No Presents Under The Tree

Christmas is so, so much fun with a 4 year old! Or, should I say, with a 4 1/2 year old?

Lily turned 4 1/2 on Christmas Eve and that fact was almost as exciting to her as Christmas itself!

Thankfully, Lily slept in Christmas morning (like she does pretty much every morning). That's a good thing since Santa's helpers were up kind of late on Christmas Eve ;-).



When Lily came down the steps she spied the train that Santa left under the tree and her face completely lit up...



...and then completely fell! Lily recovered nicely, but it was obvious that something was wrong...really wrong.

Tony and I asked Lily if everything was okay. Lily assured us she was fine, but her facial expression told a different story. Not knowing what was wrong we asked Lily if she wanted to open the presents that Mommy and Daddy had given her or the presents from Santa. Lily's smile quickly returned.

Surprisingly, Lily chose to open the gifts from Tony and I first.

We really don't go overboard in the gift department. Lily's preschool tries to teach the kids that if 3 gifts were enough for Jesus...three should be more than enough for them. I really like that philosophy. Now, that's not to say we adhered to it strictly, but I think we did a pretty good job.

Mommy and Daddy tend to buy Lily the more practical gifts...and leave the fun gifts for Santa. One of the gifts we give Lily each year is a piece for her "activity scene". Lily gets surprisingly excited to see which figurine she gets to add to her Nativity Scene.

This year Lily did tell us she thinks it's time she gets the actual stable and could we buy that for her next year? Let's see if I can remember that for next year.

Lily hasn't only learned about Jesus receiving 3 gifts in preschool...she's also learned about princesses...and Ariel in particular.

In Lily's imaginary play she often talks about Ariel and how Ariel needs a stroller when she is on land since she has a fin and not legs.

When we were trying to decide what Santa should bring Lily (since she was absolutely no help) I thought maybe Santa should deliver Ariel and a stroller. One problem...I didn't know if Lily wanted a Barbie-type Ariel or a plush-type Ariel doll. So, Santa brought both.







I don't know if you can tell from the pictures above, but Lily was THRILLED with her Ariel doll and twin jogging stroller. In fact, she said...How did Santa know I would love this???

Truth be told, Lily hasn't touched the Barbie-type Ariel since Christmas day. The good news is she hasn't put down the plush Ariel doll. If only Santa had known she...I mean he...could have saved some money.

After lunch we headed up to Pennsylvania to celebrate Christmas with Nai Nai. As sick as Suzy has been over the last month it really is a gift in and of itself to be able to celebrate Christmas with her!





When we got back home and put Lily to bed she asked if she could tell me something. Lily went on to share that she had been really worried in the morning when she noticed there were no Christmas presents *under* the Christmas tree. Per Lily, Santa is supposed to leave presents *under* the tree. Not *next* to the tree.

I explained to Lily that with the train under the tree there wasn't room for gifts and that must be why Santa had put her gifts off to the side. Lily understood...but assured me again that Santa is supposed to leave presents *under* the tree...not *next* to it! Another note to self...presents under the tree...not next to it.

Then Lily brought up her next area of concern...what had Santa done with our tree skirt??? Lily told me how much she liked that tree skirt and Santa took it!

Santa the thief. Who knew??? I explained to Lily that Santa must have known the train couldn't run on top of the tree skirt and I was sure Santa must have left the tree skirt some place safe. Lily asked me if she and I could look for it in the morning. Of course, I said, "Yes!"

I'm happy to report we found the tree skirt all nicely folded and put away in one of the Christmas storage bins in the basement. That Santa's quite a guy!

There really is nothing like experiencing Christmas through the eyes of your child!