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Friday, December 3, 2010

Fa la la la la la Friday Fragments

Mommy's Idea

Today's Friday Fragments (graciously hosted by Mrs. 4444s) are brought to you from the retail mecca that is Strongsville, Ohio. That can only mean one thing. It's time for the annual shopping trip with my mom, my Aunt Susie and my PaPa. We're a small group this year. Only 4 of us -- and my Uncle Howie, who uncharacteristically stuck around the the mall with us through both JC Penney's and Sears, though he did have a few things to say when my mom went back to the children's department at Penney's for the third time. I'll have more to say about the trip later, but you can read some of the updates about the trip on the 4th Frog Facebook page.

Do you have a Christmas Fairy? I do -- and it's wonderful! When I came home from working a shift at a friend's store last Sunday, Annie was out in the front yard putting lights in the bushes. I went inside to find that she had hauled the Christmas tree (sadly artificial because Charlie is allergic to pretty much every tree on earth) and put it up in the family room. Mike and I had tickets to the Colts game (thanks Mark & Shannon!) and when we returned, the tree was decorated, the stockings were hung, and the nativities were in place. Thank you Christmas Fairy!

Speaking of holiday fairies, I just came across this underappreciated oldie!

I told the kids after church last week to pick a couple of tags off the Giving Tree. Charlie, bless his heart, picked the tag of an 11-year-old boy. I was happy to see that he had chosen someone like himself (at least in gender and age). Then I looked at the wish. VIDEO GAME. Crud. That's all it said. No system identified, such as Wii or Playstation, though the odds are that this child doesn't have either, and I can't buy them one. I considered one of those plug and play games, but that assumes there is a compatible TV in house and I'm not sure that's a safe assumption. So Charlie and I went to look at some of the inexpensive handheld games at Target. Unfortunately, most of those were casino or poker themed. "Here little boy, let me help you start a gambling habit..." So I'm not sure what I'm going to do. I can't afford to go buy this kid a DS, but I also don't want him to be disappointed. I considered re-hanging the tag on the tree, but it's a little late now. I'm sure I'll figure something out, but I am open to suggestions.

The boys are going to be in the Christmas pageant at church this year. Robbie wants to be the baby Jesus. This could be interesting...

Since my insomnia has worn off, I'm headed back to bed -- click here for a post I recently wrote for Fit City on the importance of sleep. In the meantime, 'tis the season for festive fragments. Find more here. Then check out other great finds at Design it Chic for Boost My Blog Friday:

BoostMyBlogFriday

14 comments:

mimbles said...

If I was faced with the "Video Game" tag dilemma I'd get a gift voucher from JBHiFi and let him choose how to spend the money himself. My mum has been involved in organising Christmas gifts for disadvantaged teens for a few years now and iTunes and JBHiFi gift cards are on the top of their wish lists.

Joanie said...

Mim has a good idea. Is there a Game Stop or Electronics Boutique near you? You cold get a gift card and maybe something small so the kid has something to open. Add a note that you didn't know what game system he had.

Kay said...

gift card idea sounds great to me!! i would rather give the kids a ball or something that would get them active and interactive with peers. my kids are doomed ;-)

i really enjoyed your christmas poem!!! that was so funny!

Karen and Gerard said...

We do our Christmas shopping at the Strongsville mall too. On Black Friday Penney's and Sears both had 50% off sales!

I used to have a handheld basketball game that was fun and ran on batteries. Maybe you could find something like that for the boy.

Stopping by from Friday Fragments. Here's ours:
http://zemeks.blogspot.com/2010/11/does-this-sound-sick-to-you.html

Unknown said...

I'm your newest follower from the Friday blog hops! Come check out my blog at: http://adventuresofathriftymommy.blogspot.com/

Have a great day!

Empty Nester said...

I vote gift card too.

I also have Christmas fairies. They will be here tomorrow in the form of college kids! Our two youngest are in college and they are coming tomorrow with some of their friends to decorate the house!

Enjoyed reading your post! I am at http://emptynest1.blogspot.com/.

Claudya Martinez said...

Is it wrong that I'm jealous you have a Christmas fairy? I mean I'm happy for you, but I want one too.

The Crazy Coxes said...

I need a Christmas Fairy! You are so lucky! That makes me sad that the 11 year old wants a video game but provided no clues whatsoever as to what kind. Bummer!
Great Frags!

Coby said...

Ditto to the voucher/gift card idea!

Your Christmas fairy sounds wonderful! What a wonderful surprise to come home to!

Kristin - The Goat said...

The Christmas Fairy, wow oh wow. I'm allergic to Christmas trees, too. It makes for a much nicer season with the lights and all on an artificial tree.

Kristin _ The Goat

Amy said...

I'd like for your Christmas fairy to visit my kitchen, please! :) I have to add that one of the angel tags at our church actually had "Wii Game" written on it, so assuming that these families don't have systems could get us all in trouble. Although I have to say I had a heavy hand in helping pick the angels we'd buy for this year...I'm guessing they have a TV, too.

Matty said...

Maybe he doesn't mean the entire gaming system, but the video game itself.

I know what you mean about sleep deprivation. I've had sleep issues most of my life. And my strange work schedule doesn't help either.

No fairy here. We do all the work.

Carolee Sperry a.k.a. The Blogging Biz Mom said...

I had a fairy, but she quit after a short while!

Stopping by a tad bit late from Friday Fragments...have a great week!

Anonymous said...

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