Well, when I was a kid, the police once showed up to return our license plate. It had fallen off the back of our car in a parking lot and gotten turned in. We hadn't even noticed it was gone. In a situation like that, yes. However, your situation is very different. And my gut reaction is that I'd think long and hard about all the info I know about the situation before making a decision. However, I also know that allowing my kid to return would probably not be good for my anxiety level, and would probably say no because of that. I would do what I could to allow my kid to still hang out other places though. Also, I am sorry this has happened.

Oh. That's exactly our situation (hard K sound, 2 syllable last name). FWIW, DH has a cousin named Luke K(last name). I have no idea how he feels about it, but it's not my favorite. Interestingly, that Luke has a brother named the nickname of our oldest's name. Again, not my favorite, so I hope our oldest continues to use his full name. Again, all I can say is make really sure you can deal with it, or it could easily irritate you for the rest of your life.

Sam Martin Paul Langston Lars Sonnen David Donner Ben Newton Sorry for only listing boy names....our toddler is waking up.

There is one hard consonant sound that I personally can't stand repetition of in names. Of course, that is the first sound of our last name. I specifically tried to avoid first names that start or end with that same sound. I wasn't entirely successful. One child has a first name with that sound in the middle. I love his full first name and it's a family name. However, the very, very common nickname for it drops the second syllable, and therefore ends with the undesirable to me sound. We never, ever shorten his name. Following our example, no one else has either. I've told him that he can choose the short version, but he always looks horrified. However, I fully accept that someday he might choose to use the nickname and I would roll with it. He's only 12, so using it someday is a real possibility. Another child ended up with a first name that ends in the sound. I love the name, but dislike how it blends into our last name. Therefore, I never, ever call him just first name last name. It's always first name middle name last name. Of course, I am a weirdo who regularly uses both first and middle names for kids, so it doesn't seem strange to do that for him. I've made my peace with it. Long story short, I highly suggest choosing something that doesn't sound off to you. If you choose it anyway, make peace with it.

I do not believe the bolded. Also, I am sort of disappointed, because one of ours would love that axolotl.

Well....have you decided what to make? Inquiring minds want to know. Also, do ever sell what you make?

Yes! I wish I were crafty and could make this for one of ours.

My kids vote for a panda, a fox, a dog, or an axolotl. I vote for trying something you haven't done before. Of course, I don't crochet so don't have any clue what I am talking about. As for the OP, (please don't quote) life is...difficult here. For a variety of reasons, I am contemplating going back to work after 12 years as a SAHM. This, would, almost certainly mean no more HS. And that makes me want to cry. Life circumstances mean that it may be the least bad option out of options we have though. Blah. OP, I am sorry you are also struggling.

I have no helpful advice. I just want to know that you are not the only one in this position. And while it's true that it's hard (really, really hard!), it's also true that you can do this!

I still have no idea who opened anybody's gifts. They didn't take the time to read the tags to see who a gift was to. And, in spite of the fact that I know let er rip gift opening doesn't have to be that way, I will never, ever be okay with it thanks to that. The roadkill was a weasel. A bird would have been better. And, to be fair, it was in nice condition, aside from being dead roadkill. I just don't know what it says about me that someone saw it and thought "Barnwife would really like this!"

Oh, I laugh about it now. But it took a while to get there. I did not react well to DH after we left at the time. But yeah, it totally makes me laugh now. As does the time my MIL brought me roadkill "because I thought you'd want to see it. It's so pretty!" And then she touched my homemade bread without washing her hands. I sent that bread home with her. (Note: By then, I was used to her and laughed about that as soon as she left).

Well. I grew up in a one-at-a-time family. I had no idea other families did it any other way, until I married DH. Our oldest was a baby the first time I experienced let er rip style. I was so horrified. I had no idea what our baby had gotten for gifts. At the end of the night, parents just took whatever gifts home that their kids wanted. I had spent time, money, and effort picking out gifts for nieces/nephews. Quite frankly, what happened is (to me) off-the-charts rude. Taking home gifts that may or may not have been yours? What in the world? We haven't been back, for a variety of reasons. One is scheduling. They prefer to celebrate on Christmas day itself. We live far enough away that I won't do that. Second is that I refuse to participate /allow our kids to participate in what I perceive as a massive amount of rudeness. (Note: it's not solely the let er rip present opening. It was the not checking who a gift was to, taking any gift you wanted, and more.) Now, I'd celebrate with them if schedules allowed, but I won't buy gifts. DH would have to do that...and the chances of that are low.

Well, I can't really help you. What I know is that I grew up hating my mom's sugar cookies. They were super thin and very, very crispy. I am a firm believer that cookies should not be crispy (or at least, not super crispy). And she only put a tiny layer of frosting on them. I was...not young...when I realized that sugar cookies didn't have to be made that way. People can make fat, soft, lovely sugar cookies at home! For some reason, I assumed only bakeries had the secret to wonderful sugar cookies. I, unfortunately, am not one of them. All kinds of sugar cookies elude me. They just don't turn out. I've tried countless recipes and only persist in trying because our kids like to make them. If no one else has any suggestions, tag me, and I can ask for her recipe.

This is mind-blowing to me. Sometimes a thread has more than one thing going on at a time so someone might quote a specific (part of a) response to make it clear where their thoughts are spinning off of. A thread isn't just between 2 people, you know? So the person who quoted someone else certainly might not be expecting a response from that specific poster. Or maybe they just want to offer an opposite POV, but feel one post doing so is enough. It certainly is acceptable in group conversations to riff off of one person's comments/thoughts to the group at large. I guess I am the opposite of you because it truly never occurred to me that quoting someone could be considered rude! (And this is one of those times I am not really expecting a response from the person I quoted. She has explained her POV. I responded with how mine is basically the polar opposite. I don't think either of us is going to change our minds, so more back-and-forth really wouldn't serve a purpose. Also, I realize this post is a perfect example of what she doesn't like, for which I am sorry. I really like her contributions to the board, and am sorry that this post of mine will possibly not come across well to her.)

Okay, this really, truly made me laugh. My sister and I have tried to get our mom to stop stocking for us/the grandkids. We don't want/need them in addition to what we get with our own families. Also, I'd guess I trash/donate 70% of what's in them for DH and I. And the stuff in the kids is cheap stuff that breaks/gets tossed within about a day, unless it's the candy. If she'd switch to all food, it wouldn't be so bad. Sorry your kids aren't on board...I support you 100%!

First, I don't think I've ever seen a post on WTM start out so right (the part I bolded) and then veer so far into wrongness. Also, I'd totally donate comic pages to Santa if I had any.

Well, some elves are gift-makers and some are gift-wrappers. Obviously the contracts are different! Interestingly, I am slowly starting to switch to cloth gift bags. I wish I was crafty enough to make some. FWIW, paper gets reused around here. That's funny, because my experience is the opposite. I've never encountered St. Nick's day stockings. You leave your shoes out for him! Stockings are a mix of traditional and personal here, too, but it's all wrapped!

Don't sell yourself...I mean, that elf, short! Go for a raise and a bonus!

Disclaimer: Some of the following is TIC. I'll leave it to individual posters to decide which parts qualify. Wrong. Absolutely wrong (at least in this house). First, thanks to everyone who has answered. Now...I'll let it be known that in my FOO everything gets wrapped, stocking or not. I actually didn't know that this wasn't the case for everyone until I was an adult. When my sister married BIL, I was horrified (rightly, of course) to learn that Santa didn't wrap stuff in his house growing up. A few years later, a friend showed me a picture of their living room, in which nothing under the tree was wrapped. It was all from Santa and they didn't do family gifts. Again, I was horrified. Part of the fun of Christmas growing up was stretching gift opening as long as we could. We could usually make it until almost lunch (with a break to go to church). FWIW, Santa doesn't use special paper. He uses whatever he's got for stocking stuffers and presents. He even reuses paper! (Clearly he cares about the environment.) Also, with 5 kids in this house, it is time-consuming, but it isn't changing.

I recently had a discussion in which I learned that my FOO might be in an extreme minority with something. It's something I now do with our kids. I don't care if we really are in the minority, I am just curious. So, without further ado, are the items in Christmas stockings in your household wrapped?

This is more or less me. FWIW, @Not_a_Number, I know I've liked posts you have apparently tracked. For me, that doesn't mean I don't want to interact with you. I do find your posting-style (which could, of course, be very different from your IRL communication style) to be very brusque and to the point. I know that you really think things through and feel strongly about certain topics. It is possible for others to have also thought about things and come to different conclusions and feel just as strongly. Sometimes, if I remember correctly, our conclusions are the same/similar, sometimes not. Whether or not I agree with you on any specific topic, I enjoy reading well-thought out (well-laid out?) posts. I do hope this thread has given you whatever you hoped to get from it.

See, this is fascinating to me because I am the opposite. I truly thought opening them up was just something done in commercials/shows because who in their right mind would commit such a crime?

How scary. Definitely praying.

For Catholics (and those who don't mind things from Catholic publishers), TAN books is all 40% off. I highly recommend their Story of Civilization and Story of the Bible.

Well, yeah, it is. But...first it's whipped cream. If you continue whipping/shaking, it turns to butter. Back in my waitressing days, I worked in a restaurant that made it's own whipped cream. We used a stand mixer. More than once, a waitress would start it, get distracted/busy, and come back to find butter. So we'd give that to the baker to use in desserts and start again, determined not to get distracted. OP, I can't fathom why one wouldn't just whip their own if trying to avoid ingredients, especially if you have a hand mixer or stand mixer.