we continued on to our first stop on the list: Michael's. The place was packed, my kids were smitten with all the shiny, prominantly displayed goods, BUT were there ever deals to be had! Woot! So with only a few 'we aren't here shopping for you' statements, a mild disagreement over who was going to be in/on/pushing the cart, and an exasperated Madison re-organizing our picks in the cart so they soothed her OCD twitches, we left there with some mega deals (A gorgeous frame, regular $60 for $14, to name one!), 4 people crossed off my list, and a few things towards others. Michael's 0 - Grove's 1.
Next up, Mayfair Mall. Specifically Toys R Us, first and foremost.
We spent what seemed like HOURS combing EVERY isle of that toy store. Touching everything, pushing every button, lighting up all we could. I kept my eyes open for ideas for a couple small people (other than my own) I'm shopping for, but the main idea was to finalize the 'Santa' letters. All three of my kids had some ideas, but I wanted to broaden the horizon a bit, and honestly possibly sway one idea that I think a particular kid would have been disappointed with. Maybe not fair, but when I'm going to buy whatever they actually want, I'd like to be sure it was an informed decision and hopefully not something that will be gathering just in the closet by New Years.
We left dazzled, worn out, thirsty and hungry (again!). Sounds like a food court stop right?! You betcha! We shared a poutine and a couple Orange Julius smoothies. Yum.
Refreshed we set out again and over the next couple hours checked out and shopped at West 49, Seeing is Believing, The Source, Aeropostale and Stitches. Plus played with the remote control tanks and cars at a kiosk, watched a young boy play a baby grand piano, evaded the giant line to sit with Santa (bad Mama?!), listened in on a group of violinists and checked out the fish in a salt water aquarium.
By the time we headed back to the van I had found several more gifts, played with everything you can touch at Seeing is Believing and bought multiple items for the christmas crackers I am making for this years dinner. Successful? For the most part, yes. Unfortunately, we had also covered biting, punching, scratching and tears too. Those parts, not so fun.
As we made our way out of the mass of cars in the parking lot, I had a crying and angry toddler and sulking tween. Haha. Good times.
Last stop on the way home was Save On Foods. I had to grab something for dinner and wanted to hit up a few of their buy one/get one sales in my efforts to load up the freezers for over the holidays. Everyone had composed themselves by then and it was a painless, and even fun at times, shop. Resulting in more than I intended to get (this always happens, doesn't it?) but a whopping 'You saved $60' at the bottom of my receipt. Again, woot! Love good deals.
Our day ended with dinner, assembling some christmasy Michael's crafts (should have read the labels more carefully, there were close to 300 pieces between all 3! Oops!), walking up the street to the most impressive christmas light display I've ever seen, popcorn, eggnog and Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer.
All in all? Crazy? Sure. Rough spots? Of course. An overall awesome day with my 3 favorite little people that had our love and christmas tanks topped up to FULL?! You better believe it.
Smiles, Be Well, Crystal
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