christmas shopping 2022

Every year in December I try to make time to take my eldest children to do some Christmas Shopping. This year one of the trips was with 4/5 children p to one of local malls. As they get older they almost always want to go to a large mall for the selection and the experience. Not being in that setting very frequently recently for quite some time was different for me. Visiting a sprawling shopping mall is not usually my first choice. It was less busy than I expected and the mall shopping cart I found helped a great deal as my youngest ones little legs tire quite qickly. I was surprised at their thoughtful choices and delighted they were thinking also of one another. It was really interesting to see what they chose and how carefully they were being before they parted with their money. Mall Christmas displays and decorations are always fun for me to see and they usually want to get a bite to eat afterwards giving us a chance for more conversations. Classroom Secret Santa gifts many times are their priority but I also ask them to keep their eyes open for stocking stuffers for their sibilings. I appreciate their ideas and enjoy the opportunity to spend this time outside of our home with them. These days we haven't been getting a lot of those times with most events cancelled and restrictions still in place from the pandemic. It was exhausting but I was also provided with more insight to their thoughts and feelings as well as exposed to their delightful personalities which are so varied. I am grateful they still want to spend time together and they haven't tired of that.