ok ok ok… I promise you, I am not a scrooge or a grinch….. let me repeat… I LOVE CHRISTMAS. I REALLY REALLY DO. I mean a person who doesn’t love Christmas doesn’t spend hours assembling and decorating 6 trees, right?!?!?!
However, through the years of being a mom I have really learned that being Pinterest perfect over the Holidays just isn’t for me. I want to get the time consuming tasks out of the way so I can get to the good stuff, you know the hot cocoa, snuggles, driving to look at lights…. the things the kids remember most.
So this year I thought I would change it up and not push myself to share what “every good blogger” shares this time of year. I am not going to fake loving the tasks I just want to cross off my list as quickly as possible.
I have a point here I promise… It just takes a bit to get there when I am up writing late at night.
I really do enjoy putting together the kids stockings. Out of all the gifting that happens this time of year it is probably my favorite. So here are my lazy mom tips for filling those stockings this holiday season!
- I had 20 minutes in Target to accomplish the task of stockings. That included taking the 4 minutes to grab something for dinner that night. So I grabbed a cart and headed to the seasonal section (the dollar spot is a great place to check out too). I made a quick pit stop at the dental isle…. I electric toothbrushes each year and toothpaste, what can I say….. Santa believes in good oral hygiene.
- If you are super on your lazy mom game, swing past the bin section first and grab small bins (I would grab 3 since I have 3 kids to buy for) and place them in the bottom of the cart…. you aren’t purchasing these, just using them to make sorting a bit easier and more visual. I got this tip from SHE’S IN HER APRON years ago and it is so helpful!
- Each year I fill the stockings with pretty much the same things. This changes slightly as they get older, but not a ton. I add in the candies my kids love, the trinkets that are stupid and will never get used but they are EVERYTHING AMAZING for 5 minutes or so, and a few bigger items. ( For my daughter this has become bath bombs, for my boys it’s usually sports related)
- EVERYTHING you see here with the exception of like 2 things came from the section in Target. It took under 10 minutes!
- When you go to checkout have everything divided on the belt and ask the cashier to bag it together how you have it placed. That way it’s all separated out for you on Christmas Eve. Kindly give her the bins and say you won’t be needing them.
THAT’S IT! It was stress free simple, and a task taken care of before December 1st! It’s all separated out so I don’t have to think about it again!
Is this a groundbreaker shocking method I am sharing…..no. But I feel like sometimes things on the internet get overcomplicated, and taking it back to basics and sharing the “normal” (whatever that means) can be so helpful for a busy or overwhelmed mom to see.
Our stockings are from Pottery Barn Kids and a purchase we made the year JD was going to be born. I love them so much and cannot say enough wonderful things about them. You can find them HERE
If you have younger kids or are interested in seeing what has been in the kids stockings in previous years, watch the videos below!
