Something Old Something New Something Borrowed Something Blue

No, no one I know is getting married. At least not that I'm aware of. No, this old wedding verse is actually applicable to what Sweetie's Christmas is shaping up to look like.

And she's gonna absolutely freak.

Something Old: "The Invention of Hugo " book. An "old" book to her because we already read it together as a family this summer when we borrowed it from the library. But, man oh man!, did she love it! I have never seen her so interested in a book before & so wanting to get back to family time reading together as she was with this book. And, since it's a several hundred page chapter/picture book, Hubby & I figure Sweetie deserves to have her own copy to read & cherish & continually find something new about for years to come.

Luckily, for Hubby & I, there are a few other presents for Swee that fit into the "old" category...

1) Hubby's old kid's sized guitar from when he was young. We'll have to have it restrung for our left handed girl, but otherwise a gift in perfectly good condition that she'll be thrilled to get.

2) My old drafting table - a gift I received when I was about 11 or 12 years old. For this one we are still hoping the thing can actually be found in my parents basement. But if it's there, we know it's the sort of gift that will make our budding artist completely happy.

3) Old (but very clean & new-looking) dress socks from Hubby. Yes - socks. And (here comes the "borrowed" part comes in) assorted foam parts & pieces from Sweetie's very own already existing collection of foam parts & pieces which she very rarely ever plays with. We'll toss in some borrowed yarn strands & buttons from Nana's and/or Grammy's craft areas & - presto! - Sweetie's got herself her very own Burping Yeast Sock Puppets Making Kit from her beloved Alton Brown "Good Eats" show.

Now, I reckon if you all, dear readers, aren't familiar with the Food Network's "Good Eats" show, then you obviously also don't know about the burping yeast sock puppets that occasionally make an appearance on that program. But let me tell ya, they do. And whenever they do, Sweetie just thinks they're the funniest things going. Hubby & I think she'll get a big kick out of making these "TV Stars" her permanent friends.

4) Since we're talking about rather off the wall gift ideas, try this one on for size! We are going to give Sweetie her very own piece of wood!!!! Woo hoo!!! We ROCK as parents!!! (or, at least, we "wood" rock, if only...)

Anyway, yes. A simple piece of wood will be one of Sweetie's gifts. But she's going to love it! Know why? Because it will come with a label exclaiming the question "What WOOD You Make?!" And then the rest is up to her. She so loves spending time with her daddy in his "mad scientist" wood shop - drawing on wood, making design plans with him, and otherwise being her amazingly creative self - that we figure if we let her have carte blanc freedom with this gift, allowing it to become whatever it is she can imagine, that she will come up with something pretty awesome. Bonus Daddy & Sweetie time included if her ideas include anything that involves power tools & more than simple building.

5) Last on the "Old" list are previously used Legos, purchased off EBay for an inexpensive but sure to please present. We can easily get a large collection of Lego pieces for around $10.00. And since Sweetie's free time is largely spent either coloring/drawing or playing Legos, this one was a no-brainer for Hubby & I. For all the time she plays with these little plastic building pieces, she has proportionately very few pieces to actually build with. The girl needs more & we're happy to be able to provide her with some with as little damage as possible done to our bank account.

Something New: Lest you worry that Sweetie's getting nothing but hand me downs, old clothes & blunt objects with which to beat her crazy parents senseless, don't you worry. There are some brand new items on tap as well. New books, a new jigsaw puzzle, a new DVD, & new clothes are all on the list. A new fairy door might even show up at our new house, courtesy of a fun scavenger hunt. And, of course, everything she's getting is new, to her, at least. I don't think we'll be hearing any complaints at all.

Something Blue: And now, for the big one! The big "Blue" gift for the whole family. The one gift made possible via all the pennies saved on the other "old" & "borrowed" gifts.

We're getting tickets to see The Blue Man Group in Boston for a performance a week after Christmas!

Sweetie is going to freak. I'M freaking! Hubby's already seen their show years ago & is so excited to take Sweetie & me. Sweetie's seen these guys on one of the PBS kids shows she watches as well as a PBS special of theirs that played somewhat recently. Yes, we know their particular brand of concert/theatrical show isn't everyone's cup of tea, & there may even be parts of the show that aren't exactly meant for kids. But for our little family, seeing the BMG live & in person will definitely be one of life's highlights. And as for the non-kid-friendly potential bits - eh. Whatever. Either Swee will get treated to a naughty little laugh, or the whole bit will go right over her head. We're honestly not that worried about it.

So, yeah. Looks like Sweetie's going to have a pretty kickin' Christmas this year. And don't forget too that her birthday is just a few days before Christmas, so all these things will be spread out over the 2 gift giving occasions. We're not inundating her with all this stuff all at once, that's for sure.

Getting so excited for the holidays! Christmas used to be my favorite time of year because I so loved getting presents. And now it's still my favorite holiday... but so, so, SO much more because I love to see Sweetie's reactions to the gifts Hubby & I are able to give to her.

It truly is so much better to give than to receive. After all, after receiving the gift of Sweetie herself - right near Christmas, no less - what more could I ever ask for for myself?