The Pajama Saga

Here are some cute pictures of Christmas morning courtesy of my fabulous soon to be sister in law. They show my family is cute new pj's. We get to open one present Christmas Eve and it is always pajamas. I am super indecisive and never really know what to get my kids for Christmas, so my Christmas shopping usually starts with buying them pajamas.

I bought the kids some pajamas on sale at Gymboree back in November. They were having an amazing sale. As I paid for them I confessed to the store clerk that I would probably return them. I am the most indecisive Christmas shopper ever and it was only November after all. Lots of time to rethink and find a better deal. So, Did I return them? You bet I did. All except for Evie's (I can buy for a 3 year old - warm red night gown with a kitty - a no brainer really).

A week later Alice said that what she really wanted was an old fashioned nightgown. I had got her a red nightgown that she would have liked, but they had an old fashioned red nightgown at Gymboree that I had almost bought but changed my mind, deciding it was too expensive. When I went back it was on sale, so I bought it. I was sure that the Christmas shopping angels were smiling on me. Jackie had said she wanted satin pajama pants, which I couldn't find, so I had gotten her cotton ones, but I was worried that when she saw both her sisters in pretty red nightgowns she would be sad, so to be safe I picked up a nightgown for her too (they were the only ones left - so really what choice did I have - buy now and return is my motto).

So at this point I had one pair of PJ's for Eve and Alice, and two pairs for Jackie. I turned to Andrew for assistance, and we picked the nightgown. Really it is great fun to have matching pjs - right? The pants set he thought was too Christmasy and she wouldn't like it after Christmas, wise counsel. So we shipped off the red nightgown to be wrapped. (We had a service auction in our Relief Society and I won 10 gifts wrapped by a very stylish lady in our ward. It was a super prize - our Christmas presents never looked so good!). I returned the other set and bought some fuzzy red striped socks so all was well.

On the 23rd, after we came home from the Nativity at Heritage park, Jackie said very seriously over her hot chocolate. " Mom, if you got me a nightgown for Christmas Eve, you totally got it wrong and I know that I will just hate it".

Urghhh!

She still had her heart set on satin pj pants. I had to brake the bad news to her that I had looked everywhere in Calgary and online - and they weren't anywhere, not even at Value Village where we had purchased Alice's PJ's in the summer. I told her they were a summer style and everything in the stores now was warm for winter. Something she should clearly understand after being outside for 2 hours waiting to watch the nativity. I told her to be patient, we would try to find her some in the summer time.

That night I could not sleep. I just kept worrying about the PJ's. Once I start worrying I can't stop. The worry just spreads. By the time morning came, I was sure Alice wouldn't like her PJ either or they wouldn't fit, and I had only a few hours to try one last time.

Now - let me take a minute to explain something. My kids really aren't that hard to please. Christmas morning they always LOVE everything they open. Christmas and birthdays and the odd Garage sale in the summer are really the only time they get toys. I am not some crazy lady obsessed with giving my children the perfect Christmas. We teach our kids that Christmas is about Christ and about giving. When I was having a conversation about Christmas with Eve a few days earlier I said, " See, at Christmas we celebrate Jesus being born, and at Easter we celebrate Jesus coming alive again after he died." She said, " Oh, what did Jesus do at Halloween". Really, we have our perspective right - so why was I up all night on the Eve of Christmas Eve worrying about Jackie's reaction to her PJs.

Jackie may not be spoiled, but she is emotional, with a capital E. Christmas morning if you don't like something - no big deal, there is always something else you get that you will like. And you can always return or exchange that thing that wasn't perfect. But Christmas Eve is different. You get one shot. And not only is there only one present, but it is a present that no matter what, you want to use it right away. No one wants to get in their old worn out jammies when all their cousins and sisters and parents are wearing new jammies. And that is what is so awful about getting it wrong - not only might Jackie cry and I might feel bad, but I wouldn't be able to take the offending pair of PJ's back. It would be with us FOREVER. Each time she would be forced to wear it, we would both be reminded of the Christmas Eve disappointment. You think I am over reacting - tell that to the Beauty and the Beast night gown of 2007. I know of what I speak. And even if she does come to like it - like she did of the scarf her Grandma Rasmussen gave her at Thanksgiving, ( which she loves by the way now - thanks Mum!) That doesn't make the emotions of Christmas Eve any easier to deal with.

Now, you can tell me that Jackie has got to learn to manage her emotions and be grateful for any new thing she gets and that the disappointment is a teaching opportunity. Some kids don't have any new PJ's after all. I agree with you. But is that a lesson that I have to teach on Christmas Eve to a six year old? I sure didn't want to...so I resolved on that sleepless night to give it one more shot.

I left at around 6 in the morning on the 24th. Crazy I know, but stores are open at that time for crazy people like me. I went to Supertore first. It was surprisingly busy. I also went to Walmart, the Zellers by our house, the mall, Sears. I bought several pairs of pj along the way (most of which I have returned). Cute flannel ones from Zellers for 10 dollars each were the best option. I was sure the girls would like them so much that I bought a pair for Alice too, just in case. I felt better, but I wasn't giving up - it was still early in the morning after all. I went to Winners, no luck. Then as a last resort I went to another Zellers. It was now around10:30. I was starving, tired and losing hope.

But guess what was there on a rack of summer clearance? One pair of pink and purple plaid satin pj pants in a size 6 for 7 dollars. Seven dollars! Well seven dollars, a sleepless night, all morning and a shopping miracle. I may have almost cried when I found them and I for sure said a prayer of thanks. Then I went home and carefully unwrapped her other pjs and wrapped the perfect pants in their place. Jackie, who had been told that she wouldn't like her original present, but not to worry she had a back up that she would like better, was SOOOO surprised when she opened the present and saw THE PERFECT PAJAMA PANTS. She took off to change before everyone had a chance to see them.

And what of the back up pjs. I let the girls keep the 10 dollar ones because they were so cute and warm and it has been soooo cold. The beautiful red nightgown I got for Jackie found a home with her cousin Elise, who had got a beautiful pink housecoat for a present and was disappointed to not have new pjs. (Though Elise's disappointment is much more pleasant that Jackie's would have been).

Andrew said last night how he loved his long johns I gave him. They are just perfect to sleep in. However, they would not have been perfect to open presents in Christmas morning at my parents house. He borrowed a pair of my Dad's, since he was counting on new ones and didn't pack any. I told him he looked so good - like a real Dad. Andrew said, " Of course you would think that. I look like YOUR dad". I think I might get him some like that next year.

So that is the Pajama Saga of 2010. If you've braved your way through this long post, you've learned a number of things. 1. You learned why it is impossible for me to ever get my Christmas shopping done early. 2. Why I always let my kids pick out their own clothes. I CAN'T TAKE THE STRESS! 3. Zellers, which for the most part provides an unpleasent shopping experience, sometimes can come through. 4. There is nothing really wrong with trying to get someone you love the perfect gift. The payoff is great. Jackie and I are both very happy when she gets in her PJ's at night.

This is a long post, feel free to tell me how many typos you find. I don't feel like looking for them.