Christmas Decor

Ben with our Christmas Tree - note the reindeer ornament that is missing one eye in the background!

For Lucas, chocolate is more important than any gift for Christmas!

Ben can hardly wait from the day we pack up the last Christmas decoration, until the day we set him loose to once again turn the house and yard into a Christmas wonderland!  In fact, months ago, he started tracing the bell shaped cookie cutter and stringing them on yarn to hang in the doorways.  So, we held out until the Friday morning after Thanksgiving Day.  By 9 AM, the Christmas Tree was set up, hot cocoa was poured, and decorating was underway.  By Noon, most of the outdoor lights had been put up and the boys were putting the finishing touches on their 4-car train they made out of our old hurricane shutter plywood.  By 3PM,  Matt and I were ready to go back to sleep! 

Now, it is almost a week away from Christmas.  By this time, I'm usually sick of the holiday tunes and ready to get things back in order.  But, not this year.  We have tried to make extra effort this year to keep the spirit of Christmas alive and well.  Besides making paper snow flakes, salt dough ornaments, Christmas doggie biscuits and cookies galore, we have been trying to make a big effort to help those who need it this holiday season. 

We have organized a fundraiser for a little girl from Luke's class who has cancer, and all the kids in his class are making her cards.  This fundraiser has brought out so much good spirit!  We have seen our corporate sponsor make special exceptions for this specific fundraiser, the schools have been so willing to hand out fliers, the Preschool parents are all planning "social events" to meet up for the event, and even members of the Church have stepped forward to make donations to the family.  We'll know by the end of the week how much we have raised.

The kids' preschool also has donated food to a poor rural farming community in Florida, and completely decorated the school Christmas tree with pairs of new underwear and socks that will be given as presents to an International School in St. Petersburg that teaches kids from immigrant families, many of them below poverty level.  The socks and underwear are often the only Christmas gift they will receive.  This year, our parents at the school decided to give a portion of our Book Fair books to this school for their library as well.

Me and Ben at the International School Delivering Christmas Gifts

We are also working on a project to encourage people to bring their fruit from their fruit trees to the local food banks.  Somehow, through many calls and meeting new people, it looks like I'm teaming up with a boy scout troop to kick off the event and get the word out.  In January, we will be picking fruit on one of the County's only remaining historic orange groves in Largo to give to the food banks.  Now, I'm trying to interest the media in covering the event to spread the word about fruit donations. 

At Thanksgiving time, I bought the kids each a book.  One was a kid version of the story of Christmas - About Mary, Joseph and Jesus, so they understand the background of the holiday.  The other was a book called "The True Meaning of Christmas" written by none other than Santa Clause himself! This is a chapter book, so we have been reading one chapter a night.  It covers everything to where the tradition of Santa Clause began, to stories of Christmas miracles, and stories about the meaning of Christmas. 

Yesterday, Ben told me that in addition to the tree, he thought we should also light a Menorah.  They have learned some about Hannukah at school.  My mom's side of the family is Jewish, so I have told him what I know about the religion.  So, yesterday, we set to work making a Menorah out of the only clay we had - Play-dogh!  It kind of looks like a mushroom from Alice in Wonderland, but it holds the candles just fine.  I do have to find some other candles though - the only ones I had were the re-lighting birthday candles.  As they burn, they spark like fireworks, which freaked out the kids - who then wanted me to blow them out, and of course, they just kept re-lighting all at once (Hannukah miracle perhaps????).  I had to pull them out and sink them in a cup of water before they really got worried!  Note to self...need to find some different candles today! 

So, in conclusion, may everyone, whereever you are - in 30 below weather or 130 degree weather, may you keep the spirit of Christmas alive, remember those whose Christmas may not be as bright as your own, and remember to enjoy the things and people that mean the most to you during the holidays!