Tag Archives: 12 Days of Christmas

12 Days of Christmas Gifts (2017)

December 9, 2020Christmas, Family, Home12 Days of Christmas, Christmas, Christmas gifts, Christmas seasonSara Romenesko

Note, May 2019: Now that I’m blogging again, I thought, DARN I should have written about my 12 Days of Christmas gifts, and LOW AND BEHOLD. I am way more on top of things than I thought I was! Everything was written out over a year ago, and I just never inserted the pictures. So proud of past me. Too proud. Ah well. As you read, go back in time to January 2018 and pretend you’re reading it then. It will make much more sense, especially considering I did the 12 Days of Christmas Gifts for a SIXTH year in 2018, and I was nine months pregnant. Way more impressive than what I’m gloating about below😂😂😂

Note, December 2020: Hi, I’m back with no excuses except for the fact that I’m annoyed with myself for letting this all go. Again. Like I feel every few years. So, we’ll see if this sticks. I don’t even remember when I originally started writing this post at this point, but I’m guessing it was in 2017 because when I’m back in it now, there aren’t pictures of any of the gifts, which is tell-tale for me thinking, “Sara! Let’s get ahead and write this post so you can share it!” But, well, here we are!!

You guys. This was my fifth year in a row of doing the 12 days of Christmas gifts for Peter. I feel like I should get an award for doing something consistently for five years straight 😂 (Note, 2020: I’m now on my eighth year and it’s officially the longest I’ve ever been ACTUALLY committed to something aside from my marriage and coffee creamer.)

As usual, I swore after last year that I wouldn’t do this again this year, but then once summertime rolls around and I apparently have nothing better to do, I start brainstorming. What can I say, gift giving is my love language. (Note, 2020: Same this year. Same. But I started brainstorming in early October.)

Pete had a big Christmas this year because apparently I was in a very ~~spending~~ giving mood. He claims that he wasn’t expecting the 12 days, and after I grilled him on it, he is either a very good liar, or he really believes me every year after Christmas when I’m like “Ok, that’s the last year for this.”

At the end of November, I was like “Wow! This will be a great year because Peter doesn’t have ANY travel planned for December!” And then obviously on like, December 5, Pete was like “Oh btw I’ll be gone December 12-14 and then again December 17-21.” And I was like NOOOOOOOOOOOOO and had to adjust gifts. So THAT was annoying, but somehow I made it work. Kind of. (Note, 2020: We have now been living in a global pandemic and various states of quarantine with zero travel since March 13, so likely will not have any surprise trips this year.)

Anyways, let’s get straight to it.

(insert image of all of the gifts) (Note, 2020: This is how I can tell that I started this post when I was planning the 12 days still… I left myself a note of what images to include. I’m going to do my best right this minute to find said images (there are some on each of the days), but I thought I’d just share my good intentions so I feel better about myself haha!)

DAY ONE
(December 14)
🎅🏻

If you remember last year, I gave Pete an ornament that had our little family of four on day four, but we didn’t know if Elijah was a girl or boy, so I just had “Baby” written on his part of it. This year, Elijah is here! And we love the little pook.

DAY TWO
(December 15)
🎅🏻🎄

I was originally going to give Peter these guitar hangers and put them in the basement so he could hang up his guitars down there and maybe be inspired to play, but then I found these awesome drumstick pens and thought they’d be better.

I didn’t have any elves helping me this year because my office moved to downtown Green Bay, right across the river from Pete’s office, so I was able to drop off the wrapped gift while he was out. I ended up staying at his office for an hour chatting with his coworkers – it was a nice little Friday.

DAY THREE
(December 16)
🎅🏻🎄🎅🏻

This is one of the first gifts that I got for the 12 days, and I was SO EXCITED about it that I sent a picture of it to about 20 people. Peter doesn’t really grill steaks, but here’s to hoping he’s inspired, amIright??

DAY FOUR
(December 17)
🎅🏻🎄🎅🏻🎄

I mean, you know that I had to include something with Star Wars in here, right? The new Star Wars movie came out during the 12 days, but I just didn’t have a good way of incorporating that release with the gifts. Pete loves these socks though! They have a whole bunch of cool socks if you’re looking for a neat gift!

DAY FIVE
(December 18)
🎅🏻🎄🎅🏻🎄🎅🏻

Originally for day five I wanted to do something to ~~give myself a pat on the back~~ commemorate the fifth year of the 12 days of Christmas gifts, but I ended up not being able to think of a gift that worked. Then I was perusing Uncommon Goods and came across these brain teaser puzzles. Peter is very smart, and loves these things, so it worked perfectly!

Also, Taylor did this for her fiance this year, and when I was telling her what I got Pete for day five, she was like, “Hm, that sounds familiar…” and then when I was wrapping it up, I took a picture of it and we ended up getting the loves of our lives the same gift. So random because it is such a random gift!

DAY SIX
(December 19)
🎅🏻🎄🎅🏻🎄🎅🏻 🎄

I mean, who am I to sway from tradition? Five years of the 12 days; five years of Mountain Dew on day six.

Also, this is where I hit a snag. So, Pete left on day four for a work trip. Knowing he wasn’t going to be home until day seven, I didn’t wrap the Mountain Dew like I usually do, and I changed the note from the original to the one pictured above. I put the note in an envelope made of the wrapping paper.

As he was packing the wrapped gifts in his carry on, I realized that you actually can’t have wrapped presents in your carry on, because they will often get opened by TSA. So, I cried for a minute and then we sadly left gifts five, six, and seven under the tree to open when he got back. You guys. I was SO SAD.

Also, this ended up being a fail (you knew there had to be one in here, didn’t you??) because I made a mental note to buy a six pack of Mountain Dew to put in the fridge for him to find when he got home, and then as I often do with mental notes, it got stored somewhere that I forgot about it. Oops!

DAY SEVEN
(December 20)
🎅🏻🎄🎅🏻🎄🎅🏻 🎄🎅🏻

So, even though Pete got home on day seven, I wanted to pack this because I had changed the rhyme (like day six) to be appropriate with his travels. SO SAD.

This “wash me” bag actually came with three other bags. It was WAY smaller than I thought it was going to be, but still was cute and I thought appropriate. (PS: “Cute” is exactly how Pete likes me to describe his things 😂)

DAY EIGHT
(December 21)
🎅🏻🎄🎅🏻🎄🎅🏻 🎄🎅🏻🎄

This one also ended up being kind of a fail. In the beginning of November I texted our babysitter J and was like “Hey, this is WAY in advance, but can you watch the boys on December 21 for a few hours?”

And then the week before day eight, I realized that on December 21 I had my bible study Christmas party that I didn’t want to miss, so I changed the date night to December 22. J was still able to babysit, but when Pete opened the rhyme I was like “Soooooo slight change of plans…” Ah, well. Good intentions at least.

DAY NINE
(December 22)
🎅🏻🎄🎅🏻🎄🎅🏻 🎄🎅🏻🎄🎅🏻

I mean, the rhyme sums this whole thing up. And Pete NEVER has Sour Patch Kids. I think he forgets he likes them.

DAY TEN
(December 23)
🎅🏻🎄🎅🏻🎄🎅🏻 🎄🎅🏻🎄🎅🏻🎄

Ok, this one is kind of a stretch but it made Pete chuckle and he really thought the gift was cool, so it ended up working. Pete loves journals to write down his thoughts and brainstorm and all that kind of fun stuff. I found this one when I was on a layover in Minneapolis on my way to Vegas for my sister Rachel’s 21st birthday party.

Anyways, Game of Thrones is the only show that Pete and I watch together. When I found this journal, I bought it and had to really try to figure out how to get it to work in the twelve days. Again… kind of a stretch… But it made Pete chuckle, so that’s what really counts here!

DAY ELEVEN
(December 24)
🎅🏻🎄🎅🏻🎄🎅🏻 🎄🎅🏻🎄🎅🏻🎄🎅🏻

The first summer we lived in our house, we had some pretty embarrassing things happen, like our neighbors mowing our lawn while we were at work because they thought we were out of town. Anyways, at the end of that blog post, I wrote, “Donations are welcome” in regards to people giving us money for a lawnmower.

(Side note: we gave up on taking care of our own lawn (I say “taking care” VERY loosely here) and now just have a wonderful company take care of it for us. My former boss called me a “yuppie” once, and as I’m typing this I’m like “yeah, we sounds like yuppies.” 😳)

DAY TWELVE
(December 25)
🎅🏻🎄🎅🏻🎄🎅🏻 🎄🎅🏻🎄🎅🏻🎄🎅🏻🎄

The big kahuna!! Ugh, I spent too much on Pete. Back in AUGUST when I was like “Oh! Not like I’m going back to work full time with two kids and a husband who travels a lot! I’ll plan twelve days of Christmas gifts for him!” I knew that I wanted day twelve to be a grill. Pete was complaining about our five-year-old grill this summer, and I appreciate eating meat that isn’t charred, so it’s a great investment for both of us.

I texted Pete’s dad and he told me to get him a Weber Spirit and because I’m naive I said “OK!” and then I was like “Oh GREAT” because holy BUCKETS are grills expensive! BUT I sucked it up and because I love my husband and a properly grilled dinner, I got it. Actually, Pete’s mom bought it and kept it at their house until Christmas Day. Pete was very surprised that his wife is so amazing (I mean, why is he still surprised by that??).

SO! There you have it! Year five of the 12 Days of Christmas gifts, and I REALLY swear that I’m not doing it again this year because LIFE.

Need more ideas? Here you go!

12 Days of Christmas 2016
12 Days of Christmas 2015
12 Days of Christmas 2014
12 Days of Christmas 2013

Or, check out my friend edition that I did for B in 2016!

12 Days of Christmas Gifts: Friend Edition (2016)

October 15, 2017Christmas12 Days of Christmas, Gifts for FriendsSara Romenesko

Guys. I had the most brilliant idea way back in AUGUST 2016. I can’t even remember what I was doing, but I was putzing around on Pinterest, and an idea popped into my brain and I felt like I was in a movie and a lightbulb turned on above my head.

I decided that I was going to do the 12 Days of Christmas Gifts for one of my closest, dearest friends BRENDA. I’ve talked about her before on the ol’ bloggy blog, like the time we drove over a cliff, and the time she was wonderful and came to help me paint the basement, and I know there are other times that I’m just not thinking of.

Brenda moved back to her home state of Michigan a few days after Daniel was born. We were both so happy that she was able to meet him before she moved back – I was devastated at only the THOUGHT that she wouldn’t be able to meet him for months and months.

Anyways, Brenda is one of the most wonderful people on this earth, and I was like “OMG this would be SO FUN to do.” So. I did it! Also, it’s REALLY hard keeping the 12 days a surprise for Peter every year. I WAS DYING THIS YEAR not being able to tell Brenda that I was doing this. It’s a good thing she lives so far away, otherwise I totally would have spilled the beans. Also, when Brenda did get her gifts I was like, “This is why I’ve been avoiding your calls, because I wasn’t sure I would be able to contain my excitement.”

Doing a friend edition was amazing you guys, especially when you know the person getting it will be SO surprised! I worked with a couple of little elves to make this come to life. The ONLY thing that almost foiled the entire thing was FedEx. Pro tip: Don’t use FedEx.

In the early days of December I went to a shipping place to figure out what day I should ship everything to Brenda so that the package would arrive on day one. I was anxious – such an important part of the 12 days, and I couldn’t control it! I went with FedEx because they guaranteed the arrival date. Perfect.

ALL DAY on December 14 I was checking the tracking obsessively and waiting for a call or text from Brenda saying she got her gift. I told her sister (Her poor sister was probably to the point of being like “Leave me the eff alone.”) that it was supposed to arrive. And then, it didn’t. And I was SO SAD. Like, actually got teared up.

So the next day towards the end of the day when it didn’t arrive AGAIN, I texted Brenda and was like “Sooooo… you need to really look all over because there should be a Christmas package for you…” And that made me sad because I wanted it to be a complete surprise.

I called FedEx and was like YOU ARE RUINING CHRISTMAS. (Ok, I wasn’t aggressive aggressive as I like to call it, but I was DEFINITELY not passive aggressive.) Anyways, after being transferred to a bunch of different people, I finally had to text Brenda and be like “They left the package on your back porch.” And she was like, “WTF FedEx NEVER leaves packages on the back porch.”

At least there is a happy ending, and Brenda got her package on day two, so it actually turned out ok. AND IT WAS SO FUN GETTING A TEXT FROM HER EVERY DAY WITH WHAT SHE OPENED. I felt like it was Christmas every day for me, too!!

Since I wanted to mail everything to Brenda and have it all pretty and stuff, I was SUPER good about photo shoots (unlike Peter’s 12 days…). Ugh, it turned out sooooo pretty and sooooo perfect!!!

All

Day 1 (December 14)
🎄
Christmas decoration

Merry Christmas, Brenda!
It’s the best time of year!
12 Days of Gifts
To fill you with cheer!

I’ve been so excited
Planning this for you;
I even had some elves
Helping me too!

For the first day of Christmas,
One Christmas decoration.
Enjoy the rest of your gifts –
Eleven more days of celebration!

Day 2 (December 15)
🎄🎁
Nail polish
Day 2
“Mistle”toes on two feet
Give your little tootsies a treat!

Day 3 (December 16)
🎄🎁🎄
Christmas cookies in a jar
Day 3
Christmas cookies
OMG SO YUMMY
Add three ingredients
And GET IN MY TUMMY.

This one was super fun to put together, especially if you’re looking for a pretty and easy gift to give someone. I feel like it would be a great housewarming gift around the holidays. I had seen these things all over Pinterest, and after making it, I will definitely be making them again!

I had to send Brenda the picture of what this was supposed to look like, because THIS is what it looked like when she actually got it. So sad, right??

Day 4 (December 17)
🎄🎁🎄🎁
A magnet from Shawano
Day 4
I’m so thankful for your time in Shawano!
Those four years introduced me to the greatest person I know.
CRI was less fun when I couldn’t see your face;
Think of me when you see Shawano all up in your fridge space!

If you told me in 2011 when I moved to Green Bay and worked in Shawano that six years later, not even working there anymore, I would still be attached to the town, I would have laughed in your face. I’m pretty sure that Brenda would say the same about that town.

Day 5 (December 18)
🎄🎁🎄🎁🎄
StrengthsFinder 2.0

Anyone who knows you,
Knows you have more than five,
But use this great book
To see where you thrive.

I did the StrengthsFinder in 2015 when I was going through career coaching, and it was wonderful. You do a pretty in-depth assessment, and it pops back with your top FIVE strengths. Not only does it talk about your strengths on a general level, but the report comes back with an insight on how your strengths play off of each other. I recommend StrenghtsFinder to anyone who will listen. It really helps you recognize where you shine, and who doesn’t like learning about what they do well??

Day 6 (December 19)
🎄🎁🎄🎁🎄🎁
Mug with brownie ingredients listed on the side

Only six ingredients
To make this treat.
Who doesn’t love
A brownie to eat?

Don’t mind me, being all crafty. This was another one that I had seen all over Pinterest and always had intentions of doing. Like the cookie-mix-in-a-jar thing, it was SO EASY when I actually did it that I feel like I need to do it again. What I’m basically telling you is that if I am in a gift drawing with you and the limit is like, $5, I will give you this mug and a cookie-in-a-jar thing. But know they were made with love!!

Day 7 (December 20)
🎄🎁🎄🎁🎄🎁🎄
7: How Many Days of the Week can be Extraordinary?
Day 7
There are seven days
In one week.
Use this book
To live your life on fleek.

One of the things that I love about Brenda is that she is always looking to better herself, even though she is already one of the most spectacular people I know. I was roaming the aisles of Target one day, saw this book, and the lightbulb went off that this would be just perfect for Brenda.

Day 8 (December 21)
🎄🎁🎄🎁🎄🎁🎄🎁
Pack of “Hey” notecards
Day 8
Eight cards to send
When you have something happy to say
To your friends who are near
Or hundreds of miles away.

Brenda is really thoughtful, and loves sending mail to people. Notecards came in a pack of 8, so this was obviously perfect.

Day 9 (December 22)
🎄🎁🎄🎁🎄🎁🎄🎁🎄
9 k-cups

Coffee’s so good,
It’s a nice morning treat.
Here are nine cups
To help make your day sweet!

This is the part where Daniel woke up from his nap.
Day 9

Day 10 (December 23)
🎄🎁🎄🎁🎄🎁🎄🎁🎄🎁
Mini Adirondack chair
Day 10
We’re both alumni
Of the Big Ten.
Now I have a chair like yours
To watch the games in!

Wow, as I’m writing this post and looking back at my gifts, I am too impressed with how crafty I was.

I can’t remember if I’ve ever shared how handy Brenda is. She made the bookshelves that are in Elijah’s room for Daniel before he was born. She is SO GOOD. Seriously, everyone who visits our house comments on those bookshelves.

shelves

Another thing that she made which is awesome is a Spartan Adirondack chair.

Screen Shot 2017-10-15 at 1.51.26 PM

You guys, she MADE that. Anyways, she is a Michigan State alum, I am a Wisconsin alum, blah blah blah this mini chair was super cute and already red, so I just drew the Wisconsin W on it.

(Also, now I’m feeling less impressed with myself about drawing a W on a chair that was tiny when Brenda fricking built an actual, usable chair.)

Day 11 (December 24)
🎄🎁🎄🎁🎄🎁🎄🎁🎄🎁🎄
$11 gift card to Buffalo Wild Wings
Day 11
Treat yo’self
To some wings.
(I know they’re some
of your favorite things!)

Who doesn’t like BWW??

Day 12 (December 25)
🎄🎁🎄🎁🎄🎁🎄🎁🎄🎁🎄🎁
You Are a Badass calendar

Twelve months of the year,
Every single day,
You are amazing
In every single way.

I think that everyone needs to be reminded daily on how awesome they are, and this calendar is just perfect for it.

So there you are! My 12 Days of Christmas Friend Edition. Oh man, it was so so so so much fun to do for my sweet friend. A fantastic Christmas gift to put together for someone!

If you want to see what I’ve done for Peter the last few years, here it is!

12 Days of Christmas 2016
12 Days of Christmas 2015
12 Days of Christmas 2014
12 Days of Christmas 2013

12 Days of Christmas Gifts (2016)

October 3, 2017Christmas, Family, Home12 Days of Christmas, Gifts for husbandsSara Romenesko

I’m going to just go ahead and pretend that I haven’t not blogged since Elijah was born and carry on with my life.

Christmas is coming! It’s October! That means it’s almost Christmas!

Once again, if you want to do a super fun Christmas gift for someone, I TOTALLY recommend doing the 12 Days of Christmas gifts. If you want to do it this year, DEFINITELY start thinking about it now, otherwise you’ll be stressed when December hits and it won’t be as fun. Also, last year I did a friend version of this for my wonderful, wonderful friend B. I’ll share that post SOON. (And I know I’ll actually do it soon because it’s already started, ha!)

Also, this year I was SUPER PREPARED and had a little photo shoot for the gifts. Well, most of the gifts…

So! With that, here is Peter’s 12 Days of Christmas Gifts 2016.

Woohoo! Christmas!

Screen Shot 2017-10-03 at 9.49.33 PM.png

Day ONE (December 14)
❤️
ONE new travel scarf

Christmas is my favorite time of year,
So I couldn’t help but spread the holiday cheer.
I said I wouldn’t, but it’s so much fun!
12 days of Christmas are better than one!

One travel scarf for when you fly;
I’m sorry I ruined yours from Dubai…
This one is foreign, from far away.
It’s from the Amazon! (.com… what can I say?)

So, funny story. A while ago, Peter told me that he really wanted a travel scarf. I was super confused. A travel scarf? Is that actually a thing? And I did some Google research, and sure enough, it is a thing. Anyways, I was not about to buy a travel scarf for Peter because I knew he had a specific vision of what he wanted.

Then, Peter came back from a trip to Dubai and brought home a black and white travel scarf that he got there. He loved that scarf.

Too bad he never got to wear it… Because of me.

I was doing laundry one day and thought I’d be a nice wife and wash his travel scarf before his next trip. Guys, what I’m about to share had NEVER happened before and it has NEVER happened again, but I put the scarf in with towels. And there was a red towel in there… And when I took the towels out of the washing machine the scarf was now… Pink and black.

I STARTED TO CRY because I felt SO BAD. And when I told Peter about it, he was like “OMG Sara, stop crying.” And I was all, “BUT I FEEL SO BAD.” And he was just like, “It’s not a big deal.”

Fast forward to Christmas last year, and I bought him a new travel scarf off of Amazon, that is actually a piece of crap, and I just recently threw it away this summer because I was too depressed looking at it in the closet.

Needless to say, I’m not buying Peter any more scarves anytime soon.

Day TWO (December 15)
❤️💚
A shoe horn

One morning as you
Were leaving for work
I noticed you needed this –
Your two feet get a perk.

I ordered this shoe horn after getting tired of watching Peter struggle to put on his damn shoes in the morning. He still uses it! Daniel also uses it, and it’s EFFING ADORABLE.

Day THREE (December 16)
❤️💚❤️
Three ounces of Downy spray

Sometimes when you’re gone,
I worry you’re a wrinkly mess.
Three ounces of wrinkle spray
To keep you looking your best.

So this was the original day three gift that I got for Peter, and then like two days before day three, I found out that he was going to play hooky from work and go see the new Star Wars movie with some of his buds. I WAS going to buy him his ticket, but learned from one of the people going to see the movie that they pre-bought tickets. So instead I got Pete a gift card for snacks to enjoy while he was at the movie. Of course I didn’t take a picture. I did, however, find the rhyme I came up with by searching my Gmail inbox because I KNEW that I told Jenna what I was getting him. Oversharing for the WIN!

The three of you
Are playing hooky.
Have some snacks
While watching the Wookie.

Side note: I’ll bet you thought for a minute when you started seeing the photos of this post “Wow! Sara had it SO together last year!” Well, the jig is up. Further down the line of days you’ll see that I didn’t take pictures of the things. BUT you WILL see when I post my friend edition that I was SUPER put together for that one! (Mostly because I had to get it in the mail in time for B to get it, but I’ll save that for the friend edition post!)

Day FOUR (December 17)
❤️💚❤️💚
Family of four Christmas ornament

Our family is growing
From three to four.
We love Daniel so much
We had to have one more!

I LOVE this gift. We didn’t know Elijah’s gender yet, but I thought it was just splendid to add this ornament to the tree because it was exactly what our family looked like in 2016.

Day FIVE (December 18)
❤️💚❤️💚❤️
Five donuts

Aaaaaaaaaaand here is where I start not having pictures.

In the song they sing
“Five Golden Rings”
But I know donuts are
Some of your favorite things!

I mean, who doesn’t love donuts??

Day SIX (December 19)
❤️💚❤️💚❤️💚
Six pack of Mountain Dew

An annual tradition,
The six pack of Mountain Dew.
Drink one up and become
A more energized you!

I still never buy Mountain Dew for the man, so this is still a wonderful treat!

Day SEVEN (December 20)
❤️💚❤️💚❤️💚❤️
A comb from Chicago Comb Company

On your list was
A “non-plastic comb.”
Seven days a week
You need to style your dome.

When I asked Peter what he wanted for Christmas, one of the things he told me “a non-plastic comb” (hence the rhyme) and I was kind of confused. Like, who cares, right? And then I remembered that his coworker got her boyfriend a comb from Chicago Comb Company, and Peter thought it was THE COOLEST THING. So this was actually SO PERFECT.

Day EIGHT (December 21)
❤️💚❤️💚❤️💚❤️💚
Where to Eat Pizza book

You’ve traveled the world –
Eight countries this year!
Now you know where to find
The best pizza and beer!

It’s no secret that Peter LOVES pizza. Frozen, fresh, anything. He loves it. It’s a real drag for him when I’m pregnant and that is one of the only smells that make me feel very, very nauseous. You guys, this book is SO COOL. So many pizza places all over the world! There actually is a series of these books; I got my girlfriend this one for Christmas last year.

Day NINE (December 22)
❤️💚❤️💚❤️💚❤️💚❤️
90-minute massage

Surprise! No picture of this one either!

This month has been crazy,
You have a sore back.
I hope ninety minutes
Will help you relax!

When Peter and I went on our honeymoon, we got a gift certificate to use at the resort’s spa. I was all about getting a couple’s massage. Peter was having NONE OF IT. So I went by myself. Super romantic, right?

Then in 2015, Peter had his first massage, and he was like “Wow, I am VERY RELAXED after that.” With all of his plane time, I figured a massage would be good for him. Fun fact: It is now October and I am going to tell Peter that if he doesn’t schedule this massage and use the certificate, I am going to use it. Because that is disgraceful, letting such a wonderful thing go to waste!

Day TEN (December 23)
❤️💚❤️💚❤️💚❤️💚❤️💚
10 Sharpie pens

You recently discovered
The Sharpie pen.
A little elf helped me –
Here are ten!

One day Peter came home from work and he was like, “SARA. THESE PENS. LIFE CHANGING.” Easy gift, right?!

Also, the note on these is inaccurate. As you know, I like to have everything wrapped and under the tree on day one. I was going to drop these pens off with Pete’s coworker to put on his desk, but then he decided earlier in the week to take the 23rd off so we could drive down to Lake Geneva for Christmas. I had already written everything out, so I just was like “Yeah, Bobbie was supposed to help me… But you ruined it.” Merry Christmas!

Day ELEVEN (December 24)
❤️💚❤️💚❤️💚❤️💚❤️💚❤️
$11 Kwik Trip card

Ok but seriously, gift cards are hard to take pretty pictures of.

One of your favorite places
To go for lunch
Here’s eleven dollars
To grab something to munch!

If there is one thing Peter loves more than his family, it is Kwik Trip. When we drive down to Lake Geneva, we do our very best to stop only at Kwik Trips. I mean, they do have very nice bathrooms and a whole bunch of good food choices. Peter often gets lunch there, just a sandwich or something. I don’t even think they’re that good, but man, does he love Kwik Trip.

Also, I feel like I need to point out that this year’s gift card experience went MUCH better than last year’s, where I never delivered on the gift card… Whoops! (I SWEAR that I actually bought the gift card, despite the lack of photo evidence.)

Day TWELVE (December 25)
❤️💚❤️💚❤️💚❤️💚❤️💚
Star Wars one-a-day desk calendar

Well I REALLY dropped the ball on this one. No photo and no rhyme ☹️ I had everything saved in a Google doc so I could access it anytime I had a Christmas inspiration. I had the rhymes in there and everything, and this is all there is for the calendar:

Star Wars facts for
Twelve months of the year.

I mean, I CERTAINLY had something clever written. The world will never know!

So! There you have it! Another year of 12 days of Christmas gifts and TONS OF FUN. If you decide to do it for something this year TELL ME because I LOVE hearing ideas and creativity!

Need more ideas? Here you go!

12 Days of Christmas 2015
12 Days of Christmas 2014
12 Days of Christmas 2013

12 Days of Christmas Gifts (2015)

July 26, 2016Family12 Days of Christmas, ChristmasSara Romenesko

When I published my 12 Days of Christmas Gifts (2014) edition, it was November 2015. But I’ve been thinking that I should post my 12 Days of Christmas gifts (2015) edition in JULY because last year when I decided that I was going to do the 12 Days of Gifts again, I started thinking about gifts and collecting in the summer time. (This may also have had to do with the fact that I was on maternity leave and was in this blissful state of having all the time in the world to do everything I wanted to.)

THAT was SUCH a great idea on my part, because when Christmas/planning for the 12 days came, I had a 7 month old and was working full-time and couldn’t willy-nilly throw together 12 days of gifts like I had done previously, starting December 1.

If you know me, you know how much I loveloveLOVE giving gifts and finding the perfect gift for the perfect person. I NEVER regret doing the 12 Days of Gifts for Peter (until I realize that I used all of my brilliant ideas in December and his birthday is in February, so he ends up with a beard trimmer for his birthday and a wife who is crying because she’s feeling so bad about giving him such a practical gift.). I digress.

For those of you new to the bloggy-blog, the 12 Days of Christmas gifts was NOT my idea, I got it from the brilliant Jenna, but it’s actually all over Pinterest (Sorry, Jen, you were my inspiration though). You give a gift every day starting with December 14 as Day 1, and ending with December 25 as Day 12. You should try your best to make the theme of the gift correspond with the day you’re giving it (PAIR of socks for day TWO), but sometimes that’s impossible and you give a bottle of wine on day 11 because seriously. What comes in a pack of 11??

OMG. Going through my pics to find the pics I took of the gifts and I come across THIS little baldy. UGH I CAN’T EVEN TAKE IT.

SO! Let’s just get to it then, shall we?

Day ONE! (December 14)
ONE U.S.A. ornament

Peter wasn’t supposed to be out of the country when this started. He was supposed to be snug at home. Instead, he was in Indonesia. So I had to do some fast thinking and switch from the original plan I had (which consequently I have no idea what that original plan was at this point). It ended up being cute and made him really excited to come home to me and Daniel.

I’m kind of chuckling because reading this note is hilarious! December was a really stressful month for me because I had given my 2 weeks notice at the company I had worked for the previous 5 years, and the stress of everything made me really sick. My cold virus attacked my eye and it was just awful and gross. Gross eye-gunk everywhere and I couldn’t wear ANY makeup, so that was a really nice way for my friends and coworkers to remember me, obviously at my very best 😳

When Peter texted me and said that he found the gift in his suitcase, I sent him this picture. I am so very proud of the way everything turned out! (It should be noted that Daniel was still immobile so everything stayed right in it’s place!)

Day TWO!! (December 15)
TWO gloves

FullSizeRender 6 As usual, Jenna’s rhyming genius played a large part in Peter’s notes. She’s so good at that! (Side note: these are supposed to be the best touchscreen winter gloves on the market. Peter gives them good reviews.)

Day THREE!!! (December 16)
A picture of the THREE of us.

❤️ 💚 ❤️ 💚 ❤️ 💚 ❤️ 💚 ❤️ 💚 ❤️ 💚

(That’s the only way I know how to accurately summarize my feelings about this picture.)

Day FOUR!!!! (December 17)
FOUR ingredients (mug, spoon, marshmallows, cocoa mix) to make hot chocolate

The picture that I put on the mug is one of Peter’s favorite pictures of Daniel. I thought this one turned out SO CUTE! Once again, as she does just about every year, my little elf Kim helped get this to Peter on Day 4 when he was in the office. Below is the picture of the other side of the mug.

Day FIVE!!!!! (December 18)
Not 5 things, but had to do with the calendar date.

Ah, Star Wars. Not a year goes by that I don’t try to incorporate one of his favorite things into at least one of the gifts. Peter went with a few friends to see the new Star Wars movie on the night that it opened, so this gift was SO PERFECT.

UNFORTUNATELY I ordered the wrong size, so the shirt is a little snug, and of course I can’t return it because I got it off of Zulily. Damn! (But isn’t it a great shirt??)

Day SIX!!!!!! (December 19)
SIX cards dealt in cribbage.

Soooo this gift ended up being kind of a fail for two reasons.

1. It is now the end of July and I still don’t know how to play cribbage.
2. I actually bought these really cool world map cards, but I lost them so I had to wrap a deck of cards that Peter already had. I didn’t find the world map cards until the end of January. Whoops!

Day SEVEN!!!!!!! (December 20)
SEVEN Star Wars movies

That Chewbacca thing is actually pretty big. At the time of these purchases, I knew our basement was going to be finished (almost done enough for me to take pics and write a post!), so I thought this would be fun decor for down there. I am not the Star Wars nut that Peter is, so I actually had to Google Chewbacca quotes.

Day EIGHT!!!!!!!! (December 21)
EIGHT hot dog buns (yum, hot dogs!) (Seriously, I love hot dogs.)

This one was another kind-of fail, because of course on the day I gave him the hot dog buns, we had plans and didn’t eat them. HOWEVER, they DID get eaten eventually, so I actually call that a win.

Day NINE!!!!!!!!! (December 22)
NINE* countries visited in 2015

Hahaha! You guys! So many fails! I had asked Peter a WHILE before getting this map how many countries he had been to in 2015, and the answer was 9. *Until RIGHT BEFORE day 9 when we learned he had actually only (“only”) traveled to 8 countries, but had been to one twice. Oh well! This map is still really awesome. It’s a map (obviously) covered in that scratch-off gunk, so every time you go to the country, you can scratch it off!

Day TEN!!!!!!!!!! (December 23)
TEN cutesy little baby toes (although… Daniel actually has HUGE feet and toes)

I’m finding a theme that all of my favorite days have been ones where I was able to incorporate Daniel. This was an almost fail because Daniel was (and still is) REALLY wiggly, so getting these footprints done was NO EASY TASK. It was actually a really good thing that Peter was out of the country right before the 12 days started, and also a good thing that I had taken 2 weeks off between leaving my old job and starting my new job so I had countless opportunities to get this done.

For a while I was like “HOW THE EFF DO THEY DO THESE TYPES OF THINGS AT DAYCARE???” But then I remembered that the ratio is more like 3:1 instead of 1:1. That makes a HUGE difference for handprint/footprint projects AND for giving eyedrops.

Day ELEVEN!!!!!!!!!!! (December 24)
ELEVEN dollars to spend at Los Magueyes.

Los Magueyes has
your favorite food.
Use ELEVEN dollars
To buy a margarita.

Wow, reading that in English really takes away from the cleverness of the rhyme.

Ok, this one was actually a COMPLETE fail, because I completely forgot to get Peter an $11 gift card (once = eleven in Spanish, you’re welcome for the free lesson) to Los Magueyes. So essentially, Peter opened this one and I had to say “Wasn’t that a nice idea?!” Ha!

Day TWELVE!!!!!!!!!!!! (December 25)
TWELVE hours in a day (kind of a stretch on this one…)

And that, my friends, brings us to day 12. Peter and I got Apple watches at the end of last summer, and one thing we were constantly wanting was a little stand to charge them up with. If you have an Apple watch and are looking for a stand, I highly recommend this one. It has a sort of sticky padding on the bottom, so it doesn’t slide all over the table surface, or wherever you’re charging it up, when you attach the watch.

So! There you have it! I didn’t do a “big gift” this year, because, well. I just didn’t feel like it, and I thought my love was gift enough.

If you’re planning on doing the 12 Days of Christmas gifts and you have children, it’s never too soon to start stocking up on gifts or ideas. I also HIGHLY recommend keeping a list of things you’ve purchased AS WELL AS where you’ve hidden the gifts. The only way I was able to do it last year with a 7 month old in tow was because I started planning early. Speaking of said 7 month old, let’s look at this picture which is one of my FAVORITE pictures of him.

I stand by my original caption to this photo that I put on social media that the only thing I love more than Christmas is a baby in a sweater vest.

That round head! Those chubby hands! Ughhhh stop growing uuuuuuuuup.

For more ideas for the 12 Days of Christmas, check out what I did in 2013 and 2014.

12 Days of Christmas Gifts (2013)

November 4, 2014Uncategorized12 Days of Christmas, Christmas, Christmas seasonSara Romenesko

Christmas is coming! We’re less than a month away from celebrating the most wonderful time of the year, and I’m already picturing how I’ll decorate my house for the joyous occasion. I KNOW. Stop judging me for being so excited for Christmas already. I get it, but that doesn’t mean that I can’t be excited for the Christmas season all year round.

Anyways.

Two years ago for Christmas, Jenna did this really cool thing that she found on the internet for Mark, where she did “The 12 Days of Christmas Gifts”. So, for the 12 days leading up to Christmas, she got Mark a little gift. She also did it last year. The little gifts coordinate with the number of the day… That sounds confusing…. You’ll get the picture in a minute.

Last year, I decided that I wanted to do the same for Peter. I am posting this now just in case you think you may want to do it for someone. It takes a lot of thought to get it all together – well, it did for me anyways. And then, of course I had to come up with a little rhyme for each day, which added extra stress, but I actually loved every second of it.

Below are the 12 Days of Christmas Gifts that I did for Pete last year. He really loved finding a little gift every day. It gave him something fun to look forward to, and he really had no idea what his gifts would be every day!

HUGE thanks to Jenna, B and another friend M who helped brainstorm gifts and rhymes!

Day 1 (December 14): a Dallas Cowboys t-shirt

Day 1 happened to fall on the day that we were leaving for Dallas to go to the Cowboy/Packer game. Pete is a die-hard Packer fan, but I thought it would be fun for him to have a Cowboys t-shirt to support his friend that plays on the team. For this gift, I snuck in the bathroom and put the t-shirt + note on the counter while he was showering.

Day 2 (December 15): a pair of soccer socks

Day 2 was a bit trickier, as we were waking up in a hotel room and there aren’t many hiding places. So I put the socks in his suitcase with the little note for him to find later. Pete had just joined an indoor soccer team, so this gift was super fitting.

Day 3 (December 16): a 3 pack of boxer-briefs

This was the day we got back from our trip to Dallas, so I put them sticking out of his underwear drawer for him to find when he was unpacking his suitcase. I put them there right before we left for our trip. Jenna did the same gift for Mark, and we both used this note. We were laughing SO HARD when she came up with it!!! It was especially fitting for Peter because he gets annoyed with me when I call his boxers “undies”. I can’t help that I think it’s hilarious.

Day 4 (December 17): 4 blueberry muffins

This one was also a little tricky, because I had no idea how I was going to make it work, since we got back from Dallas really late the night before. I ended up asking one of my friends who also happens to be one of Pete’s coworkers, to go to the store and get his favorite muffins, and then I scanned the note and had her print it and put the muffins + note on his desk for when he got to work. He was pretty surprised that I had little elves helping me!

Day 5 (December 18): the Game of Thrones series (books)

Pete had just started reading the first book, and he REALLY enjoyed it, but he had borrowed the first one from a friend. How perfect that the series has 5 books! Credit to B for thinking of this one. I left the books on Pete’s nightstand before he woke up this morning, since he likes to read before he goes to sleep.

Day 6 (December 19): 6-pack of Mountain Dew

(We couldn’t find the note for this day, must have tossed it. But I actually kept my brainstorm paper with all the rhymes and gifts, so I still know what the note said 🙂 )

An extra special treat today –
*Six* bottles of Mountain Dew.
Since I’ve never bought them before
It really proves how much I love you!

What can I say. The man loves his Mountain Dew, and it was an extra special treat that his wife bought it for him. Left this in the fridge for him to find – shocking, I know.

Day 7 (December 20): $7 worth of scratch-off lottery tickets

Well THIS ended up being a disaster. Jenna gave me this idea. In Illinois, they have a “Lucky 7” lottery ticket. Well, apparently that doesn’t exist in northern Wisconsin, at least not at the 4 gas stations where I stopped. And also, I need to say that I’ve never even bought scratch-off lottery tickets (or any lottery tickets) before, so I put $20 in the machine, and learned that you don’t get change back. So I was mad, and then had to buy all these damn lottery tickets. I scratched off $13 worth in the gas station parking lot, and of course didn’t win anything, which made me even MADDER. Pete’s ended up not winning either, but I was just so MAD about the whole affair.

I put the lottery tickets in his wallet one morning before he left for work.

Day 8 (December 21): a date night!

(Couldn’t find the note for this one either.)

Time for a date!
Dinner and the Botanical Gardens at *8*!

This one was super cute and fun, probably because I could reap the benefits as well haha. For this one, Pete and I went to dinner and a movie – Saving Mr. Banks (Thanks A for remembering!!) – but definitely didn’t wait until 8:00 to see it… That’s way to late for us haha but I needed a rhyme!! In Green Bay, the Botanical Gardens have a really pretty Christmas/winter wonderland light display set up, and I love going every year. It is soooo Christmas-y and wonderful!

Day 9 (December 22): a Packers hat

So… This one doesn’t correspond with the day (it should have been something with 9…) but if you live in Wisconsin you will remember how ungodly cold it was last winter. Pete, my brother, my brother-in-law, and my sister’s boyfriend went to the Packers game this day, so the gift was perfect. I put this gift in his coat pocket for him to find.

Day 10 (December 23): $10 gift card to Culver’s

(Ok, couldn’t find the note for this one either, but honestly I’m impressed that he/we kept most of them!)

Go out to lunch today on me.
*Ten* dollars at Culver’s –
Woohoo! Lunch fo’ free!”

The man loves Culver’s, and I’m not a huge fan (aside from their custard), so it was another special treat for him.

Day 11 (December 24): 11 Hershey’s kisses

Girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do.

Day 12 (CHRISTMAS DAYYYYYYYY FINALLYYYYYYYY!): a new watch

Pete had been wanting a new watch for a while, so I splurged on the last day of gifts and got him a nice one. He still wears it every day!

So folks, there you have it! If you end up doing a 12 days of gifts, share your ideas with me! I just love hearing them 🙂

And now imagine me whispering Merry Christmas a little early!! 🙂 🙂

Real World Romenesko

I'm an over-sharer.