We totally cheated a bit this year on Christmas. With the impending move, Jer and I decided that we wouldn’t buy each other anything for Christmas. Instead, we’ll funnel all of that money into buying a home in Denver, since we may end up needing appliances, etc. (We walked away from the condo that we had made an offer on after what we felt were some shady antics from the seller, so the hunt is back on.)
The Bean still isn’t old enough to really understand Christmas. He had a great time with his Grandma and Grandpa celebrating early a couple weeks ago, but after the first present, he was kinda over the whole unwrapping thing and just wanted to throw away trash (he is my husband’s son). With that in mind, and knowing that he has other Christmases with our extended family, we decided to be practical and to invest in more warm clothes for him, since we’re changing climates. We hit up the Cyber Monday sales and cleaned up on some really nice sweaters, long sleeve shirts and some warmer pants and accessories for him.
But we did get him something else that’s sort of a gift for us too. I give you: the only way to drive to Denver with an-almost-two-year-old in the car for 12 hours:
Yup, we invested in a nice portable DVD player for the Bean. He’s always been really good in the car but the reality is, when we make the final trek to Colorado, one of us will be driving alone with him in the car for 12-14 hours (depending on weather and traffic) while the other drives a small moving truck pulling our second vehicle. We wanted something that would help keep him entertained, which means whoever is driving him will be able to focus on the road and driving safely.
We also got this case specifically because it attaches between the two front seats of the car:
I have this phobia about Bean’s car seat being any place other than the middle of the back seat. I know a lot of people put the car seat on the driver or passenger’s side in the back seat and that’s totally fine (and legal in most places). I just don’t like the idea of being broadsided and him being so close to the doors, or the side curtain airbags going off next to his head. It’s unlikely that either of those things will happen, but that’s just how weird I am. :)
I like him safely in the middle and this was one of the few portable DVD player cases that allowed you to mount the player in the middle.
On top of that, we got him a couple of Yo Gabba Gabba DVDs and we’re waiting on a couple other educational DVDs to come in.
It’s probably not the best Christmas he’ll ever have, but we’re sort of slaves to practicality in a lot of ways. Even after our initial trek to Denver, we’ll be making the trip back and forth on a regular basis, whether it be by plane or automobile. The portable DVD player will be something that earns it’s keep around the Bean time and time again. And, when we’re dealing with our first big Denver snow storm, Bean will appreciate the new fluffy sweaters we got him.
What about you? What are you getting/giving your little ones for Christmas?
Show Hide 2 comments
I’ve been thinking about getting something like this for our little guy after our 8 hour drive home from the grandparents’ house after Thanksgiving was full of bored screaming. Apparently, a toddler will only nap, take snacks, or rip random paper for a few hours before they go crazy. Well, my toddler at least.
Is the dvd player well anchored in the case? My husband wants to get a headrest ipad dock thing instead of a portable dvd player but I just imagine the ipad popping out after a hard stop and smacking the baby in the face.
p.s. I also have the thing of not wanting the car seat anywhere but in the middle.
I feel the same! We will be getting a van soon and I’ve been reading Craigslist to see what’s out there. Everyone keeps touting “four bucket seats” as a big bonus! No! I want the second row to be a bench seat so that I can put Ellie’s ridiculously large carseat in the middle where it belongs! Duh!
As for what we got her, mega bloks, a yellow construction truck, a fisher price big rig truck, some billiard balls to roll on the floor, a tea set, a cabbage patch doll, legwarmers, where the sidewalk ends, & an enormous wooden parking ramp with cars and a helicopter! We had fun! And Ellie took her first steps on Christmas eve at only 9 months, one week, and four days!!!