Christmas Holiday Fun

Yikes!  Has it really been more than a month since I last posted?  I know every year I always feel like Christmas has snuck up on me, but this year was way worse than usual.  Between the kids school projects, after school activities, baking for school parties and everyone getting a nasty cold, we didn't even start our holiday shopping until last week.

Usually by mid November I've got a list of holiday baking I want to do, at least some gifts bought, and a list of things to do while the kids are home from school.  This year I got nothing done.  No planning, no lists, and no ideas.  Of course it didn't help that the kids wouldn't tell me what they wanted.  It's a sad thing when they've reached the age where nothing in the Sears Christmas Catalogue appeals to them.

I had also hoped to have a list of outdoor related gifts to write about, but the truth is, it's kind of depressing for the kids to get gifts they can't use for five months, so the hammock tents I wanted to get them, while cool, wouldn't have been all that fun for Christmas morning.  Plus, I just get a little panicky when I think of them not being in the tent with me...

So, while I had hoped to be able to buy lots of camping related gifts, I didn't.  We got the kids new inflatable camp pillows from MEC, and they got nice sleeping pads from MEC from Chris's sister.  My parents got me a reflector oven, which I'm so excited to try.  I almost came directly home from their house and started a fire in the driveway but it was -20 and all the wood we had was buried under 2 feet of snow.  I guess I'll settle for watching videos and searching up recipe ideas.

And as for planning fun stuff over the holiday?  After two days of freezing rain, it's not looking like we'll be going anywhere.  Chris didn't really get any extra days off either, and lets face it, it's been pretty darn cold to be out on long hikes or flying down the hill on a snowboard. There's free public skating at the local rec centre for at least one hour a day (except christmas day and new years day) We took advantage of that a few times and are hoping to get up to Algonquin for a day before school starts up again.