Doing Christmas

We “did Christmas” yesterday. It’s one of those processes that kind of sucks when you’re in the middle of it - lots of stress and dealing with dusty picture rails and things falling and pine needles and glitter everywhere - but once it’s done, it’s nice. I order an ornament of our family photos every year, and there are so many of them now that they fill a whole shoebox. This is the beginning of the end of “Christmases with children”. It’s a weird thought.

I wonder what these kids will remember about their childhood Christmases? What presents will stand out, what moments? They probably won’t be the ones we think. For me, I remember best the year I got a tiny portable television after four years of not having a tv at all; the screen was about the size of an iPhone, and it was black and white, and I don’t remember using it much because you could barely get any reception on it (and not long after, we got an actual television). I remember Christmases at my grandmother’s place in rural Connecticut, and in those last years she was alive (she died when I was fifteen), I made the strange habit of waking up on Christmas Day before sunrise, sneaking outside and climbing a tree to take a picture of the sun as it peeked over the horizon. I have no idea where these pictures ended up. 

My kids will probably remember when they got a play station or a VR or an iPhone (some day). Which is normal. I’d love for them to remember all the invisible labor I put into making things magical for them - the big breakfasts, the planning, the candy making, the decorating - but…they’re kids. I certainly don’t remember my mother’s invisible labor; when I was a kid, she existed only as a person to acquire toys for me. The meals, clean clothes, clean toilets all just happened naturally. Right? Our parents don’t really become human until we become adults ourselves. Kids can’t, and perhaps shouldn’t, understand how much work goes into holidays. 

I’ve been giving the whole house a general glow up - mainly in moving pictures around and filling empty wall spaces. I got the kids’ room done (I ordered one more vintage pennant to put on their wall):

I had to find the pictures I took of them for their yearbook for 2020 when they weren’t in school, and print those out. I’m pretty pleased with how their year-by-year photo displays turned out.

I’ve also been rubbing down dirty walls, trim and light switches with a magic eraser, and dusting and rearranging things in general. I’ve ordered a jewelry box to keep my mess of jewelry organized, and will do a cull of my makeup as well. I’m also overdue for a closet clean out. 

The kids have two more weeks of school and then three weeks off - but we’re really only home for about a week before we leave on our AZ/UT trip, for which we all need long johns and snow boots. I’m pretty sure Theo can wear the ones I bought Bobby years ago that we never used, and mine should still fit, but Bobby will need new ones and we all need warm underwear under our clothes. It’s an expensive time of year.