What I Learned This Christmas: A Holiday Recap

• Christmas is way more exhausting as a parent than it ever was before.

• $3 toys are often the most loved.

• The reaction everyone oohs, ahhhhs and laughs at is the one where your child is facing away from you so you miss it completely. (It was over the shopping cart)

• It's okay to skip putting out the milk and cookies if it means you will avoid a meltdown.

• The thing you are looking forward to giving gets no reaction. (Stuffed bubble guppies)

• Spending Christmas morning with your parents and siblings leads to flashbacks, some pleasant, some not so pleasant.

• The #1 thing I learned this Christmas? That we will be staying home Christmas morning from now on. It is way too much to lug all the presents up to my parents and then back. It's also too chaotic to have two toddlers opening presents not only from their grandparents who spoil them but their parents too.

We had a wonderful Christmas and it was fun watching V open up all of her presents but I think next year will be even better with all that I learned and realized.

Violet and I's new stockings. My idea to do patchwork with things that are important to us, nana made them come alive. She ran out of time to make Marc's but it will be ready for next year.

Violet's.

Mine.

Hope you had a wonderful holiday and that you have been able to take plenty of naps to recover. ;)