Things I love about Christmas

I love Christmas. There are many ways and many reasons. It starts long before Christmas, usually around October when we start playing Christmas songs. I love thinking of presents to give people and secretly securing or making them, though I did less of that this year. I love Christmas songs playing at stores and as we clean or whatever around the house. Within a week before Christmas, I don't like hearing any other songs. I love Christmas concerts and Christmas specials. I love caroling and Christmas parties. I love shopping and finding perfect gifts, even when I didn't have much idea. I love wrapping gifts, devising good disguises for easily-guessed presents. I love making Christmas cards, though I haven't done many the past few years.

All leading up to Christmas...

I love Christmas Eve almost as much as Christmas Day. What other day can you find four people secretly wrapping gifts at the same time? Well, that doesn't usually happen at our house either, but for some reason almost all of us left the wrapping until then. Maybe it's because we had a crazy, fun Christmas Adam (see last year's Christmas post if you don't know what that means-you know, Adam came before Eve) and on Christmas Adam Eve we celebrated Melody's birthday.

"Can I borrow the tape for a minute?"
"Are there any more sissors?"
"Got any scraps?"
"I'll have some after I wrap this."
"May I use your pens?"
 "GET OUT!"
"I'll get it. You can't go in there."
"What happened to Mom's present?"
"Did you take that marker?"
"Do you have Grandma's present?"

 I love the evening especially. Our first Christmas Eve service was enjoyable, and taking pictures was fun.

I was asked to take pictures for two families. Scarily, my battery died as I took pictures of the candlelight singing. I had forgotten it was almost dead, and as I had let my friend Parker borrow my extra battery on Sunday and forgotten to return it to my bag, I didn't have an extra. Thankfully, I had my battery charger in my bag, and a couple minutes of charging gave me plenty of time to take some precious photos.

This family has 27 grandkids, all twelve and under. It is also the first photo they have had as a group since there were 10 grandkids. Isn't that awesome? What a beautiful family.

Then I also got to take another family picture, all in red. They looked lovely, though I didn't do as well as I had hoped with them.

Kristen had taken a"wreath" of holly to wear, which was pretty cute. Melody pointed this out to me;  Mrs. Bayly was talking to Kristen as she stood beside her wheelchair. It was adorable.

I love Christmas Eve night. Playing games, commenting on the snow or lack of it, discussing what we'll have for breakfast, setting out the kids' presents and making initial comments, secreting things into stockings, heading to bed.

I love Christmas morning before presents.

Hurrying down as soon as you wake. Discussing who got up first. Finding the presents miraculously multiplied, the stockings filled to the brim (except for Mom's).
 

Listening to Glad playing in the background. Sneaking presents that have been forgotten in from the car. Wondering if we should wake Mom up.

"This is a ton of presents."
"Your stocking is stuffed this year."
"Is Deanna up?"
"Wanna play a game?"
"Is the bread rising?"
"I got up at three."
"Why did you wake me up?"

And then there's the inventory of the presents.

"Oh, here's my scrapbook paper!"
"I wonder what this is...there's coins in this side and something shakes on the other."
"Who is this for? I can't find a name."
"I wasn't feeling very creative. Eric got jipped on his fancy present."
"I know what this is!"
"Hm...this is like a cd disguised with some sort of ring thingie."
"I wonder what book you got Eric!"

Though we joked about just sticking our presents under the tree without wrapping them, this inventory is one of our most enjoyable parts of Christmas presents. Every year Dad decorates a present for each one of us. Melody's is the only one I seem to have gotten a clear picture of us. You can also see mine hidden behind the couch beside it. He wasn't feeling creative this year, though. Eric got a reuse from last year.

For breakfast, Melody made cinnamon bread like we did last year. It is simpler than cinnamon rolls and SO delicious. We also had leftover cranberry bread.

I love praying and reading the Christmas story before presents. Kristen wanted to pray as usual. She started out normally for her. "Thank You what we could open presents." (Like Paul before her, she has this odd habit of using what rather than that.) Then, "...and thank You what it's not about presents but it's about Jesus. Amen."

It was absolutely adorable.

Then Dad prayed and read the Christmas story. We have a book that puts some of the prophesies of Jesus, the story of His birth, the shepherds, and the wisemen, all together in one place which Dad has used the past few years.

I love opening presents. I love getting to see people's reactions to presents I've been waiting to give them.

Deanna seemed to like the headband I got her. At least she wore it all day.

Eric was excited about his hat. He wore it most of the day and called Grandma when he realized he'd left it at Aunt T's.

  

Amy liked her cover. How could you not? It's soft and warm!

Timothy actually did the magic sets that had been passed around for a couple years, so I got him another.

Our calendar wasn't unexpected, but oh well. It was still nice.

If you're having trouble making that out, the caption for October is, Insanity runs in my family. It practically gallops.

Kristen loved her glow in the dark constellations as I thought she would.

We had some (no fancy colors and just simple stars and dots, though) when we were about her age, perhaps a bit older. Some of them  are still stuck above my bed and Melody's, and Kristen has asked me about them in that inquiring sort of manner kids have that lets you know they're a bit jealous.

She told Dad they were her favorite present, because they were in her hands when he asked her, and even slept with some of them.

Melody liked her hat too. So did I; I almost didn't give it to her. ;-) It was the only hat of that type at Saver's and exactly what I wanted. It fit her perfectly, and she wore it all day too. And no, I wasn't trying to get everyone head gear. It just sort of turned out that way.

We finally got to show Dad our picture, and he liked it. We aluminyzed it, which means it was printed on aluminum. 

I love understanding finally why people acted the way they did.

For example, Deanna was wrapping my gift which she was excited about. Then she said, "I'm not excited about your present any more." I wanted desperately to know why, but she obviously wouldn't say why. It was a strange sort of present, like a CD shape but with some large ring thing. I kept asking someone to hand me Deanna's, but they didn't see it until near the end of opening presents. When I opened it, it was a headband she had tried to return but couldn't and a note on a CD. She had been giving me Keith and Kristyn Getty's Christmas CD, and apparently when she was going to wrap it, she went to put some music on...and found that CD, which I got for Christmas last year. So she's going to exchange it for another one.

I love Kristen's reactions.

When she saw me put my headband on, she put hers on. If you think the front is interesting, you should have seen the back...

We made her wait to open this one for last. She was patient, but judging by her look, she really wanted to open it.

It was a doll, and she was very excited.

There is much more that could be said, but we shall move on.

I love the goofiness and fun. Paul opened a cool pop-up book, and Dad tried to tell him he was starting in the back, even though that would have made the words upside down...

This is spelled wrong on purpose.

The idea was that it would be thought for the Beerbower girls, when it was really for the Beerbower grill. It was a new grill cover. But we didn't realize it at first, because 99% of the time, something in our family isn't really what the box says.

Speaking of boxes...Deanna opened a generic box and revealed some orange and black cords. "Why did I get this?" she asked.

It was a legitimate concern, considering that there were a number of mislabeled (or one unlabeled...) presents.

"Because you need one," Dad said.

"Oh!" she said. "I thought it was an extension cord!" Meanwhile, Eric had been thinking he needed some jumper cables for his car. Eric opened some later. Dad had taken Deanna's out of the box so they wouldn't know they got the same thing.

I also liked my presents. They decided as they sometimes do that they should take a picture of me, even though my hair was looking odd.

A few of my favorite presents: the snuggie above, in awesome blue tie-dye, the yarn I'm holding to make a scarf, the skirts I picked out at Saver's, the scrapbook paper I picked out at Hobby Lobby, and were given to Melody (we share anyway), tights, especially gray ones, some shirts, my beaded headband, though it made my head sore, a five-subject notebook from Eric for school...and I may just end up listing everything now. Yellow nerds...pens...

I love Christmas after presents. There's the going over of presents, cleaning up (or, in my case, a nap), and then crazy loading up and heading to Aunt T's. Then it's fun stuff: eating-not real eating, but snacking on sloppy joe, Grandma's crackers and dip, scotcheroos, frosting-and then finally eating-ham, corn, seven-up salad, marshmallow stuff in addition to the above-games, talking, more snacking, pumpkin pie, laughing, going to the park, singing (and bellowing and dancing) along with Grandma on the piano, giving Grandma presents.

As always, I neglected to take pictures. Sometimes, I'm too tired, and I've started to realize why people are so thankful when I take pictures. It really does take time and energy, and you do miss things. I never quite understood before, because I enjoy it and didn't feel like it was a sacrifice. At any rate, I rarely feel like taking pictures at Aunt T's.

It's late and dark by the time we take Grandma down to her house and head home. We go into the cold house, looking like after Christmas-sort of empty living room, with presents in piles upstairs and stuff on the stairs, and stuff from Aunt T's soon stuck in the kitchen. Tired from a long day, we go to bed.

We celebrated Christmas Post (see last year's Christmas post) today with another thing I love, Les Miserables, the movie musical. Christmas Post is a sort of fun day, a recover from Christmas, a slow unwind on the good years like this one, crazy cleaning up while you don't feel like doing anything on others.


Christmas is over. Christmas day, that is.

But Christmas continues with Dad's side of the family and Christmas music and probably a few random presents that were forgotten or didn't come yet. It's not really over until January.

Which is good by me, 'cause I love Christmas.