Ahhhh the holidays....

I am so not ready for the Holidays! While I used to just LOVE them... I have grown slowly to start to really dread the season! The Holidays, ok, quite frankly, ANY holiday gives one certain child extreme anxiety issues. He will act up and be a brat when anyone else has a birthday.... be cranky at Valentines Day because he either lost ONE little card, or did not get the "right" kind of candy... Easter - where do I begin... Halloween, a nightmare! Thanksgiving is pretty much a mellow one - no gifts, no sugar and pretty low key (except for this year!)... but the grand-daddy of them all... CHRISTMAS is his arch nemisis!

We have a few simple rules in our house.... one, Holidays are about being together and spending time as a family (easy enough) and #2... on those more "materialistic" holidays, like Easter and Xmas... the particular basket/toy bringer must be believed in to come!

Due to his extreme anxieties, it tends to be a little iffy each year at Christmas... we start prepping him in November... little things are mentioned - like you can't get everything for xmas, Santa brings you things that HE thinks you will like and use, and of course, be thankful what for you have and what you get!

Knowing that each year this issue comes up, adds to some of the dread... while we have a few failsafes in place, sometimes he throws out a curve ball that we are not ready for! Grrrrrr..... so.. since we are getting closer to the big day - we are trying hard to keep our wits in place... but, man is it tough!