Erin's Rhewsings: All I Want For Christmas Is You!

Deek and I are the last stop on this year's 12 Indies of Christmas Blog Hop and Giveaway!! In case you missed the rest of our peeps, here they are! Be sure to check out their awesome posts all along the way for fun stories, ideas, and information! Oh, and be sure to stay tuned for the rockin' giveaway at the end of this blog post!!

December 12th - Zane Sachs

December 13th - Kira Adams

December 14th - Chess Desalls

December 15th - Kai Strand

December 16th - Zoe Dawson

December 17th - A.G. Porter

December 18th - Joy Penny

December 19th - Mary Waibel

December 20th - Cynthia Witherspoon

December 21st - K.K. Allen

December 22nd - Ann Everett

December 23rd - Erin Rhew & Deek Rhew

Long Distance Christmas Ideas

Have you ever heard that song "All I Want For Christmas Is You?" How about "Please Come Home For Christmas?" Well, if you've ever been in a long distance relationship or been away from your family at Christmas, you understand the sentiment!

If you know our story, you know Deek and I dated long distance--across the country in fact! Though we missed one another all the time, the holidays were just a little more intense. So, we came up with some ways to share the holidays from across the country, and we thought we'd share them with you. In fact, I'll be implementing some of them again this year with my family since I'm now across the country from them.

1) FaceTime: Deek and I just can't say enough good things about FaceTime. In fact, this tool helped us fall more deeply in love with one another. There is something to be said for talking to your romantic partner every night on the phone for hours. BUT even more can be said for seeing and talking to your romantic partner for hours every night. My dad said Deek and I "courted" in the old fashioned sense of the word since all we could do was talk and get to know each other. Anyhoo...for Christmas, FaceTime is a great way to feel connected despite the distance. We used it to wrap presents, watch Christmas movies, and open Christmas presents. Being able to see one another's faces as we revealed the gifts we'd created or found for one another was almost as good as being together...almost.

2) TeamViewer; Deek and I used this computer sharing mechanism to see one another's screens for making gifts and watching movies. We tried synchronizing our TVs together, but watching the same movie over TeamViewer worked a lot better.

3) GoogleDocs: This program allows you to share documents and even work within the same document. Deek and I were able to plan Christmas lists together, create gifts for others, and keep track of our Christmas budget using this amazing tool.

4) Text: Texting is always great for that in-the-store-oh-my-gosh-what-color-My-Little-Pony-did-your-niece-want situation. Just snap a picture, text it, get confirmation, and purchase. Unless you're in Target. They seem to have a 3G death trap or something. Try to hook up to their free wifi, but be aware it drops you like a hotcake after only a few minutes. Sigh...

5) A shared Amazon account: Deek and I share an Amazon account. One of us would put together a cart for family members, and the other would go in and check it. Even though we are married and live in the same house, we still use this option. It's a great way to stay within budget, get two day shipping (we are Prime members), and keep the other person in the loop. Just remember to add both addresses and make sure you're shipping to the right house if you're apart. ;)

Being away from your loved ones during the holidays is a special kind of longing and special kind of pain. That's why so many Christmas songs are dedicated to the topic. Hopefully these tools will help you plan, budget, organize, and enjoy the season together despite the miles while you keep on hoping for that day when you can be together for good.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, y'all!

Keep dreaming, hoping, and believing, and one day you'll get to spend Christmas with your special people as Deek and I have this Christmas. Here are some of our moments...