A few days before Christmas our neighbors told us about a house that was decorated for Christmas that we must see. And I must say, it did not disappoint! This is someone’s private home that they decorate and open up to the public for the entire month of December, everyday from 6-8 except Sundays, and it’s all free! These people must love Christmas! They must also have another home somewhere else, because there’s no way they could live here for the entire month. I didn’t plan on taking pictures, so I only had my point and shoot with me, but you can still get the idea of how awesome this house was. It’s a must see for family that comes to visit during Christmas.

There was a long line to see Santa, but they had their driveway lined with lights and things to look at to keep you occupied. It was so crowded! We’ll definitely go during a weeknight next year. There’s things we didn’t even get to see.

Hello Christmas!

This could be considered borderline hoarding, but it was still awesome to look at. I just want to know where they store it all after they’re done?

Each room had it’s own theme. It reminded me of Elvis’ home at Graceland.

TV monitors were set up outside playing Christmas movies and songs. Even the pool was not forgotten.

Outside, they had cute custom built homes to look in and a pathway that led you around to all sorts of fun things with lights. They were even passing out hot cocoa, apple cider, cookies, and gifts to the kids!! I could literally go on forever! A definite must see if you live around Poway, CA.

Moving on though, we drove around after the Christmas home to look at Christmas lights and found an awesome neighborhood that had several streets all decked out in lights. All the neighbors were sitting out on their driveways grilling food and sitting by the fire. People were coming from all over to park and walk around the neigborhood. We even saw some Christmas karaoke taking place! There’s no way you could live in that neighborhood and not put up lights!

Christmas Eve was spent with some old friends of ours. I met Barbara and her husband, Josh, in 2006 on a cruise! They were both from Jacksonville, FL and were sitting at our table. Josh is in the Navy and thanks to Facebook, we were able to keep in touch and now we’re both stationed here in San Diego! Their three kids are the sweetest you’ll ever meet and we were blessed to get invited to their house for a great meal. Thanks, guys! Then it was home to tuck Easton into bed and let the elves get to work!

I can definitely say without a doubt that Easton’s second Christmas was a success. Maybe even too much of a success. He had an obscene amount of presents from family! We got him a tool table and lawn mower as two of his big presents and once he saw those, he didn’t care about anything else. We literally could have gotten him those two things and he would have been just as happy. But no, we had to get him more presents from us, then our family sent gifts, we received gifts from daycare and Logan’s shop, and before we knew it, we didn’t even have room to open anymore gifts. We kept calling Easton over to open a new box and see what was inside, but he was quite content on playing with what he already had. We ended up not even opening a few gifts- we plan on saving them for later when he gets tired of his current toys.

I remember saying before I had kids that I would not let my child be one of those kids that ripped open each present, unaware of who had gotten it for him, only to look at it, say “cool”, and then move on to opening the next gift. I don’t want to have a spoiled child. I want Easton to realize the thought that someone has put into getting him that gift. I know, he’s only 14 months old, but the time will come when he will understand and I want to already have that seed planted.

My original thought was to only get Easton 3 big gifts, and a few other small things. I thought this went really well with explaining how the three wise men each brought baby Jesus a gift. But I know how hard it is now to want to give your child the world. That look on their face when they see their new toys is priceless. But, after this Christmas, I also see how unnecessary it is getting your child a million gifts. I want Easton to grow up to be appreciative and gracious- I don’t want him to ever expect things. My mom was really big on thank you cards. She would give us a few days to play with our new toys, but then would explain that they would stop being given to us if we didn’t write a thank you note to whoever had sent the gift. We also were banned from playing until they were done. Totally annoying at the time, but I am so thankful now that she instilled this in us.

Another great idea to limit toys is to suggest to family that they donate money to a college fund or savings account for your child. I know people like to give an actual gift because it shows more thought, but just think of how appreciative they’ll be when they are entering college and find out that family has helped pay their way. If you’re totally against it, you can always personalize it by adding a book or outfit.

I know I’m all talk right now- it’s so hard putting a limit on something that involves your child, but I know I’ll appreciate it when he’s older and when there’re other siblings to buy for.  Just remember, you can still give your child the world without getting them the entire world.

And with that being said, here are a few pictures from our Christmas day- a present explosion!

My sister purchased this bag from an Etsy store called, Poofy Cheeks. I absolutely love it! I will definitely be using this every year to put Easton’s presents from ‘Santa’ in.

After a fun morning of opening up presents and eating a nice breakfast, we cleaned up the living room and put Easton down for his much needed nap. He was “new toyed” out! Logan and I ended up baking our own ham and a few side items and shared a nice Christmas dinner at home that evening. I think this was the first time we’ve ever cooked a big meal just for our family. Then it was back to the toys for Easton and I got to snap this cute picture of him with the Christmas tree with my new toy, a tripod!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas day. Feel free to share any traditions you do as a family on Christmas or maybe some things you do to avoid a toy explosion!