My Christmas List

It must be the music... all of a sudden today I am in the Christmas spirit. Not that I need music to get me into the mood. Shopping for Christmas also does the trick. LOL.

Anyway, I made my Christmas list for the kids a while back, I think sometime in September (I even did a little bit of shopping then too).

Now, unlike previous years, I am NOT going overboard this year. Last year was one of the best Christmases we'd ever had, and we were on a budget as Hubby had recently lost his job. So we bought the kids a few of the things we knew they would love and kept it simple. It turned out wonderfully, even Hubby had a great time and he's not really a holiday, gift crazy kind of person.

Anyway to make my list, I put together a few items I knew the kids would love, stuff that they asked for and things I know they would enjoy.

I was very careful with my selection and even revised the list a few times because I also wanted to make sure I wasn't getting them too much stuff. After I made my list, I went to a few different stores to price check and compare some items, so that when the time came to actually buy the stuff, I would know which store to go to for the best deals.

After careful consideration (and yes, I tried to even make a budget), this is what I have so far.

For Boobie:

A Bicycle. Ever since the bike I bought for him Christmas 07 pretty much fell apart, he's been longing for another. He had finally learned how to ride his bike without training wheels; had even learned a few tricks. So that is at the top of my list.

Books. I ALWAYS get my kids books as gifts. Always! So this year, he begged for the Pirates of the Caribbean Dead Man's Chest book with telescope and picture viewer (to view disks with scenes from the movie). We'd seen it a Family Dollar type store in the mall (one of my favorite stores) and I told him no, it was just too much money. At almost c7.000 colones, it kind of was a lot to spend on a book, but I put a mental note to buy it for Christmas. And so I did. I also picked up a Ben 10 book and a Shrek the 3rd book for him as well.

Shoes. Ok, I am just going off the list. This item has officially been scratched. I had wanted to get Boobie a pair of nice new Nikes for Christmas. It has been a while since he's had one and he needs a pair of shoes that are durable and also fashionable. Well, thanks to hubby, I don't have to buy him a pair anymore, at least not for Christmas because Hubby bought him a pair of Nike Shox last night...black patent leather ones. Very nice. So this space has to be filled with something from Boobies list (more on that later).

Telescope. I have been wanting to buy Boobie a telescope for some time now. I just know it's something he would love to use, even sporadically. Looking up at the moon and stars can not only be a learning experience but fun too. So I put it on the list for this year and went searching for an inexpensive beginner telescope for him as a gift. I finally found one and at a steal too. It came as set with a microscope, a very nice bonus! I cannot wait for him to break open the package and start using them both.

Nintendo Ds game. Of course! Need I say more. He can never have too many games. So he'll get at least one for Christmas.

DVD Movies. So far, on his list are Transformers Revenge of the Fallen, G.I. Joe Rise of the Cobra, X-men Origins, Hancock (he's been dying to own this movie), Batman the Dark Knight, Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince (we already have the first 5 movies) and I am Legend. I plan on getting at least a few more movies, 3 or 4 more to make it an even 10. Now, I know you're thinking that's a lot of money on movies BUT I get them for a GREAT price at the video store in Megasuper in Moravia. Great quality at just c1.000 colones ($1.73). I also bought him a case to put all his movies in.

X-Box 360 game. Since our x box is not working at the moment (have to fix it), I might just switch this out for either another DS game or a nice toy. No sense in buying something this Christmas that he won't be able to use right away.

Toy. This is pretty non-specific. There is a set that he has been asking for, but like a typical kid, I expect him to forget or turn his attention to other toys as the season draws closer. So I will most likely draw inspiration from his list.


For Princess:

Magnadoodle. She loves to draw and with this, at least she won't have to use a bunch of paper, not to mention pens (which she, in turn, uses to write on herself).

Baby Bassinet. How excited is Princess going to be to find this under the tree... a place to put her babies to sleep. When I saw this bassinet I knew I had to buy it for her. It's perfect! It's a bunk bed style crib for baby dolls. Princess will flip!

Books. For Princess, I got her two more books in the Petal Pixies Fairy collection: Daisy and Bluebell, and a Christmas book.

Camera. Every 5 minutes, Princess is telling me to say 'cheese' and trying to take my picture... so I bought her her very own toy camera. It's Disney Princesses and it's also a view finder. It even comes with it's own case.

Phone. Princess is OBSESSED with talking on the phone. She can never have too many. After buying a few cheapo toy cell phones in the past, this Christmas I have decided to loosen the purse strings a little and get her a nicer phone, complete with a few bells and whistles. I got her the Barbie butterfly phone with carry case and interchangeable face plate. She will be thrilled.

Laptop. She loves playing with Boobies old laptop. I have been meaning to get her one of her own, that works. So I put it on my mental list a while ago. After shopping around for the perfect toy laptop, I found one we'll both like. LOL. It's another Barbie item, and it comes with so many cool features, I can't even begin to list them here. One feature I do love is the piano... yes, on a toy laptop! I cannot wait for us, um, her to play with it.

DVD Movies. To be fair, if Boobie gets movies, so should Princess. On her list so far are Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, The Little Mermaid, Pocahontas, Dora, Barbie, Cinderella and Mickey Mouse. I'll have to get her a few more to even it out to 10. And she got a case for her movies as well.

Car. Yes, one of those power wheels type toy cars that run on batteries... giving kids the feeling of actually driving. Not like she needs one, but I think it would be fun for her to have... not to mention drive Fatty around in.

For Fatty:

Power Motorcycle. It seems I am obsessed with supplying my children with motorized objects this Christmas. Boobie never had one of these so it's only fair I make it up by buying one for each child now. Besides now is the time to buy them or else they'll be too big soon and miss out on a fun toy. Boy I wish I had one of these as a kid. LOL!

Barney toy laptop. Since Princess fights Fatty for every single toy, I figure it's only fair to get him his very own laptop too. He also loves playing with Boobie's old laptop, fighting Princess over who gets to play with it first, so this should come as a great gift for him. When I saw it in the store, the sales clerk was trying to sell it to me for Princess, but it was a bit young for her. After I got home, I got the idea that it would be perfect for Fatty and then he won't have to hound Princess to play with hers, because he'll have his own to play with.

Books. Fatty got a Christmas book, a counting book (never too young to learn) and a Koala Brothers book.

Piano. This was one the very first things on Fatty's list. Boobie's old piano broke a while back and I never got a chance to replace it. Well, as with all my kids, fatty loves music, so I decided a piano would be the way to go. He is going to love it. It comes with it's own little stand and a little stool. Perfect for his little body.

DVD Movies. I decided to get Fatty 5 movies. He's not really into any specific show or cartoon but he likes to watch TV on occasion. Since the other kids are getting movies, I added these titles to his list: Barney, Winnie the Pooh and Elmo. I'll figure out what else when I head back to Megasuper sometime this week.

As for the rest of Fatty's list, well I am still working on it. It's tough shopping for a soon to be 15 month old, especially when his sister has a lot of the stuff he can already use. I have a few ideas and I'll have to see what father in law decides to get him ,then I'll go from there.

Now, on to Boobie's list. Since he could write, I have been having Boobie make a Christmas list of items he wants as gifts. He knows there is a possibility he won't get any of the items on the list. More than likely, he'll maybe get one or two items from the list, so he knows not to expect too much (it's more just to give us ideas).

He has never gotten every single item he has wanted from his list. And I will keep it that way. However, when I had him make his list this year, it was thankfully very simple and less extravagant than years past (last year he wanted a real laptop AND a PSP).

Lucky for him, I can actually get him a few items from his list this year (as long as it doesn't change), since I have already gotten him some stuff from the list already. I buy according to what I know he'll like and some stuff he has on his list was already on mine.

For Christmas Boobie want:

Nintendo Dsi, Dsi games (Mario and Luigi), Transformers Revenge of the Fallen, Hancock, Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, A Bicycle, Lego City, Marvel Action figures, Ben 10 watch.

A very reasonable list. I think the only thing he won't be getting from the list is the Dsi (why bother since he has a Nintendo DS in perfect working order).

I am so excited. I just cannot wait. Of course, I'll keep blogging with updates on my list and the approaching season as it all unfolds.