Tonight we celebrated Christmas early. Uncle Jimmy Christmas to be more specific. My uncle Jim came out form California and because he won’t be back this way for Christmas this year we did Uncle Jimmy Christmas early. That is when Uncle Jim comes and takes us out to various stores to get the kids Christmas gifts and then we all go out for dinner.
We went to KC’s Burger Bar for dinner. That is good because it was national cheeseburger day and so I made sure to get the Super Sport burger because that is my favorite one there. Andy got a Rise and Shine burger complete with fried egg and hash brown.
Andy picked out a nice shirt at Target along with a Minecraft LEGO set. Eva choose an Amazon gift card because she could not decide on something right then and there.
Every year since 2008 we have given a donation of toys to Christmas is for Kids. It has become a family tradition to save some money throughout the year and go on a toy shopping spree a few days before we make the donation. However, this haul that you see is not just from our purchases. Many of the toys have come from companies that I have worked with throughout the year on reviews and more. Twice a month I do a Twitter Party with The Toy Insider and occasionally companies send us toys to promote. I don’t have to open these so they can be donated. Sometimes companies send me duplicates and I take those and add them to the donations as well. Sweet Suite and Holiday of Play send a swag box filled with great toys. I do a video unboxing of them and then some of the toys we keep and some we donate. Ever since we moved into the house we have set up the toys on the stairs and done a stairwell shot of the donations. It is nice to see the donations, and the kids, grow each year.
In past years we have been able to go inside the building and see the amazing work that the Council for Children does to connect children with toys and more. So much more, clothes and basic necessities as well. The kids love getting to tour the place but with the pandemic in full effect that is not safe and so this year I loaded up the donation and brought it over myself. I pulled up and the team unloaded everything from the trunk. I do hope that once we are safe to do so that I can volunteer there with the kids and help in a much bigger way.
