And a (Fashionably Late) Merry Christmas to You!

There is something about Christmas time.  A time when even the hearts of the Grinch-iest of Grinches  can grow three sizes in one day.  A time when we find ourselves singing “pa rum pum pum pum” even if it’s the 28^th time we’ve heard Little Drummer Boy blasting throughout the mall…we get it dude – you don’t have a gift for Baby Jesus, but you’ve got a drum to play while He sleeps – I bet Mary and Joseph sure appreciate that one!   And while we celebrate with friends at parties and make special efforts to carve out time with our families, we’re experienced enough to know that all this merriment and excitement is because it’s Christmas time, even if the true meaning of Christmas slips into the back of our minds at times .  

But this year was different.  This year Eddie and I caught a firsthand glimpse of how even those too young to understand what the hustle and bustle was all about could project the spirit of Christmas better than the Head Elf himself.  And though he wasn’t sure what all the parades were for or why there was a big tree in every house he visited, he did know Something was up…and boy was he excited!

I, on the other hand, treated the Christmas season as more of a business project – checking off to-do lists, scheduling the what, when and where’s, just going through the motions, focusing on how much I could fit into the season so that I could show James what Christmas time was instead of what Christmas time was actually meant to be.  With every passing day I became more and more exhausted and stressed while James became more and more amazed and enthusiastic.  I took the approach to stop and take it all in when it was all said and done, working tirelessly to get there while James soaked up all the Christmas magic he could in the moment.   

 Just a few days before Christmas, I saw James spellbound by a toy carousel at my grandparents house that played Christmas carols.  He was fascinated by the reflective stickers and swayed back and forth to the music then clapped and cheered when each song finished.  Now if you recall his experience with Old Saint Nick from the previous post, you’re probably aware that the carousel was a much bigger hit than sitting on a stranger’s lap.  I didn’t have to carry him all the way to the “North Pole” or “Gingerbread Mountain” in order for him to see what Christmas was all about, the kid had found the spirit of Christmas all on his own.  Taking a moment watch James I started to realized that I could cross things off my to-do list that I really didn’t have “to do”, put the camera down a little more every now and then – to stop and be in awe along with James, letting him figure out what Christmas actually is by taking it all in rather than running myself ragged trying to fit it all in.  

 Here's how we celebrated this year!

We picked out the perfect tree...

G-Daddy (my Dad) sold Christmas trees this year.  Every day after picking James up from daycare we would go for visit.

We decorated (and re-decorated) Christmas trees...

G-daddy and CiCi used colored lights

James loved the bell ornament...I mean REALLY loved the bell ornament.

Granna's (my mom) Christmas Tree was beautiful enough to entertain James for hours!

We made Gingerbread Houses...

Constructing a Gingerbread house BEFORE I realized my sister was taking a picture...

Constructing gingerbread houses AFTER I realized my sister was taking a picture.

At least I made sure his sleeves were rolled up!

James was more interested in "landscaping" the gingerbread house than decorating it.

Yes...I know  the mess could have been much worse.

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The finished product!

We decorated wagons...

We watched parades...

Smithfield Christmas parade.

Santa at the Raleigh Christmas Parade.

James was more interested in the truck pulling Santa's sleigh.

...And dancing to the Christmas music the bands played.

James was slightly confused by the enormous pink monster being pulled by 50 grown men.

We had classroom parties...

 

We made cookies...

 We clapped & made an attempt at singing Christmas Carols...

 We hung out as a family...

We played with the trucks Santa brought...

We ate waffles for breakfast in the den...

 We hung stockings...

 We ran around the house in monster feet...

 And rode "tractors"...

I understand this is not a "tractor" but it has 4 wheels and in James' book qualifies as a tractor.

We ate...

 And ate...

 

 And ate...

Thanks for the animal cookies Gramdmama and Papa...James has developed quite an addiction.

Next year we’ll be able to further explain to James that Christmas is kind of like a big birthday party for Baby Jesus – and we sing carols at the top of our lungs and decorate our houses with a billion lights and make cookies for Santa and travel out to a farm to watch the Christmas Nativity all to celebrate Him.  And while he may not quite grasp the miracle of the whole thing, I’m confident his Christmas spirit will radiate out of him enough to remind everyone around him to stop and take in the wonder of it all.