I should really title this post A Really Cool Thing That Happened At Christmas, but it just doesn’t have the same zip. This actually happened to me last year so, I reiterate, clearly not a miracle–or at least not one I felt compelled to proclaim from a snowy roof top. (In my case just a roof top, maybe with a couple of leaves.)

I tore off the burgundy fabric I had around the tree.  Its deafening 1990s cries were driving me bonkers; I felt Ricky Martin was going to jump out from behind the tree at any moment and start singing Living La Vida Loca.  Besides, we normally place the tree between two very large picture windows and, in the past, the fabric helped give the tree some much needed girth in that large area.  Now that we’ve moved it next to the fireplace, there is no need to make it appear bigger.  (<—Not the really cool thing that happened on Christmas but, in regards to the fabric, certainly a good thing.)

My mantel is looking better.  I found the garland on the mantel at Michael’s for 70% off, so if you are in the market for some plastic greenery at a discounted price, hop in your sled and mush your way over to your nearest strip mall. (<—Also not the really cool thing that happened one Christmas.)

I think removing the fabric and adding the garland highlights the Christmas angel I have on the mantel, which is where I have the Christ candle.  (<—256 words later, she reaches the point of this post.)  For those who don’t know, the Christ candle is always white, usually in the center of the Advent wreath, and lit on Christmas day.  Last year I was on a mission to find the perfect Christ candle.  My wreath, unfortunately, wasn’t large enough to house in its center any of the candles I found.  So, figuring an all forgiving God wouldn’t mind, I decided I would find a special candle holder (on a $20 budget) and burn the candle on Christmas alongside the wreath.

Seven stores later (you’d be surprised how hard it is to find religious items during Christmas), I found the angel at a Christian bookstore.  This angel is not anything I would normally be drawn to, but I thought she was just beautiful.  I still do.  She’s about 12 inches tall, carved from wood, and weighs a ton.  I picked her up, looking for a price.  $50.  More than double my $20 budget.

I had been to every single store in and around town, so I knew I was going to have to find something at the store I was at or forget the Christ candle.  I wasn’t about to do that, so I asked the woman behind the counter if she had anything that would work.  She said she had the perfect thing, and for the next few minutes I followed her all around the store.

Nothing.  Whatever the perfect thing was, she couldn’t find it.

She decided to look in the back one last time so we walked towards the register, past the angel I admired earlier.  Wouldn’t you know it?  The $50 angel was what the store employee had been searching for the entire time.

“OH!  Here she is!  This is what I was talking about.  I think she would be perfect for a Christ candle!”

I agreed, but in the spirit of Christmas, I was also honest.  “I know, I saw this earlier and it is perfect, but it costs more than I budgeted to pay.”  {blushing}  I thanked her for her time, and told her I would keep looking.

The shop owner turned the angel over, looked at the price and said, “Well, I can sell it to you for $20.  Is that closer to what your budget allows?  I think she is perfect for you.”

I said, yes, I think that would fit my budget nicely.

And that is the story of my Christmas angel.  Certainly not a miracle, but definitely a really cool thing to happen at Christmas.  I wish for you and your families the same; that your holidays, no matter what or how you celebrate, be filled with the peace, love, and, if not miracles, more than a few really cool things.

We haven’t done much this year.  The advent wreath and candles are out, but we didn’t light them or do the readings.  The advent calendar is out, too, but unlike last year, it sits empty this season.  Honestly, I didn’t even put up Christmas decorations until the 7th or so.  Between the late Thanksgiving and the flu, time just slipped away.  All is not lost.  I did manage to sneak in one special treat for the boys on Saturday.

I went to Anthropologie last week to buy Mikey’s teachers their Christmas presents. They made out like bandits thanks to a lovely sale table. On this same sale table I found two very sweet, miniature coffee cups perfect for hot cocoa and little hands. At $3.95 each, I couldn’t resist. Sold and sold.

Anthropologie makes it so easy to give gifts. Their packaging is almost always fantastic, and you know I can’t resist a thick Kraft box.The boys tore into the gifts with such excitement that I started to get a little nervous about how the gifts would go over. Can you blame me? We were giving them coffee cups, not hatching dinosaur eggs.

Luckily, they were very well received, especially after we explained to them that inside those cups would go hot cocoa and as many marshmallows as they wanted. The cocoa they could sip in front of the TV while they watched the Christmas movie of their choice.

They started watching A Charlie Brown Christmas and I served the cocoa. Mikey pronounced it too hot, which means he inherited The Mister’s intolerance for food or drink hotter than room temperature. I am of the opinion that food isn’t edible if it doesn’t burn off the roof of your mouth. Nicholas must have inherited this same preferance because he drank his cocoa (the same one Mikey declared burning hot) through a straw in one pull. I tried to tell him to be careful, that the cocoa was very hot, but he just sat there drinking away, taking a breath only when his cup slurped empty. I see in his future a long and illustrious career as a fraternity brother. The only way I could have been more impressed is if he drank the cocoa while doing a handstand.

p.s.  Did you notice our open windows and short sleeved shirts?  It was 70 degrees on Saturday.  I planted flowers in the yard while Nicholas napped and Mikey helped The Mister with a leaking water meter.  I wore a sweater today to do Christmas shopping, but it was more on principle than necessity.  I thought I would get hot pushing my way through the crowds, but everything was empty.  The freeways, the parking lots, the stores…empty.  Was is empty for you, too?

Thanks to a brilliant craft idea from Abbey, who was inspired by a tip from Stephanie, I spent the day crafting up a winter wonderland Mikey and Nicholas can appreciate. Glittered reindeer? Looks good, mom! Glittered dinosaurs? You’re the best mom ever, mom! False.

When I told Mikey and Nicholas last week that I would be covering in glitter the cheap dinosaurs I bought at Michaels (the ones they were playing with as if they didn’t have 52 million other dinosaurs of the same variety but ten times more expensive) all game playing came to a halt. Imagine the sound of the largest record on earth screeching to a halt, with Mikey bringing Tyrannosaurus Rex up to his chest in a protective hug.

“You’re going to what?!”  Horror.  Four horror filled eyes looked up at me.  Even the dinosaurs looked scared.

“I’m going to cover them in glitter and put them on the tree table in the toy room.  It’s going to be Dinosaur Mountain!  I’m telling you, you’re going to love it!” Please. Now you’re opposed to glitter? You used to be quite the fan. A really big fan, in fact.

Crickets.  Many crickets chirping.

“But, Mama,”  Mikey explained to me in a tone one normally reserves for the feeble, “Mama, dinosaurs don’t glitter.”

This went on for several minutes, the dinosaurs suddenly children in a bad custody case.  Finally, I had no choice but to put my legal education to use.  My closing argument went something like this:

“WE ARE GLITTERING THE DINOSAURS AND BY GOD YOU TWO ARE GOING TO LOVE IT!”

Then I called my mother in law and told her she needed to head to Michaels pronto and buy some dinosaurs for her grandsons for Christmas.

Yesterday I glittered the dinosaurs. I put Nicholas to bed and laid out all the supplies on the dining room table.  Mikey, his head stuffed with a cold, sniffed both to alleviate sinus pressure and communicate his disdain.

“Do you want to work on the dinosaurs with me, Mikey?”

“No, because dinosaurs don’t glitter.  I’ll just work on my lego car.”

Suit yourself.

I just finished gluing and glittering Tyrannosaurus Rex when Mikey approached the table.

“Whoa.  What did you do to that Tyrannosaurus Rex?”

“I glittered him.  Now I’m going to do the rest.”  Holds breath.

“He looks really cool, mom!”

Releases breath.

“Aw, thanks, Mikey!”  But really I was thinking, Thankyouverymuch maybe now you will think twice before you argue with your mother because I think I know you just a little bit better than you give me credit for, little mister.

Also, AHA!  I KNEW IT!

Mikey kept checking on my progress until all four dinosaurs were covered in glitter and ready to perform alongside white tigers in Las Vegas.

Mikey likes the Stegosaurus best because he looks like “he’s on fire.”  I like the Brachiosaurus best because he comes closest to the vintage colored glass I wanted.  Overall, everyone was happy, including the dinosaurs.

At night is when they look the prettiest, coming close to how I envisioned them in my mind when I first saw Abbey’s post. This year I went with a cheap snow blanket since I didn’t know how the project would turn out. Next year I will probably use a piece of muslin and spread some of that cotton-candy fake snow if I am confident Nicholas won’t fiddle with it too much. I will also replace the tree lights underneath the blanket with a lit table garland. The lights get a bit hot for my comfort, and I think a garland would look better overall.  In the next day or so I will tape down the tree wires if I get the energy and position the dinos better.  We’ll see.  Right now I am pleased everyone likes Dinosaur Mountain–initial furious mutiny notwithstanding.

I am mere minutes from picking up Mikey from school.  In T-minus 30 minutes, Christmas vacation officially starts.  I can’t wait!  There will be much baking, crafting, and merry making.  There will also be present wrapping.  Every year I try to do something different.  Last year was about my love of tulle, and how nicely said fabric matched the homemade marshmallows I made everyone.  I could swear I wrote a post about wrapping presents with tulle, but I can’t find it anywhere.  Oh well.

This year I am all about the Kraft paper, which I use for almost everything all throughout the year.  I’m not the only one using Kraft paper this year.  It’s a popular choice for 2009, and perhaps that reflects a cultural shift in our society.  Following economic downturns, populations will, by consequence, simplify and turn inward, reflecting on their life and the artifices that no longer brings them pleasure.  Zzzzzzzz.  Personally, I just think it’s super cute.  Besides, it gave me an excuse to use my mom’s blue typewriter from the 70s, the very same one with which I typed away many an atrocious short story as an awkward 9 year old.  Me and old blue, we go back.

I was going to use plain Kraft paper, but I came across this postage themed Kraft paper at Staples and couldn’t resist how it matched the packing labels already in my cart.  I tied everything up with a giant ball of hemp twine I bought months ago to package items for a customer.  Then, my favorite part: ol’ blue.  A sweet Christmas message on one side for the recipient.  On the other side, a quote (I love quotes) I felt reflected their personality or passions in life.  Finding the quotes for all my friends and family has been my favorite part, hands down.  I have several books on quotes (thanks to my mom) and countless online resources I turn to often.  I may have found two or three or twenty quotes I like for myself in the process, causing quite a delay in the assembly line and one or two last minute, freak-out wrapping sessions so I could make it to the post office before the angry noon mob.

Eek!  Speaking of noon–I’m off to pick up Mikey.  Yahoo! :)

I finished decorating the house for Christmas this weekend. I know not everyone loves the Holidays, but I do. I love the lights, the decorations, the silly wreaths on cars, and the general good cheer. I wish the focus wasn’t so much on the sales, bargains, and gifts, but I choose to focus on the many things I love about the Season and do my part to keep consumerism to a respectable level.

I also love our house, but something about the way it looks decorated for Christmas makes me so happy. I love it! I don’t know what I am doing wrong the rest of the year, but right now it looks warm, friendly, and cozy.

This year we put up the same fake tree the Mister and I bought for our first Christmas together. I thought it would be too thin, but it fits perfectly in between our two picture windows. I love how all the lights reflect off the windows.

I put up all my special ornaments this year, of course, and added a few new ones, too. The Mister bought me this dancing frog last year for Christmas to replace poor Kermie.

Last year I really wanted a Mickey Mouse ornament because Mikey was so obsessed with him. I finally found one, after being outbid on ebay several times, at Target of all places! Now I am on the hunt for a glass dinosaur ornament.

I love the way these trees sparkle in the window from the street.

A basket of cards from last year (so I remember who to send to this year), but only one card from this year, so far.

A basket of Hersey Kisses never hurt anyone.

My 20 year old mixer agrees: things look better surrounded by Christmas decorations. It’s slimming.

Can’t it be Christmas all year long, minus all the shopping?

When we first moved into our new house, we were still alternating Christmases with our families. One year we would spend it with the Mister’s family, and the next year we would spend it in Lake Tahoe with my family. Our first year in our Little Brick House was a Lake Tahoe year. On those years, we never put up Christmas lights. When we mentioned that to our new neighbors, they let us know Christmas lights were not an option. In fact, the only homeowners on the street exempted from Christmas lights were people on social security. So we put up our Christmas lights and set them on timers.

Last year, one of Mikey’s friends from school moved next door shortly before Christmas. The neighborhood Light Gestapo let her slide, but I warned Wyatt’s mom that next year she wouldn’t get off so easy.

The Mister put up the lights Thanksgiving weekend. We were never fans of lawn art, but our neighborhood is. So, we may be picking some up. Let’s just say our discreet, simple white lights and green wreaths are nice, but it could be a little more…more.

And more is exactly what Wyatt’s mom did. My camera couldn’t take a picture of her entire lot (or mine, either–that’s one of the great things about older homes, large lots!) so I decided to work left to right.  I’m telling you now the pictures don’t do the house justice.  Standing in front in the middle of the street, it’s pretty darn festive.

Of course the whole house is lit up, down to the bushes. On the left, she has three trees that flash various Christmas colors.

In the middle, she has Santa’s sleigh and 4 reindeer.

On the right, she has more trees (unfortunately I kept taking pictures of them during “color changes”) and a penguin.

That’s all fine and good. I’ve seen more obnoxious. In fact, that sleigh and reindeer set up she has is also on the roof of another neighbor’s house. What brought the rest of the neighborhood to it’s knees and caused serious planning for next year, is that all those flashing, strobe-like Christmas lights on the trees? They’re set to music. Music song by none other than Mr. Penguin.

Mr. Penguin says, “How ya’ like me now?”

In other news, the 6th day of Advent brought the boys “Popcorn and a Christmas movie with mom and dad.” We watched The Polar Express, which pretty much scared the bejezus out of Mikey. And, if we’re going to be honest, the Mister and I were a little freaked out by the weird computer animation, too. The characters looked oddly fake and weird and alive, all at the same time. {shudder} But, it was a perfect excuse to inhale more popcorn. We ate the last of it on Saturday, and while I’ve been to the store twice since then, I’ve refrained from buying more popcorn kernels. This family’s popcorn obsession is getting out of control, and if we don’t have it in the house you can’t very well make it and skip meals because you’ve eaten so much, can you? But I did buy more Nutritional Yeast, so there you go.

Mikey decided to take the wheels from a broken child’s Jeep and turn them into barbells. I have no idea where Mr. Universe came up with this idea, but he sure looks cute hoisting 16 ounces of plastic tire, doesn’t he?

We also tried out a new church this weekend, and it wasn’t Catholic!  Somewhere in Heaven (or San Diego if she hasn’t yet kicked it) there is a Sister Celeste rolling in her grave.  Or convent.  It’s not a for sure thing for us, but we liked the Sunday school program, which was something sorely lacking at our regular church.

All in all, a boring for you, yet utterly wonderful for me, weekend.  I hope yours was the same.

As a child, my mom would buy me and my brothers chocolate Advent calendars in anticipation of Christmas. Unfortunately, the tradition quickly died after one too many years of us eating all the chocolates far in advance of Christmas day. Stupid temptation.

But I’ve never forgotten that feeling of anticipation every time I opened the next window on the calendar, albeit empty. With Mikey now 4 years old, I decided this year would be a great time to start an Advent calendar tradition.

Here is my new Advent Calendar from Target. Although I wanted something more handmade, I’ve come to appreciate how sturdy it is. I realize now with how eager Mikey is to check the calendar that something made of paper would have never lasted.

I don’t want the Advent Calendar to turn into 24 more days of presents, so I really tried to put some thought into gifts with some sort of meaning. My sister in law, Stephanie, is very good at creating tradition in the home–especially around holidays. I decided to take a few of her traditions and incorporate them into the calendar. So, on the first day, December 1st, the boys received matching winter pajamas, something they would have received anyway. Obviously I couldn’t fit the pajamas in the calendar, so I just wrote a little note inside that read,

Dear Mikey and Nico,

You both warm our hearts so much. We hope these new pjs warm your nights just as much.

Love,
Mama & Daddy

The pjs were a hit with Mikey. The note? He wasn’t even paying attention to me while I read it to him and Nico. Sigh.

The next day we decided having them help us put up the tree would be a fun way to celebrate Advent.

Since I couldn’t stuff a fake tree in there, I put it some peanut butter cups and a little note detailing the night’s activities. We still aren’t done decorating, but it was the best time I’ve had putting up a tree.

The boys had a great time, too, but I think they liked the chocolate-as-breakfast concept even better.

The next day we did Christmas books I found in the dollar section at Target, and today we did chocolate again.

We lit the Advent Wreath last night. Advent actually started on Sunday (my birthday!), but since it was still November and Mikey was having trouble understanding why anything Christmas related would occur outside December, I decided to stick with a contemporary schedule. The lighting of the wreath and the scriptures to read are all very simple thanks to me stumbling onto the book, Celebrating Christmas: And the Beautiful Traditions of Advent. I like the book so much I actually added it to my bookstore under the holiday category.

The book supports a nonlitigurical schedule for Advent, but you can always take the schedule and apply it to the four Sundays before Christmas. Each day has some history on Christmas and Advent, a very brief prayer, and a Christmas themed story by Tolstoy, Hans Christian Anderson, and Pearl S. Buck, to name a few. I read the history lesson and prayer (each about a half page) while Mikey figeted in anticipation of lighting the wreath, Nico gorged himeself on rice, and the Mister, um, sat there. Next week I’m going to read aloud from a book on martyrs.