Ok, so I know that the upcoming season is not really about giving or getting gifts. I know that the TRUE reason for the season is the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ…but I can’t help but love it for many other reasons. It is such a glorious time, truly, by far my favorite time of year (next to Fall). I always get the blues a bit after New Year’s – I just adore decorating, picking out the perfect gift for your loved one, winter-scented candles – the works. I grew up in a very Christmas-centric family. Every year, for as long as I can remember, Santa’s left goodies under the tree. Milk and cookies were put out, even though we knew my Dad was the one to blame for the empty plate the next morning. We always hung stockings, and let’s not forget the freshly baked cinnamon rolls and hearty breakfast my Mom always made for us after the excitement of present-opening was done.Since Vann and I have been married, we’ve continued some of these traditions, stockings for one. We each get a budget and the challenge is to find all of those little, fun, unexpected goodies that you know will make each other smile. We’ve done bigger gifts as well: last year, in the heat of learning how to breastfeed and battling through those first sleepless nights (in an apartment that was way too small for our growing family), “Santa” surprised me with the most beautiful Louis Vuitton bag. It was such a special gift, a once in a blue moon sort of thing, painstakingly picked out by my caring hubby. I think he knew what our 2010 would look like – a Louis bag is certainly not going to be in Santa’s sleigh this year! And of course that’s ok. I find that I’m having a difficult time accepting that I won’t be able to do all of the things I want to do this year: replace our slim, apartment-sized tree with a bigger tree, buy all sorts of seasonal items to decorate our home, hang lights on the outside – these are just a few. I think it might be more prudent to pay off our appliances first. Boo.So as I sit here and think about my Christmas list (yes, I know I’m 32 but I still make one and probably always will – my love language is gifts, by the way) I’m trying to figure out which way to go.Cash is always nice. What person doesn’t want a little extra spending money around the holidays? Maybe I can ask Santa to call Sears and tell them to stop sending us bills? Do you think he’d just write them a check? I admit it’d help me sleep better at night. Or how ‘bout paying off the rest of what we owe on our car? I think that’s somewhere around $5,000. Do you think Santa has that kind of money?But I digress.There do happen to be a few small things that I’d like, but I’m still mulling it over. I keep telling myself that what we can’t do this year, hopefully we can make up for next year. And I guess the girls won’t really understand if Santa only brings them one gift vs. the three that I had decided would be “the” number (because, after all, if it’s good enough for Baby Jesus, it’s good enough for them)…Maybe my letter to Santa should read like this:Dear Santa,Can we just be frank?? Will you please erase the memory of our horrific move (emotionally and financially) and just let me go ahead and hang all the garland I want to this Christmas??Love, Amanda