Post-Holiday Let Down

Dear Grandma,
Every year after Christmas there's always such a let down feeling of "Wow, that went fast. It's over already."  You plan and plan all month (or, like me, for several months) and the anticipation builds and builds and then Wham!  It's over.  Kind of a like a wedding.  Which is why every year I can't wait to take down my decorations that day after Christmas -- right after I get back from shopping for 50% deals on wrapping papers, bows, ribbon and tags.  Aww, it feels so nice to have it all put away and to return to some normalcy.  The shelves are bare (yay!) and the floor feels bigger without the tree taking up space.  It feels like January.  I can't wait to start burning my 'January scents' in my Scentsy warmers. 

We had a wonderful Christmas, though.  The boys ended up with so much stuff!  Every year I tell myself that next Christmas I will hold back and try to buy only a couple of things, but then the next year comes and I go overboard again.  But that's what Christmas is all about, right?  It's fun seeing their faces light up when they look over their pile of un-opened gifts wondering what could be inside. 

It always drives me nuts when kids tear open a gift, barely look at what it is, then toss it aside to go on to the next one.  We've drilled it into the boys to open one gift, really look it over and play with it if they can before opening another one.  It doesn't matter how many pieces the gift has, we let them open it right there on Grandma's floor and play with it in the middle of all the wrapping paper to show the gift giver how much they appreciate it.  And really, how can you teach them to appreciate the gift if you say, "No, you can't open it until we get home, you just have to look at it longingly through the plastic that is containing it into a nice, neat, easy to carry home package."? 

I hope you had a wonderful Christmas, Grandma.  We still carry on the "Wehr Tradition" of wadding up the wrapping paper and throwing it at each other.  It wouldn't feel like Christmas if someone didn't get beaned in the head by a wrapping paper missile!

Love,
Erin