This Santa's A'Scramblin'...

As you are aware, I shopped for the kids WAY early... and yes, it has a downside. Well, there are two downsides, actually. One is that I start to question what I bought, whether it will be liked and if I made the right choices. I need to stop this because I KNOW how much thought I put into both sets of their gifts. They are small piles (four gifts a piece), but they are all things they will love. I need to just go with it.

The second downside, and probably what leads to #1, is that Ben, being 4-1/2 a) continually sees things he REALLY likes when we are out and about. and b) has interests that continually evolving. Simon doesn't really do that yet, so thankfully, I only have one kid making me question myself.

So yesterday, we were at the really cool learning store near our house where we often go just to kill some time. Ben was wandering the aisles playing with different things while Simon pushed the cart. He spotted, on the end of aisle, this little set of preserved bugs in plastic cubes that comes with a magnifying glass to look at them with. "Oh, mommy! I really hope Santa leaves THAT under the tree. I have wanted that all year!!!"

And it's true. Every single time we have gone into that store since last January, he has pointed that out and oo'ed and ah'ed, held it, looked at at and talked about how cool it was and much he wanted it. I kept telling him to put it on his Christmas list and stupid me, I forgot about it. It's not even anything big or flashy or expensive... just a set of dead bugs, and the poor kid has been thinking about it for a year. (sigh)

There were several other things he saw in his travels through the store that he thought were really cool, so I filed them all away and came home to email the people I KNEW had probably put off their shopping until now. ;) Thankfully, two of them wanted the new list and one person chose the bug set off of it and saved me from major four-year-old letdown on Christmas morning.

Even Simon found a couple little things he liked that made me feel dumb for not thinking about them when people were asking...

So yeah, I just need to stay away from stores for the next four days or so. My shopping is finished. Everyone is getting what they are getting and that's that! :P