Christmas Want Need Read Wear !

So it's like Valentines day in a few days right, and I'm gonna post on our Christmas stuff. What ? the weather FEELS like March weather so who the heck knows what month it is. My head feels like an over inflated tube going down one of the sled hills here. (might I remind you. we have NO snow) so yeah. Between the flu and this sinus infection cold crap and then the painting and the cleaning and the....ok, enough of my pitty party table for 1.

Christmas eve we set up our presents in the family room under and around the tree for the first time since Syd was a baby. We've been setting them up downstairs so that we can hide them from the kids.
J was absoLUTELY not thrilled about my new W,N,R,W tradition. She made it VERY clear that this was not her idea of a good Christmas...that it sucked...that the kids were surely going to be disappointed.....but that she would support me in my decision to do it.
:)
It was hard for her to see 1 unwrapped present(from Santa) for each child. It wasn't as bad as it looked but I can see how it looked sparse compared to years past. I mean...the babies got A sword :) ha ha

There was this one issue with Syd getting in my locked closet and finding the dry erase board that she had asked Santa for...3 days before Christmas.
Syd had mentioned that she was juggling the idea of an Easy Bake Oven. An easy bake oven JUST like the one Jan bought on Black Friday like 4 months ago because Syd had mentioned it once and so what if she changed her mind from the dry erase board and we needed one and they were sold out of every stinking store in Utah before Christmas ?! oh the pain. the anguish. the decision whether to buy or not to buy.
It was put in the garage per my request to return to the store because NO J. we are sticking with the read want wear need thing....you are NOT going to do this. stop buying stuff because you *think* they'll love it.

SO. THIS TIME. THIS ONE TIME. it worked out. We gave Syd the Easy bake from the garage  Santa (J never took it back) and we explained that we had already bought the dry erase board for her *need* and had talked to Santa about him getting her something else while she wasn't looking. whew 

They were all happy with what they got. They weren't overwhelmed. Plus remember. There are 5 of them and they each play with the others toys. (well except for Syd's stuff) So it was like getting 4 different toys. PLUS there was candy.
Syd hated the way her Easy bake smelled when it was plugged in (freshly cooking plastic) and quickly unplugged and put it away and hasn't asked to play with it since.
Nathan was the only one who commented. He said, "mama, where's my gun ?" I said, "Nate, you asked for a sword." he replied, "yeah, but a wanna gun too."
He got cowboy boots and a gun from his grandma. He was good.

(P.S. I was the mother who said I will NEVER. NEVER have guns, swords, weapons of any kind in my house. not even the guns chiseled out of wood. I made J swear that she wouldn't get them any. I will mark this down as something I said I would never do and did :)

so much violence

death

and pure evil

I do want to add that for the *wear* part of the gift.....Nathan and Ryan got dress up stuff. A knight and a fireman costume. Spencer and Cam both got watches that they wanted. What ? they wear them. :)
We still worked the categories into the wants of the kids.

After coming home from my parents house where we shared the day with my brothers and also J's mom and sister....the kids received PLENTY of fun stuff. So sitting at home at the end of the day....J agreed that anymore would have been too much.

I think we're happy with the Need Want Read Wear tradition at Christmas.