Another blogger mom is coordinating a Holiday Stocking Swap just for us moms. Doesn’t matter if you a RAD mom, a special needs mom, a happy mom, tired mom, broken down, wrung out mom, bio mom, adoptive mom, Martian mom or just a plain old regular mom. It doesn't matter what kind of mom, how many or what kind of kids you have, or even where you live. If you're a mom, you're invited to participate. How cool is that?
I know the holidays are tough times for a lot of us moms, especially a lot of you who are reading this blog. There’s much sadness. There’s much loss. There’s much frustration and stress and doing without and very often a huge escalation in negative behaviors from our kids. Dang it...sometimes they even deliberately sabotage them because they’re just too much. Very often we find ourselves heading into January battered, bruised, used up, under appreciated, worn out, a little worse for the wear, and wondering if it’s even worth it. In fact, I know a lot of you are already absolutely dreading just the approach of the Holidays. I know, because a lot of you have already started talking about and I can already feel the tension rising.
Maybe you’re one of the many who’s already dug in your fingernails and are already preparing to hunkering down and weather the storm. Forget about enjoying the holidays, though...it’s all about survival!
Yet for many of us, Christmas hasn’t always meant dread and fear – or even grief and sorrow and stress. There was a time when we actually used to love it! We used to love the magic of gathering with family and friends and picking out that perfect present for someone special. We used to love the wonder of the brightly wrapped packages and the smell of the steaming wassail and warm gingerbread. We used to feel replenished by the sense of appreciation and satisfaction we felt when it was time to take the tree down.
If you’re one of the fortunate few who still adores Christmas and all that comes with it, first of all, get down on your knees right now and thank God! You truly have something worthy of celebrating and holding onto. Don’t ever let it go! For the rest of us, it’s time to find joy and excitement again. It’s time to reclaim that part of our souls and our hearts! Even if life’s situations have dictated that, out of necessity, the holidays look very different now than they once did, it’s time to find a way to enjoy them again, even if our kids can’t.
This stocking swap is one such way to do just that. Here’s how it works:
• Once you enter, you will be assigned a mom to fill a stocking for (and you’ll be assigned to someone else.)
• You will have roughly 3 weeks to fill and mail a Holiday stocking out to your assigned mom.
How you choose to fill the stocking, with what you choose to fill the stocking with, and what you choose to spend and/or make is all up to you! (the one non-negotiable thing is there MUST be a stocking)
Be as thoughtful and creative as possible because we want our girls to feel thought of. We do ask that you take your recipients list into complete consideration and remember that these stockings are just for the mom. How many times do we say "It's the thought that counts"? Here's our chance to take our own advice, and really appreciate the results.
Don’t forget that you’ll be getting a stocking full of surprises JUST FOR YOU in return.
There’s just a couple more little ground rules:
•Your packages must be postmarked no later than DECEMBER 15th.
• You must respond to your gift sender with a real life, paper letter, touchable "thank you" note. We have to insist that this is a requirement. it is EQUALLY as important, as the swap itself!
How to enter:
1} Copy and paste the questions below.
2} email them to ourconsonance@gmail.com
3} patiently wait until you are assigned a swapper.
QUESTIONNAIRE
Full Name:
Mailing Address:
Blog Address (if you have one):
Plans to travel over Christmas (so we can insure your package arrives in time):
1} What time of day are you at your best? Morning, Afternoon or Night
2} What are your favorite colors?
3} What is the one thing you do, for yourself, to wind down?
4} If you could sit on Santa's knee and ask for one tangible thing this Christmas, what would it be?
5} What about one non-tangible thing?
6} What is your favorite childhood memory, of Christmas?
7} What is your favorite character trait, about yourself?
8} What do you like the most about yourself?
9} What do you like the least about yourself?
10} Not considering people or career info, what are your top ten favorite things?
11} Do you collect anything?
12} Things that annoy you?
13} Do you see yourself with a personal style? If so, What is it?
14} Do you feel you have a particular decorating style? If so, What is it?
15} A day to yourself would look like this:
16} do you have any allergies and/or dietary/skin restrictions?
17} If you had $50 to spend ON YOURSELF, at any store- what store would you choose?
18} Your perfect shopping center would include what five stores?
19} What two eateries?
20} What is your favorite food?
21} Do you have any hobbies?
22} Please tell us anything else about yourself, so that your stocking stuffer gets to know you as best as possible...
There you have it, ladies! This is not only a great opportunity to revive a little of that holiday spirit for yourself, but you also have an opportunity to help lift someone else’s spirits in the process. So, hop on board and join the fun. Get your entry in ASAP and then pass the word along on your own blog, too!
Here is a link to the original post. Pass it on, repost!
http://goldtorefine.blogspot.com/2010/11/holiday-stocking-swap.html
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