And so we survive another Christmas...

[kirstenj_2004]

I think all parents of young children are entitled to relax with a stiff drink once the kids are in bed on Christmas Day. I say this because I remember what I was like on Christmas Day when I was a kid. Me and my brother would always be with our cousins on Christmas Eve, sleeping over at each others' houses. We would be so excited that we would go to sleep atrociously late on Christmas Eve, and we would be up at the crack of dawn wanting to open our presents. We would spend the whole of Christmas Day running around like hooligans, on a high from the excitement and the presents and the sugar. And Lord help our parents if we had received battery-operated toys and there were no batteries in the house.

Now that I am older, wiser, and have kids of my own, I understand why our parents always used to beg us to go to bed on Christmas Evening. I just have my own two kids to deal with. My parents or my cousins' parents - depending on whose rotation it was in the Christmas Sleepover Cycle - had to deal with us en masse. A total of nine kids with just one set of parents. All of the aunts and uncles were present and accounted for on Christmas Day, of course, but we were always at our most troublesome and energetic at night when we were supposed to be sleeping.

Now that I am a parent, Christmas exhausts me, largely for the same reasons it exhausted my parents, aunts and uncles. Little kids just get all excitable and weird by the whole Festive Season. This year was the first time my kids really got into the whole spirit of it. For weeks now James has been going on about "Santa and the snowman". I'm not too sure how he came up with that combination, but he's been very intense about it. When we had our Santa picture taken three nights ago, George went right up to Santa without being prompted, gave him a high-five, and sat on his knee. I was amazed - this is a child who is usually very wary of strangers. James was the one who was initially hesitant, but once he saw that George was OK, he wanted in on the action too. We got a great photo which I will post once I've had it scanned.

Yesterday, James was into the whole Christmas Eve anticipation thing. He was immensely excited by the prospect of Santa coming. George doesn't really do anticipation, so he was behaving like a reasonably civilized human being. Fortunately, James believed me when I told him that Santa would only come if he was sleeping.

This morning, both boys got up and went into the living room. Seconds later, they came into our bedroom and divebombed us. James was yelling, "Santa's been! Santa's been!" Clearly, the boys had seen their Christmas stockings hanging up, chock-full of stuff. James took his stocking and attacked the wrapping paper on the contents. His flurry of activity was punctuated with "Wow!" and "Look at that!" George needed some encouragement with his presents, but he got into the whole spirit of it. When he opened one particular gift to find a Bob the Builder book, his face exploded in a smile, as if he had suddenly gotten what was really going on.

Presents were opened more or less throughout the day. Christmas is a bit of a double-whammy in our family, since it's also James' birthday. We clearly segregate the Christmas present time from the birthday present time, and as usual, we will throw James a birthday party in the late Spring, to ensure that he gets his rightful complement of gifts and birthday wishes. For the whole day, though, I have been trying to wrap my head around the fact that my so-called baby is now three years old.

Everyone did well this Christmas. George and James each got new sheets and comforters for their beds: Thomas the Train and The Wiggles. They also got boots, snowpants, and coats - a very popular choice with George, who immediately had to put on his new winter regalia and go out to play in the snow. James got a Thomas the Train that rolls along the carpet, and George got a hockey player Potato Head. It comes with skates, helmet, hockey stick and puck, and - this one really cracked me up - a missing tooth. James got a zoomy car racetrack thing; George got a world globe with cool pictures on it, and a rocket that flies around the world, controlled by a joystick. James got a thing that you use to construct a fort; George got a Whack-a-Dinosaur game (same concept as Whack-a-Mole with one obvious difference). Both of them got giant Magna Doodles. They got books, clothing, toy cars, trains and trucks.

For his birthday, James got an electric Thomas the Train set and a Little Tikes digital camera that he just had to take to bed with him.

Gerard got a digital picture frame, the road atlas he's been hankering after, a Canadian Tire gift card, and some DVD's. I got a beautiful miniature fountain that will go onto my desk at work, some wine, a chick-flick, and a new digital camera. Joint gifts included a picnic basket and some gift cards to restaurants. Best of all, I got to talk to my Mom and my brother, and thanks to Webcam technology, my Mom could see the boys and they could see her.

And now the boys are asleep, and I'm having a much-needed glass of wine.

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night...

[Pierre]

Kirsten, thanks for a description of your family's Xmas day. We now visit our kids and grandkids. But we remember what it used be like.
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regards, Peter

IF IT AIN'T BROKE - DON'T FIX IT

[Gnomie]

I have to admit I was one of the early risers. One year, I awoke early enough to open everyone's presents. Pretty cool getting a Fedora when you're three. Everyone awoke to find me asleep under the tree with no other surprises. I bet what they found was a surprise enough.

When I was older, I was smart enough to wake my little brother to take the blame.

Enjoy these times while they last. The neighborhood kids are growing up too fast for my taste.

[RedBarren]

Great story, Kirsten. Glad the day went well for your and yours.

But the real question, I think, is what did hubby get?
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Folding@home

[kirstenj_2004]

[RedBarren]

[Pierre]