Christmas Shopping

So it begins.

Normally, I'd be at least 3/4 finished by now, but this year Thanksgiving snuck up on me...

We've never gone terribly overboard with Christmas gifts, but after last year I vowed to keep things even more simple and more focused on things sacred.

The trouble is, when the toy catalogs start pouring in, I'm the one who wants to buy everything. I see things I know the kids would love, and I'm tempted. All religious and character-formation considerations aside, one can only really enjoy a few nice gifts. After that, saturation sets in. And I want the kids to enjoy the gifts they receive from other family members, too...

So, I'm trying to choose a few nice, relatively small (there's a move in our future) gifts for everyone.

Victor wants a anything vehicle-related and a dinosaur. Easy.

Felicity likes animals and princesses. Easy.

Lucy wants a makeup kit. Here's where I'm stuck. She has a friend who has one, but that little girl has a big sister. It's totally innocent, but I'm not sure I want to go down this road. It seems a bit mature. And her little sister will surely eat it for a snack (today this little sister ate a napkin). I'm pretty certain her daddy will put the nix on it anyway, so it's likely a non-issue. But it's the only thing she's asking for, besides clay.

Maybe we could compromise with lipgloss and nail polish.

If I had to guess, I'd say her dad's reaction will be to remind her that she won't be wearing makeup in the convent anyway, so why bother?