The Mommy Files- Holiday Edition

Oh the weather outside is frightfuland the stores are less than delightful.But shipping takes way too long.Shopping Mom, Shopping Mom, Shopping Mom.We're t-minus mere days until a slew of major holidays but we Moms know the deal. We've been preparing for a while now.I love my husband with everything I have, but let's face it- our men, are not us.If we were to boycott the holiday prep what would happen?Let me run down the list of responsibilities that befall a mother during the holiday season.-Holiday Cards:finding the outfits,hiring a photographer or, like me, making the silly decision to do it yourselfgetting the photos into a card ordering said cardreordering/repairing said card when your family names are cut off because they cropped it funny! stuffing envelopesaddressing envelopes sending cards, breathing a sigh of relief -Gift Purchasing:Getting gifts for the kidsCoordinating gifts to the kids from grandparents/family members Gifts for family membersBeing sneaky while ordering/picking up/hiding gifts for HusbandSending gifts for those far away and ensuring they arrive on time.Running out last minute because you forgot something. argh -Wrapping:Purchase new wrapping paper because you can't find last year's.Purchase new tape because yours is unsticky/full of dog hair/curiously missing yet everything on the toy table is taped together.Vowing to wrap before Christmas Eve.Wrapping on Christmas Eve.Cursing yourself for waiting so long to wrap.Cursing yourself for buying gifts that are difficult to wrap. Who wraps a baseball anyway?Vowing to stock up on boxes/bags for next year.Finishing wrapping in time to fall into bed exhausted. -Food Prep:Plan holiday meals.Shop (or have husband shop) for holiday meal foods.Prep, bake, cook holiday yummies.Ensure that the kids don't eat only candy for a meal.Clean all the dishes. This is of course in addition to the usual work, child rearing and overall housekeeping that is done during non-peak-holiday times. So, if the wife/mother/caretaker in your life seems a little more on edge this month, you now know why. Offer to help or take something on from the list above. She'll appreciate you, for it!Stay sane, and Be Great!M