letters to Santa

About a week ago I helped the kids write letters to Santa. I think this is the first time we've done this before Christmas Eve. What's the point of writing a letter to Santa on Christmas Eve?? Probably just to say we did it, and Alexis and Tyler never questioned the logic or made the connection that mom is lazy and that's why it never got done sooner. The problem with writing it on Christmas Eve is that the gifts are already bought and Alexis changes her mind daily, so what she asks for on Christmas Eve is most definitely not what will be waiting for her under the tree the next morning. Last year in her note she wrote to Santa that she wanted a Barbie Jeep. She asks for one of those every year--Santa is a bit of a disappointment in that respect.

But this year I realized that if we write our letters early I can tell them that they can't change their minds because they already mailed their letters to Santa. Genius! Why didn't I think of this sooner?
Alexis wrote her letter herself. I kept trying to encourage her to include things about how she's been good this year instead of just asking for stuff, but I think only one little sentence along those lines made it in. There are plenty of exclamation points though!!!
I love Tyler's face when he's concentrating. I wrote his letter for him but he's working hard here to sign his name. Notice he's a lefty--though sometimes he'll write part of the "Y" and then switch hands to write the other part of it.
These letters perfectly capture their different personalities. Tyler is fairly simple and doesn't need a lot of stuff so he only has two things on his list. Alexis is absolutely FULL of ideas. Life with her is a constant snowball effect. She thinks of one thing which spurs 10 more ideas which each spur 10 more ideas and on it goes. Her letter definitely reflects that--I'm just glad she ran out of page.

This year the thing they both want the most is a Pillow Pet. Someone please please please explain to me why this is such a popular item? Jeremy and I originally decided not to get them Pillow Pets, but then we realized that it's the thing they would be most excited to see so we caved. (Which is the main reason I don't want them changing their minds and why we wrote the letters to Santa.) Also on the list: silly bandz and an Easy Bake Oven. All of which I can manage to do!


***Thanks for all the stories and encouragement on the last post. It helped! I intended for that post to be funnier than it seems to have come across as, but oh well. That's what I get for writing on no sleep. I'll probably jinx myself for saying this, but I think things are improving as far as sleep goes. If it really does continue to improve I'll write more about it later.***