I saw the photo of a poster about the “Totally Overhyped New Year’s Party” shared on Facebook a number of times this week and it made me smirk. A lot of people (not friends of mine)(and probably just people in the movies) subscribe to that particular idea of a great! New Year’s Eve. It’s possible that people who aren’t in the movies think that is an amazing-sounding night, but they’re probably 21, with no kids in tow.

As for us? We make a bunch of appetizers, rent a good movie or two, and are in bed by ten, maybe eleven. Just like every other night (bedtime hour, not the appetizers and movie stuff). The last time I stayed up until midnight for the countdown to the new year was when the year changed from 1999 to 2000 and everyone thought the world d shut down. (Yes, I am old.) That was a few years before I even had kids, but I have never been a night owl. Going to sleep after midnight ruins me.

My kids are too young to stay up until midnight right now, so we watch the East cost feed and declare 9:00 the new midnight.

What do you do for New Year’s Eve?

As I wrote about last week, my husband and I exchange gifts on Christmas Eve after the kids are nestled all snug in their beds, while visions of sugar-plums dance in their heads. (I couldn’t help it.)(Also: What are sugar-plums?)

In our early years of marriage, my husband and I would set a budget, so that we knew what we should aim for to be even and fair and all that nonsense. Yes, nonsense.

Christmas is about (Jesus, and) giving gifts that you know will make the receiver happy. We no longer have budgets and it is kind of freeing. I buy what I think will make my husband smile and he does the same. He often out-does me with the awesomeness of the gifts, but he’d tell you the same.

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We celebrate Christmas in our house, which means that there are advent calendars and Christmas concerts and Christmas Eve and Christmas Day and baking and turkey dinner and a whole lot of wonder.

Some friends of ours have turkey dinner and open presents on Christmas Eve - it stems from their European heritage - and others open everything on Christmas Day. We give the kids one present on Christmas Eve, based on my husband’s and my parallel experiences growing up. The present is always (ALWAYS) new pajamas and I hope that tradition carries on to infinity. Wearing cozy new jammies while crawling into bed to wait for Christmas morning is a huge part of the Christmas magic for me.

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The holidays are upon us! (DUH.) With the holidays comes a whole lot of presents, whether you are giving or receiving. There are wish lists and Santa letters and hints from your spouse, oh my! Oh, and those stockings to fill.

I got stuck in the big city a month ago due to a collapsing overpass (yes, really) and spent my evening there starting our Christmas shopping. Two weeks ago, my husband spent a day in the big city crossing the rest of the items of of our shopping list. Nieces and nephews? Done! In-laws of all sorts? Done! Presents for ME? Done! Last weekend, I broke my eldest son out of school so that we could have some one-on-one time, and that included spending some time in the big city shopping for Christmas presents for his Dad.

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My husband and I established a tradition when our first child was here for his first Christmas. We went to evening service, we tucked him into bed, and then my husband and I sat on the couch to exchange presents. Wine was poured, Christmas music was playing, and we got to have a date night in. We’ve done this every year since. There is the comfort of routine and the quiet of the evening before Christmas morning hits. It is one of my most favorite nights of the year, if not THE most favorite night of the year.

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I read a great post by a friend of mine about how they work the holidays, with she being Jewish and her husband coming from a Protestant background. Their different faith traditions make it so that they don’t have to decide where to spend Christmas morning. It also means that they get to expose their kids to two different sets of beliefs, and to help them to understand why they celebrate what they celebrate.

My husband and I share the same faith (Christianity)(Of the the “Jesus loves you and so do I” variety, not the “I want to judge you” variety). Having the same faith as my husband is important to me because I love that we can discuss our common faith and debate it and figure out how to forge our path. He’s also on staff at our church as the Director of Children and Families and it would be a little odd if I didn’t share the same faith.

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This coming Friday is my office’s Christmas party and the following weekend is my husband’s Christmas party. We were talking with our kids about our upcoming plans and they were asking what we did at these parties. Was Santa there? Were there presents? What did we DO?

My party is a fancy buffet dinner at a nice hotel with an open bar and always includes at least two (if not eight) people who go well over their personal limit (no, we did not share that part with the kids) and my husband’s party is a potluck dinner at somebody’s home and there is no alcohol to be seen (he works at a church).

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Thanksgiving has come and gone, as has Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Everywhere I look (and read), people have been snapping up presents for their significant other. Me too!

Um, no, not really. Though I do have a few ideas (he needs a new wallet and a watch and…maybe some underwear? DEFINITELY some underwear).

He keeps asking me what I want and my list is pretty small. An external keyboard for my (new) iPad 2, some new workout DVD’s and workout clothes, and…maybe some peripheral camera gear.

Back before we had kids we’d set a pretty decent budget for each other but we were DINKS (Heh) and now we’ve been trying to be smarter with our money. We also have a lot of “stuff” and would rather spend money on good experiences and memories.

(Sorry to get all deep there. We still like presents! Who DOESN’T?)

What are you getting each other for Christmas/Hannukah/The Holidays?

I have always eschewed Halloween, for the sole purpose that I suck at thinking of costume ideas. I am a pretty creative being but when given the task of deciding on a costume I flail and I flounder and I just give up.

Usually.

While planning for a writing/blogging conference this fall I made plans with a friend to do a team costume. I procured a black wig and, oh. Wigs are FUN. It turned out that my friend couldn’t make the costume party so I wracked my brain to see what other costume would work with my wig.

Wonder Woman.

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It’s Thanksgiving up in Canada and that means there will be a big family dinner. Siblings and cousins and (DUN DUN DUN) in-laws. (My side of the family lives far away, so they rarely come for holidays.)

We get along well with my in-laws. We don’t see them much during our every day lives but when we get together for major holidays we have great visits. I love that my husband and his siblings get along so well and that us spouses do, too. The (eight) cousins from our three families are all close in age and have a whole lot of fun together.

There is dinner and dessert and playing and a whole lot of awesome.

(There have been glitches, yes, but nothing insurmountable.)

How about you? Do you get along with your in-laws?