An Old Fashioned Christmas

We interrupt Autumn to bring this early Christmas newsflash:

Christmas is my favorite time of year. Especially now that I have kids.

I just love it!

But Nick and I decided last year that we weren't thrilled with the typical Christmas celebration.

It seemed like most gifts were destined to break or be forgotten.

Or be lost in the mountain of gifts received.

The excess and extravagance were a bit overwhelming.

So we started thinking:

"Let's have an Old-Fashioned Christmas!"

You know, the kind where toys are made of wood, and made to last.

The kind where batteries aren't needed!

The sort of Christmas where you get things like warm robes and slippers.

The kind of Christmas where stockings are stuffed with fruit, candy, and mittens.

Where books are wrapped in brown paper.

Where presents are often hand-made.

Where knick-knacks and plastic and I-Pods and Potty-Time Baby Doll seem completely out of place.

So, we're going for it.

And this post is not meant to encourage you to do the same.

Celebrate Christmas however you like!

But, if you are one of those that shops for our family, here in no particular order, are some old-fashioned gifts that our family would enjoy:

For all of us:

A nice wooden, play-quality nativity set. HABA makes a great one! So do many other companies.

Metal cookie cutters.

Books. (Someone, please, end my search for 'That Donkey'!)

A wooden advent calendar. This would be nice to receive a little early. Say, 25 days?

Those chocolate oranges made by Terry's (?). If you haven't had one, just add this to your list as well.

For the kiddos:

Lincoln Logs. For Nathan. Dad J: they have an old fashioned train station set that Nathan has been drooling over. It's part of the Old West 'series.'

A wooden abacus for Lottie.

Wooden domino set for Nathan. Or, whatever the old domino sets were made of. Stone or something. My Great Grandma Lottie had a set when I was young that we loved playing with!

Wooden puzzles for Nia Madelynn.

Clothes for the kids. Check with me for sizes and particular needs if you are going the clothing route.

Nia and Lottie request food.

A cutesy-wootsie little apron for Nia. Nothing cheesy like: 'Kiss the Chef.' Just something pretty and feminine.

For N & R:

R would like a new warm robe. How I manage to wear then out despite living in Texas remains a mystery. But I do!

N would like some of those wool socks that he wears. Some of you probably have a better idea what I'm talking about than I do. I just wash them.

Nick would also love a new pair of Chaco sandals.

I like sandals, too, but I prefer my traditional Kino's.

KitchenAid's commercial size stand mixer. Because making six loaves of bread is hard on your standard mixer. (This does require electricity, but baking is becoming more and more vintage, so I say the idea is valid.)

Get the idea?

Just think vintage.

Now, back to your regularly scheduled Autumn programming.