She's Making a List, She's Checking it Twice

This is rather embarrassing to admit, but we did not start Christmas shopping or preparations until last Saturday. We have a small Christmas tree thanks to Ryan's aunt, and the red runner is out on the table, but other than that, you can't even tell it's the holidays around here.

Now Christmas is 5 days away, and I have still accomplished little.  

Buy presents
Wrap presents
Take Christmas card photo
Order Christmas cards
Send out Christmas cards
Watch Love Actually at least once (much to Ryan's chagrin)
Decorate small tree
Decorate house (stockings, wreath, tablescape, garland?)
Bake cookies for neighbors

I am headed to the mall today to hopefully wrap up our shopping in one trip (pun intended!), and tonight our cards will arrive, so we can address those and get them out in the mail tomorrow. We plan to decorate our mini tree tomorrow, and hopefully holiday up the rest of the house while we are at it. Tomorrow and Thursday I plan to bake away, and then Friday I will wrap every one's gifts and we will deliver cookies to the neighbors.

I am more than a little sad that we won't be getting a full sized tree this year, but I don't think we have the time to find and decorate a large tree that we will only enjoy for a week or so. However, I am trying to channel my disappointment into thinking about next year and what holiday traditions we want to start as a family.

I know we need to get our tree the first weekend of December, or like this year, it won't happen. We want to put up outdoor lights (which I am hoping to snag at an after Christmas sale this year), and I want to do a Christmas/winter book advent calendar with the twins. Now that I have written it down, maybe I will remember it when December rolls around next year.

What traditions do you look forward to every year? Are you a last minute shopper like me, or do you get it all done before December even begins? And the real question I want to ask, anyone else out there without a tree like us?