The Happy to my Holidays
Hurry parents everywhere so we can stand in line for hours all to have a jolly stranger hold our kids so they can cry while we take a picture to post on social media with the hashtag #santafail. No, but really. If there is a Christmas-themed park, tree lot, or reindeer sleigh within a 15-mile radius of my house we are so there. I know, I’m just as surprised as you! Things that I would have thought would be irritating, like dressing my girls in matching outfits every day, turns out are actually kind of spectacular.
This sounds totally nuts, but I woke up November 24th with the holiday spirit all thanks to my two little elves who are starting to believe in the magic of Christmas and if I didn’t know any better I, too, would swear that there will be a fat man scooting down my chimney in less than 3 weeks.
Like everything that happens with children it is all about managing your expectations and this time of year is no exception…
Rather than go out into the wilderness with a chainsaw in 20 feet of snow, my Clark drove us the 3 minutes down the way to our local Boy Scout lot. What was supposed to be one 10-foot tree turned into a 12-foot tree and two 4-foot trees, which my girls hauled off the lot all by themselves. Their new favorite game is how many pine needles can they shove up each other’s nose before sneezing them out? So far they’ve made it to 3.
Davis has a Children’s Candlelight Parade to the Christmas tree lighting downtown every year and call me over-protective but I would have thought they’d pass out flameless candles. We arrived in their matching flannel jammies and I noticed a 9-month-old holding a very real candle next to my highly flammable children. I guess that’s why the fire truck is also in the parade. We proceeded to walk without our candles lit as my girls held up traffic and had to be escorted by yours truly and the police out of the middle of the intersection. We left before the tree was lit.
The 30 seconds before I blew them out.
We have decorated a dozen cookies every day for the past 7 days. I’ve gained at least a pound a day and my girls think that frosting goes well on their tiny trees (aka broccoli).
Baby it’s cold outside, but this doesn’t stop any child anywhere from wanting to play outdoors. Just today in the blistering wind we went out with friends to Silveyville Tree Farm and rode a sleigh led by a (fake) reindeer through a forest of Christmas trees. It was just us on the sleigh due to the wind chill—but Charlotte leaned in towards Maddie, took her hand and then gave her a kiss. I almost couldn’t even write this today because my heart exploded with love.
In this holidaze, things will never go according to your plan or agenda—because, well, kids. But they are the star on the tree, the light in the darkness, the sprinkles on sugar cookies, and the kiss under the mistletoe, if you only choose to believe.
