Jingle All the Way

The beginning of December was a hectic time for us last year. Joseph was less than two months old, had a lot of stomach issues and didn't sleep well, and Stephanie was starting to develop a horrible tantrum habit. In the midst of planning for Christmas I was also thinking about my niece's birthday (December 4th...today!), Dan's birthday (December 5th) and Joseph's Baptism, which ended up being the 4th as well.

I was tired, cranky, and overwhelmed by all of the events that were going on and with having two young ones under the age of two. But then, on the day of Joseph's Baptism, Dan's Grandma handed us her annual envelope for Elf Shopping (we shop for our kids, but the gifts come from her.) That year however, she also included a big gift bag.

When we got home from the Baptism party we opened the bag and discovered Jingle the Husky Pup. He was an adorable stuffed animal who came with his own book and DVD. I have to admit that my first thought was "Oh...another stuffed animal. Super." But I would soon find out that Jingle was no ordinary stuffed animal!

The very next day, as I struggled to get Joseph to eat (not an easy task) while simultaneously preparing to take both kids out to eat for Dan's birthday, Stephanie was being whiny and clingy. In an act of desperation I remembered that the stuffed animal came with a movie. I popped it in the DVD player, set her down in the living room and went about my tasks. I didn't have high expectations. At 21 months, she wasn't really into TV. But 20 minutes later I realized she hadn't moved the whole time the movie was on. (It's a short little show that was originally broadcast on the Hallmark channel.) I was amazed, and when she asked for it again I put it on and watched with her.

Jingle All The Way is a tale of a boy who wants a dog and a dog who wants a boy. Jingle and Andrew (the protagonist) overcome several obstacles to be together, and on Christmas morning their wishes come true. It's a heartwarming tale with a gentle Christmas music sound-track. The characters are sweet and the length is perfect for toddlers. When I finished watching it that first time I thought "This is going to be a new Christmas classic for us." And I was right.

From that moment on, Jingle became our stand-by. For the entire holiday season we watched the movie every single day. Sometimes more than once. It was my saving grace because I could actually feed the baby and get some holiday prep done. I didn't even mind when we watched it back-to-back. To back.

Stephanie also enjoyed the book (she was just starting to sit for stories.) I think the fact that Jingle responds to several key phrases helped keep her interested.

This year we were eager to pull Jingle out again, and again he has been a major part of our holiday season thus far. Many mornings we start our day by putting the movie on. Stephanie curls up on the couch with her Jingle puppy and watches the movie. Joseph loves it too, and will bark back to Jingle. We've read the book over and over and it is just as charming this year as it was last year.

Today marks 1 year of having Jingle in our lives, and I couldn't be more happy that he's here! I know he will be a part of our Christmas season for many more years to come.

Watching Jingle first thing in the morning

I was not compensated in any way to endorse Jingle. This post was written purely to share our love of Jingle with all of you!

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