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I'm late to the party, but I do give stocking stuffers and never really say who they're from  Stockings are hung, but the gifts are in gift bags.  When we have our big family (husband's side) I do little stockings for all the kids (mostly older boys now) with a little piece of money in it and my GC's are included.  These are gifts "Santa" left at our house for each of them.  No bigger from the parent's at all.  My 3 year old GD was so excited to have "real" money in her stocking.  My GS who is 10 was ho hum about it. 

Ha!  Our own children do not come with directions, so why should we (that word again) expect our in-laws to come with directions either.  Not making light of the subject or a response, but have said that same thing to my children many times - you did not come with directions, I have done the best I know how.  I would die for you, but I have had to wing it to get you where you are.

I generally put up 2 or more big trees, this year I've put a little one in the living room and a smaller one in the dining room - usually have a very big one in the DR, as well as in the sun room.  The one in the LR is decorated with all new stuff and a couple of little stockings that will have money for our great nephews, etc.  The one in the DR is decorated in my Christmas jewelry.  It looks good and I think I will do that from now on.  All of my children will be here on Thursday after Christmas and we'll celebrate on Fri night and again on Sat.  I have all their decorations in separate boxes and I intend to give the boxes to each of them to use on their own trees or to dispose of as they see fit.

I'm not doing this because I have problems with them - I just have too much stuff and I'm really going to start downsizing!  Hope we all have as Merry a Christmas we can, however we can!  We will probably be eating lunch at the Waffle House tomorrow and dinner with friends.  My thoughts will be with everyone here as we go forward.......

Don't know where you live, but I'd love for you to come clean my house!  LOL!  Hopefully, when you return from your trip, you can make things better for all of you.

I am going to give each of my children a dish that belonged to my mother and hopefully they will be reminded of her when they use them.  My mother and MIL both made quilts for their grandchildren and they both helped me make a couple of quilts.   My daughter made her husband a cathedral window quilt for his wedding gift.  My MIL got her started and wanted to help, but DD wanted to do it all by herself.  I have several quilts from my GM as well as husband's GM.  I am going to quit "storing" them and pass them along also.  I have a couple of quilts where you can still read the "feed sack" advertising on them. 

Yeah, I laughed too when I saw it!

We generally got two gifts, a piece of clothing and a doll or something to that effect.  We got fruit - 1 orange, 1 tangerine, some mixed nuts, little bit of Christmas candy and that was it.  Whenever we exchanged gifts at school I always received a box of covered cherries, which I hated with a passion.  I tried the fruit, nuts, etc., with my kids but they were not interested.  So, I by pass that little bit of my Christmas tradition.  I do like to have an idea of something they want and try to get it for them.  This year my middle son sent me a list with 3 things on it - a lens for his camera ($894), some glasses for $26.00 and some kind of cloths for electronics ($8.95).  I sent him a msg and told him I had picked 2 of those items and I was sure he could figure out the 2. 

Back to my Christmas, we did get a gift (small) from the church and maybe some fruit.  Once, a friend of my dad's brought us a big ole box of fruit and we thought we had died and gone to heaven.

Lauren, great idea.  Can you use the money to take a nice cruise or some kind of other trip that will make you happy.  You know this, but absence does make the heart grow fonder (or suppose to anyway).  Put the ball in his court and one day maybe he'll realize that he is really missing his mama and wants to talk to/see you/have your grandkids in your life, etc.  If he sees you are happy and having fun, might make him realize that it's not all about him and your DIL.  We all have our problems, some big, some small, some real, some imagined (on all our parts), but we have to pull on our big girl panties and have some time for ourselves.

This will be the first Christmas in many years that we will not have a house full on Christmas Day.  But on the Sat after, we will have ALL the kids and grandkids here!  So, we may be at the Waffle House for CD or we may stay home and make a sandwich.  Either way, we'll be looking forward to the Sat after.  We quit visiting our son in IL after a fiasco a couple of years ago, so we're all much happier.

I thought I had posted this earlier, but it seems to have disappeared.

When I give my DIL advice, I generally tell her to at least listen to me and then do what she thinks is best.  I do not give my SIL advice as he is a big, bad cop type (LOL)!

I just got a balcony room, because I will be spending most of my time at the Piano Bar.  I hear that Piano Man is the bomb!  And, he better be playing some of the country classics just for me.  And, he must know "Lady In Red" - my very favorite song.  I'm not packing a lot of fancy stuff, just a shiny top or two.  I will be lounging around most of the day, reading, having a glass or three of wine!

All I have asked for all of them to get me is the China Beach series!  They are going together and getting their dad a power blower.  We are the instant type too.  If we see it and have the money for it, we buy it.  I have coveted a pair of red cowboy boots for quite a while and finally ordered them yesterday! 

No, Pooh, it was not a miss communication with them.  They both were involved in the letter writing.  Son just assumed that I had probably ordered the wrong thing.  He is notorious for putting me down because I am the only family member who does not have a college education - but was a GS-12 in Federal Service when I retired.  I always ask for their lists and if I get it before my deadline, then I buy what they want, if not - I pick something out and we're pretty generous.  In fact, this year we are going to give each of them a substantial piece of money for their big Christmas!  First time for this for us.  I ordered exactly what was on GS's list, so that should be the end of that.  He and GD also had money put in their college funds (which will mean nothing to them right now). 

I just get tired of being put down by son.  DIL just follows his lead, but is not anything but wonderful to us.  She has never (or that I know of) said anything bad about/to us.  GS does not know us that well, because we only see him a couple of times a year and when we had him this summer it was a nightmare.  I am getting old and cranky and I'm not going to let stuff go as I have in the past.

They will be here on the 25th, so we'll see how it goes.

Not literally, but I'd like to.  A couple of weeks ago I asked my 2 adult sons to give me their Christmas lists as I do every year.  I also sent a msg on FB to my DIL and asked her to have 10 year old grand son mail me his list.  So, I get the letter (very sweet) and immediately went on line and ordered the 3 things he had asked for.  Sent another msg to DIL that I had ordered everything on the list.  Then, the next day I get a email from son who said he read the msg on FB and that he hoped I had not ordered so and so because of so and so.  I then sent him a email that I had ordered EXACTLY what was on the list and I certainly hoped that he did not think I was that stupid to order stuff out of the sky instead of what was on the list.  Then he gave me a couple of ideas about what they wanted (which was great) but the manner he wrote was very condescending, etc.  They will get the items, but next year it will be what I chose to give them.  Needless to say, his father is taking care of the items on the list. 

This is just a rant - the joys of motherhood.  On the other hand all my 3 year old GD wants is a lollipop!   That should be easy peasy to purchase.

Quote from: luise.volta on November 29, 2013, 08:23:06 AM
What a wise mom! 

Luise, she was in fact, a very wise woman.  She raised 7 children, working in a factory for minimum wage.  Back in the day, the only assistance she received was living in Public Housing.  But, she was always wanting us to be happy, educated, and looking out for each other.  That we've done, sometimes it was hard, but we always pull together when the going got rough.  My mother passed away at the age of 66 from ovarian cancer and until the end, we had better be there for each other!  Every time we get together there's always a couple of "Lord, I'm glad Mama is not here to know about so and so, as well as, oh I wish Mama could see all these little babies running around today!

When my siblings and I got married and started families, my mother determined that our Thanksgiving celebration would be on the Sat after Thanksgiving and Christmas the Sat before.  That way, each of us could be with our other families, etc.  We still carry out that tradition - in fact tomorrow is our family get together.  Neither of my sons will be here on Christmas day, so we will have a Christmas with everyone on Friday or Sat afterwards.  So, we get to have a lots of celebrations!

Hope everyone had a good one yesterday or whenever you're celebrating.