Dear Santa, Can You Wrap Me Up Some Time?

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Cottonelle

The older I get, the more my "wants" seem to change during the holiday season. Long gone are the days of sending my parents and husband a wish list full of gifts that I was too busy to save up for and buy for myself throughout the year. Gone too are the days of slyly sending my husband emails full of links to shiny, sparkly things that I would hope to one morning find wrapped beneath our tree. An old habit that, I'm sure, he's happy to see fall by the wayside. 

Now, those wish lists often belong to my kids and are filled mostly with necessities such as books, clothes for the following season and if I'm being really honest, socks. What is it with little kid socks and why are they so darn easy to lose? I swear I buy large economy size packs of socks every couple of months for the boys and within days I'm down to mismatched pairs! For what it's worth, socks make for great stocking stuffers although I'm not sure my kids would agree.   

There is one thing, however, this holiday season that I would love to have more of. One tiny little thing that would make this holiday season all the more sweeter for me and my family. 

That one thing is time. Time to be able to see and do all of the wonderful and exciting things that suddenly seem to fill the calendar even days before the turkeys have been carved in mid-November.

It's no secret that having kids brings a whole new meaning to Christmas. Parents everywhere are finally allowed to revert back to the days of their childhood and participate in all of the fun things they grew up doing- things that often require a child in tow which would alleviate some of the creepy stares from on-lookers. 

Things like waiting in lines to sit on Santa's lap, driving through nearby neighborhoods in pajamas to see the Christmas lights, spending a whole Saturday in comfies watching a marathon of Christmas movies while snacking on nothing but cookies and hot cocoa, decorating gingerbread houses, stringing paper snowflakes from every nook and cranny in the house and dressing your entire family up in matching jammies just to take a single picture for posterity. 

More time to spend with friends, more time to stay outside and play in the freshly fallen snow. More time to teach my son how to turn his face away from the tree branches that he's hurtling towards during his very first few trial runs down the hill on a new sled. 

And that's not all! There's also cookie exchanges to be baked for, cocktail parties to host, family gatherings to attend and who can't forget trudging the whole family down to Main Street and waiting for an hour in the cold just to see Santa drive by on the fire truck?

It's all of these things and so many more new traditions that I want my children to experience each holiday season and it's no secret that it's not easy trying to fit all of these events and memories into a single calendar month. 

We recently just finished hosting our first annual Cookies and Cocktails party after spending nearly two weeks in preparation for it! Our home was filled with friends, fun and laughter and I wouldn't have traded a minute of it for anything in the world. That said, it was just a five hour gathering and two weeks worth of preparation was out the window. Now that the party is over, we're gearing up to host my husband's family in our home just a mere week later and there's so much more to be done before that day! 

One of the tasks on my to-do list before then is to make sure each of our bathrooms is stocked and ready for guests. There's nothing worse than sending a guest into the powder room only to have them sheepishly return to tell you that you've run out of toilet paper! I can't be the only one that finds that mildly embarrassing, no? If there's one place in your house you don't want to be cut short, that's certainly in the bathroom! Thanks to Cottonelle and their Clean Care line, they've supplied bathroom goers with 25% more sheets per role than other competitors, making for one less thing for me to worry about this holiday season and allowing me just a bit more time to focus on the guests in our home and making the memories that matter. 

What could you use more of this holiday season? Sleep? Hours in the day? I would love to know! If it's more money you're in need of, then this giveaway below is for you! Thanks to Cottonelle for sponsoring such an incredible giveaway. Tell me what you would like more of for a chance to win a $500 AMEX gift card for you and a charity of your choosing! Details and entry form are below!

The giveaway will be open on Monday December 9 and end Friday December 20.

One winner (from all 30 giveaways) will be selected daily to receive a $500 American Express gift card for themselves and a charity of their choosing.

Winners will be announced daily on the SITSGirls Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/SITSGirls.

Good luck to all those who enter!

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This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Cottonelle