Christmas is a magical time, isn’t it? The stockings are hung, “by the chimney with care,” (or in my case, next to the windows—apartment living), the lights on the tree dance around the room, homemade snowman pictures and fallen tinsel decorate your living room floor, and everyone seems a little happier, if only for awhile.
This Christmas was lovely. We got our first real tree, ever. Until now we’ve used a lovely artificial tree, but my husband wanted the real deal this year. So we walked across the street to Target, picked one out, and unbelievably, he carried it on his back all the way home (you should’ve seen it—you would have gone crazy with laughter).
We also opted out of our usual Victorian-style decorations and went homemade this year. We adorned the tree with big, round, Charlie Brown-type lights and used little red velvet bows, candy canes, and homemade snowflakes to complete the tree. Then we strung popcorn (appears much, much easier than it is—my two-year-old kept eating the popcorn) and threw tinsel on the tree to finish it off. A few days later, my son brought home his first school-made ornament (he is in kindergarten) and voila! The tree was complete.
The sweetest thing about this Christmas was that my children (ages 6 and 2 ½) wrapped up their own toys to give to one another. You should’ve seen their excitement as they went into their play room (aka the dining room) and picked out the “perfect” toy that they just knew the other one would adore (ex. a stuffed Mickey Mouse, a leftover McDonald’s toy, etc.) and wrapped it carefully. Then they placed them under the tree. When Christmas morning came, although my six-year-old was understandably entranced by his new skates, he and his sister were just as excited to open their very own toys, rewrapped by one another.
It just goes to show that sometimes the best gifts in life aren’t the ones you think you want—they’re the ones that you already have, given to you by someone you love.