That Time of Year

When I was growing up my mother had a strict rule that no Christmas decorations would go up until December 1st.  We would wake up in the morning and the whole house would be decorated with advent calendars and we knew that getting a tree wasn't far behind.  Christmas was a time of year when everything was right. My mom was in a better mood, we had time off from school, and our normally strict diets were relaxed a little and we got treats.  As a result, I am one of those people that loves Christmas, but I don't adhere to the December 1st rule.  We had our tree up on Saturday and there's been a lot of "don't touch" and we already have one broken ornament, but the kids have to learn how to be around a Christmas tree at some point. 

The last two years have been fun, but the kids were too young to really understand what was going on.  My company has a Christmas party and one of our employees plays Santa.  This is great because not only is his beard real, but this means I don't have to stand in line at the mall.

L's first meeting with Santa went ok, although he was a bit suspicious

The next year, he was not at all happy to see his old friend, Santa.  E was a little confused as to why we dressed her like that if we knew he would be wearing the same thing.

We're hoping that L will understand a little better this year, although I think it might be E's turn to freak out.  This Saturday is the children's Christmas party, so we'll see how it goes.  We've been playing Christmas music and I plan on showing the kids all of the usual TV specials. I want them to love this holiday as much as I do and to gain a sense of what is really important. We don't do a lot of presents, but we'll be together and I know that the love and security we all feel is much better than a gift certificate. 

(I wouldn't turn down a gift certificate to Starbuck's, though, if Santa happens to be reading this.)