Happy Hanukkah From Our Circus!

The Circus Tent

Don't you just love this time of year?! At our house, it's definitely crazier than usual. Way more shopping, more spending, more planning, more cleaning, more company, more big dinners -- just more of everything! (I know, we're not the only ones.)

I especially like celebrating Hanukkah with my little family; the few minutes we take each night to gather around the menorah, light the candles and say the blessing. Not being a very religious person, I'm more drawn to the togetherness created by this little ceremony. And I'm a sucker for annual traditions. PLUS, it ends with opening presents. But just one! Which means the girls really savor what they get. They play with it, share it and run around with it. Because it's just one. I didn't celebrate Hanukkah growing up, so it's a little unique and still new to me. I just really like it!

This year we skipped the expensive electronic gifts and put the money into "imaginative" playtime toys. Last night, the opened up this AWESOME circus tent from Land of Nod. I saw this in the catalog two years ago when we moved into the house and wanted it. Knew the girls would absolutely go nuts for it. But I waited. Where would I put it anyway? Maybe if we finished the basement? And we can't put it in one of the girls' rooms. They'd argue over it for hours!

Then I noticed that my little girls are getting BIG and the window of opportunity for these kinds of toys is closing. Fast. So, Happy Hanukkah! We hung it in the upstairs hallway, just outside of their rooms and the guest room. Neutral territory.  They loved it so much, they decked it out with their favorite toys, put on their Hanukkah-gifted pjs from the night before and went to bed 30 minutes early, so they could sleep together in their tent. That, my friend, is money well spent.

The Little Keurig - My Hanukkah Gift
 from the Hubby!

(And you can bet, I will figure out a way to make the railing and the door look like a forest. Just give me a few months!)

We also got the girls books, some clothes, Sophia's amulet (you'd have to be a Disney Jr. fan to know) and some little toys. There's another BIG gift coming for them on the last night -- I'll be sure to post it when they open it -- it requires assembly and lots of imagination.

My big gift from the hubby was this handsome Keurig coffeemaker. It's one cup at a time and also makes teas and hot cocoa. I'm not a huge coffee drinker, but I do like a hot beverage on a Saturday morning. A very perfect-o gift.

Dave's big gift is still in transit. So hopefully it will be delivered by the last night (Wednesday) to open it. It's not anything he's expecting at all -- which is sometimes the best.

Don't you just love the holidays!?