On the other side December 30, 2007

The Christmas tree is gone and many of the decorations are put away, but I’m still savoring this sweet holiday that we spent together: attending a truly incredible Christmas service as a family; cozy moments curled up on the couch doing things like watching It’s a Wonderful Life, Scrooged, Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, and Elf; finishing our annual reading of Rascal, catching up with family and friends with the happy arrival of Christmas cards, enjoying some of the most thoughtful and creative Christmas gifts I’ve ever received, and knowing that even without those presents, I’d be one incredibly blessed woman!

But that’s not all! In the midst of this season of giving, we debuted an idea that’s been brewing in our family for quite some time. On the day after Christmas, we launched Family Reads, a new site devoted to dependably delightful books for kids. It’s been a wonderful family project, with each of us contributing substantially. We’re posting reviews, tips, ideas and inspiration to help encourage a lifelong love of reading. Check it out, let us know what you think, and, by all means, share with your friends. The more the merrier!

December December 4, 2007

Not Recommended

• Trying to sing along with Alvin and the Chipmunks’ Christmas song as you’re driving down the road. An adult’s voice really shouldn’t go there.
• Setting unrealistic goals, like, say, having all the Christmas shopping done and all the Christmas cards ready to send out by December 1. (It sounded reasonable in October.) Instead, I’m hoping to adopt a go-with-the-flow approach to the season, like allowing three days to get our Christmas tree up and decorated.
• Expect the Christmas lights you have carefully, artfully tucked away in the branches of your tree, while getting sticky with pine-sap, to continue working. As Brian lamented, “Why, oh why, can’t this great country of ours produce Christmas lights that work for more than an hour?” In the above-mentioned flexible spirit, the half-lit strand stayed on the tree, slightly obscured by scooting around some of the neighboring strands. Since this happens every year (and those minuscule fuses never work – they are just further trickery), I’m hoping it all adds up to some Christmas Story-esque fond memory for Ben as he gets older.
• Hanging on to old traditions that don’t work anymore. Doing an advent chain was a cherished activity for many years, but Ben finally outgrew it and we gave it up in 2006.
• Comparing yourself with anyone else’s: Christmas decorations, festive outfit, homebaked treats, artistic wrapping or post-Christmas vacation.

Recommended

• Homemade eggnog latte. Heat 1/2 mugful of eggnog, generate some foam with a frother if you have one, add some strong coffee, and sprinkle with nutmeg. Delectables.
• Buying something handmade or vintage from Etsy. Waaaay more fun than fighting the crowds at the mall. Unless, of course, you find the perfect calendar that will make you smile all year long and you buy it for yourself, thereby robbing your son of the joy of picking out and purchasing your yearly wall calendar, which he discovers with dismay and you then feel terribly guilty about it. That would be on the Not Recommended list.
• Be the slacker once in a while. Don’t organize the room party. Shrug your shoulders when you forget something. Be as forgiving to yourself as you would your child. (Okay, I wrote that totally for me – we’ll see how I do
• Not stepping foot in the post office this year. Order everything you need (stamps, free shipping supplies) online and then have them pick up the packages from your door. Super convenient!
• Going low-key on the Christmas decorations – wrap a few small boxes with fun paper and place them around, pour some pinecones or Christmas ornaments in a bowl or basket and add a few extra sprigs of greenery (Home Depot has a pile of free leftovers from the trees they prep for taking home).
• Christmas lights in bedrooms – unbelievably cozy.
• Remembering just why it is that we celebrate Christmas. I’ll spend many hours preparing things (our home, gifts, baked treats, packages), but I don’t want to lose sight of preparing my heart for the amazing miracle of a God who is with us.