The $25 Target Challenge is by far our favorite Christmas tradition. Tony dreampt this one up the first year we were married and we just finished our 4th challenge! It seems to get more fun every year. It's a perfect activity for a "day off."
We didn't really take a day off last week, but we felt refreshed after moving our offices from the church to a fireside table at Caribou in Coralville all last Thursday. Every once in awhile it seems to benefit our creativity levels to pack up our laptops and do our dreaming and planning from a new location that offers lots of caffeine and sugary pastries. It was a fun day of bouncing ideas off of each other and pounding out some planning and writing.
When we began feeling as if we'd worn out our welcome at Caribou, we headed over to Target for the $25 Challenge. The challenge is simple: We each get $25 and 25 minutes at Target to buy Christmas gifts for each other. The $50 we spend comes from Tony's "sock drawer money," so it doesn't really factor in to what we'll be spending on each other for Christmas...it's just for fun! When we got married, Tony had saved up a stack of cash he calls "sock drawer money." Whenever we head out for coffee together or sometimes when we go out for a nice dinner, Tony funds the trip with sock drawer money. He started saving in college because he wanted to make sure we always had money to date. How cool is that?!? Of course we realize these dollars won't miraculously replenish themselves, but it's been so fun to treat ourselves once in awhile without thought to the cost. Plus, the sock drawer money funds the Target Challenge which makes our Christmas extra fun.
I had a new strategy for the challenge this year. I had Tony walk around the store with me first to look at some things we needed to get for other people, and then I tried to be super sly and point out things I liked. Then, when I had things for him in my cart, I would cover them up with stuff for our house that I like, so in case he saw me he would either 1.) Be afraid I'm buying him boring house stuff for him or 2.) Think to himself "I bet she picked that up to show me and see what I think, I should go buy it for her." Sneaky, eh?
We crack ourselves up as we creep around the store trying to be super stealth so we don't accidentally see what we'll be getting. I can't tell you what I picked out for Tony until after Christmas, but I'll give you this clue - I always head straight to the Toys and Sports aisles. I didn't peak at what he got me (yet...just kiddin!), but I'm fairly confident my gift will include at least one pair of $1 ankle socks and 1 pair of mittens....those are staples for the challenge.
If you're interested in doing a $25 challenge, let me give you a few pointers.
1.) Target is a really good store for the challenge. We experimented with a $10 Wal-Mart challenge last year - not worth it. (Tony, if you're reading this, I'm sure I loved whatever you got me there. I'm just trying to help people out).
2.) Setting a time limit is critical. It adds to the thrill of the game and keeps you from waiting an hour for your indecisive wife.
3.) Make sure the store you choose has shopping bags or dark colored plastic bags. This, of course, prevents your spouse from being a dirty, rotten cheater and peaking through the bag. Target has those extra large red ones that work perfectly!
We'd love to hear about your goofy traditions too! Merry Christmas!
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Christmas Presents
Creating Christmas traditions with Tony is so much fun! Bringing together two sets of family traditions and memories of Christmas can make for an interesting challenge, but we really enjoy putting pieces of each of our childhood memories together as we create new ones.
Tony loves buying Christmas gifts. He also loves wrapping them. Is that just plain strange, or am I strange for thinking that wrapping gifts is a tedious task that should be put off until the last possible moment? It's a good thing we have two Christmas trees because both of them are already nearly full of presents and it's December 12th. Growing up, there was never a present under our tree until Christmas Eve, so this whole tree full of presents in the middle of December thing sort of throws me off...and makes me feel really behind...until I remember I still have 13 whole days to wrap gifts. Ask me how I'm doing on that in 12 days.
Anyways, I love Tony's love for presents. He spoils me every holiday with incredible gifts! I will say, while he definitely values the quality of gifts, he may value the quantity of gifts even more. I can't fault him for that. There is something lovely about an enormous pile of presents stacked under the tree. Tony makes sure that whoever he's buying for receives lots of gifts, not just one big gift - that would only be one thing to wrap...BORING!
Lots and lots of presents and wrapping means we need lots and lots of boxes to wrap things in. If you were to open my pantry during the month of December, you'd find that it has been raided for any possible box. Cereal bags have been removed from their boxes, granola bars are in a pile, crackers are now in rubbermaid containers, frozen foods have been transferred to freezer bags. Tony is very resourceful when it comes to wrapping gifts. I never would have thought to use food boxes to wrap gifts, thank goodness I married a genius. By the way....are less and less stores giving boxes for wrapping nowadays? Sure seems like it, what a bummer!
Christmas is a beautiful time of year. We are blessed to be able to give gifts to those we love and to those around us who need to know the love of Jesus this Christmas. I'm teaching on the virtue of Joy this month for the children in our church. It's been such a blessing to me. While presents and traditions are fun and bring momentary happiness, the reason Tony and I can rejoice this Christmas is because we have surrendered our lives to a God who loves us, sent His Son to come to Earth, die on the cross for our sins and bring us forgiveness and salvation. Through Him we have an inexplicable hope and inexpressible joy. The last year has been tremendously heart-breaking for us in many ways. Christmas causes us to reflect on our recent heartache, but also allows us to rejoice in a God who holds our lives in the palm of His hand, who will never leave us, and who will allow us to be safe in His arms for all of eternity!
Tony loves buying Christmas gifts. He also loves wrapping them. Is that just plain strange, or am I strange for thinking that wrapping gifts is a tedious task that should be put off until the last possible moment? It's a good thing we have two Christmas trees because both of them are already nearly full of presents and it's December 12th. Growing up, there was never a present under our tree until Christmas Eve, so this whole tree full of presents in the middle of December thing sort of throws me off...and makes me feel really behind...until I remember I still have 13 whole days to wrap gifts. Ask me how I'm doing on that in 12 days.
Anyways, I love Tony's love for presents. He spoils me every holiday with incredible gifts! I will say, while he definitely values the quality of gifts, he may value the quantity of gifts even more. I can't fault him for that. There is something lovely about an enormous pile of presents stacked under the tree. Tony makes sure that whoever he's buying for receives lots of gifts, not just one big gift - that would only be one thing to wrap...BORING!
Lots and lots of presents and wrapping means we need lots and lots of boxes to wrap things in. If you were to open my pantry during the month of December, you'd find that it has been raided for any possible box. Cereal bags have been removed from their boxes, granola bars are in a pile, crackers are now in rubbermaid containers, frozen foods have been transferred to freezer bags. Tony is very resourceful when it comes to wrapping gifts. I never would have thought to use food boxes to wrap gifts, thank goodness I married a genius. By the way....are less and less stores giving boxes for wrapping nowadays? Sure seems like it, what a bummer!
Christmas is a beautiful time of year. We are blessed to be able to give gifts to those we love and to those around us who need to know the love of Jesus this Christmas. I'm teaching on the virtue of Joy this month for the children in our church. It's been such a blessing to me. While presents and traditions are fun and bring momentary happiness, the reason Tony and I can rejoice this Christmas is because we have surrendered our lives to a God who loves us, sent His Son to come to Earth, die on the cross for our sins and bring us forgiveness and salvation. Through Him we have an inexplicable hope and inexpressible joy. The last year has been tremendously heart-breaking for us in many ways. Christmas causes us to reflect on our recent heartache, but also allows us to rejoice in a God who holds our lives in the palm of His hand, who will never leave us, and who will allow us to be safe in His arms for all of eternity!
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