We were excited to have a white Christmas this year, and so many things to be thankful for!
We celebrated here at our house with our family of four plus my brother-in-law, Garrett. For pictures and info about what we do as a family, you can always check out my family blog, which I am terrible at updating.
We had a great day full of presents and food, and while we spent very little money and chose the childrens’ gifts conscientiously, there are a few that were plastic, and therefore not terribly “green”. The majority of my son’s gifts were actually secondhand, if that helps any. I’d rather not expose myself to green blogger criticism by going into detail about what we gave them, but be aware that we chose even those toys conscientiously because we felt that the experience outweighed the risks.
I don’t have a beautiful picture of our entire family together wearing matching anything near a tree because I was unable to corral my children long enough to get anything like that, and honestly, they spent most of the time arguing and fighting (keepin’ it real, here). Instead, I have this delicious picture of the (vegan, soy-free) birthday cake they decorated for Jesus. Obviously, artificial colors were used in the toppings but no trans fats, dairy, or soy.
I hope that each of you had a wonderful, delicious, and guilt-free holiday! I’d love to hear your not-so-green confession in the comments.
I’ll be back later this week to review the success or failure of my To Do List from 2012 and explore my new To Do List for 2013!
Never, ever apologize or feel the need to explain to anyone the choices you make for your family, especially when it comes to gift-giving. (Unless you’re some kind of murderer or something. In which case, you’ve got some ‘splainin’ to do!)
I applaud you for making conscientious choices, even when the choices aren’t what you might consider appropriate or not entirely in line with your values. We all do the best we can, but to me what’s in your heart, what your intention is and what you feel is best for your family is what you can and should do.
And hey, what’s wrong with secondhand presents and toys? I wish more families would do the same. I actually never got a secondhand toy as a child, but we also only got one toy/gift a piece because our mom would spend all her money on giving each of us one new thing. I think it had to do with the fact that, growing up in the Philippines, she and her family were so poor (ten kids to feed — not surprising!) that they only ever got presents one Christmas that she could remember, and they were donations from the local church. So she valued the idea of a single, new present each year for each of us.
If she’d valued multiple secondhand presents, that would’ve been lovely as well, though. Whatever you value, for you and your family, that’s what you should honor, and never apologize for it.
Lovely post! Merry Christmas!
Salut,
Marjorie