Dear Santa...

Every year at about this time our families begin asking Dan and I for our Christmas list.  I’m not sure if you have this problem or not but for some reason this always seems to take us by surprise.  It’s not like we do this every year...er...uh...I mean it is November we still have another month until the big day.  What’s the rush?  I begin to think of all the things I have to do to get ready for the holiday season.  It can’t be that much.  There’s the tree - always quite an ordeal, the Christmas lights - you can’t wait too long on that or it gets too cold, the Christmas village - this always seems to take up more space than I had planned and it takes time to decide which little lighted houses are worth setting up, the cookies - I have to get my friends and family organized for this because Heaven forbid I bake them alone, and of course the Christmas list.  Then I think, “Hmmm...maybe it wouldn’t be the worst idea to get started”.  

As with most things, I approach writing a Christmas list a little differently than Dan.  Dan sits and thinks deeply about only the few items he most needs and desires.  I, on the other hand, write feverishly all the things I might have considered wanting (not just the things I actually want) in the last 5 years (not just in the last 5 weeks).  I think about the clothes in my closet, what shoes seem to be a little worn out, what movies came out that I thought I might want to watch again.  I realize my favorite band is coming to town this summer and I just have to see them - and by “to town” I mean to Chicago so it will of course need to be a weekend getaway.  I remember all the other trips Dan and I have talked about taking and wonder how we could ask our families to help us take them - yes families Europe is on the list in case you’re reading.  I think about how the battery in the car went dead a few weeks ago and how it would be nice to have a new one - a car that is, not a battery.  Oh and of course we have been considering buying a house - maybe someone could cover the down payment?

At this point I begin to think I might be getting a little bit carried away.  I figure Dan’s list will probably be a bit more down to earth.  He is usually the more practical one, I mean he does the budget every month so he has to be pretty practical.  He probably has some great ideas for things we need around the house.  He was saying the other day how his jeans are getting a little ratty - I’m sure that’s on the list.  I know he needs socks.  

All set to bring myself back down to earth, I look over at Dan’s list.  As I expected, a WHOLE PAGE!!!  Wait a minute!!  I begin to read the things on Dan’s list: jeans, flannel shirts, new drill bits, electric tool set (saw, drill, etc), a router table complete with router, a dog, a trip to Europe, a new car, and a down payment on a house!  With just this tidbit from the list I begin to realize the impossible - we agree on three things on the list!  We almost never agree!

This being said here is our 2011 Christmas list (yes we did work together to make one list):

1.     Socks (we both need these)

2.     Jeans (Dan)

3.     Pull Over Sweaters (Hanna)

4.     A matchbox car (Preferably some sort of SUV)

5.     A candle that smells like Europe (good luck with that one)

6.     A dog (For REAL)

7.     Some gift cards so we can still go out to eat while saving for a down payment on a house