And only a few days to go.

Well, I now have all the materials to make the gift baskets for my family. All I have to do is get over whatever virus I've caught, clean up the kitchen, find my sifter (I have cocoa, sugar, and powdered milk--might as well make some hot chocolate mix to add to the baskets), assemble spice packets for the crock-p0t chicken recipe, and assemble the baskets.

Oh, and make cookies. We're almost out, my recipe makes a good four dozen, and a half dozen or so would be a good addition to the goodie baskets.

The imp, who's a big fan of Thomas and Friends, is getting this from us, and this* from his granny (he calls her genny--sounding like the name of this bird). The pixie is a huge baby doll fan, so we got her a little purple pajama doll--the body of the doll is the pajamas, with a rubber baby doll head.

Yes, I'm looking forward to the excitement that I know the kids will have in getting their gifts, but I'm also looking forward to the busy part of the season being over. I cannot express how grateful I am that the shopping part of the season is over. Now, I just can't wait for the rest of our town to revert to what passes for sanity.

Grocery shopping at this time of year sucks.

*cute story attached--the imp was playing with another engine, squeezed his eyes shut, and wished real hard for it to turn into the one he's getting for Christmas. He wasn't real bummed when it didn't, but he asks for that particular engine every so often.