Christmas Time

I love this time of year. (note sarcasm) The kids ask constantly when the tree is going up. To which I reply, "When is your room going to be clean?"  They see a commercial and it is something they MUST have. Apparently my Christmas list consists of Pillow Pets and Bendaroos and Zhu-Zhu pets.  Interesting, all are infomercials. They hear a Christmas song, and we all know how much I love Christmas music, sing it non-stop, and of course, they only know a portion of the chorus and 5 words of a verse.  Now I am stuck listening to a snippet of a song I hated to begin with but now detest.  They want hot powdered apple cider with every snack/meal and they feel the desire to dress the animals.  Which wouldn't be so bad, except the cat really doesn't like it. Can you say "where are the band-aids?".

It is now the second day of Hanukkah, I think. We aren't Jewish, but the kids are fascinated with the idea of getting 8 presents.  Who wouldn't be? Just this morning Dixon wished he could be Jewish so he could receive 8 presents. When I mentioned to him that he usually gets more than that in his stocking (and I am thinking anything from Hot Wheels to Lego to video games) he replied that he only received small gifts but if he was Jewish he would get 8 big ones, like 8 go-carts! Oh, to be young again.  On the way home from the grocery store Ruby pointed out that everybody loves to decorate their houses for Christmas. This sparked a conversation about how not everyone celebrates Christmas. Ruby said that that was because the other people celebrate Hanukkah. I informed her that some people just celebrate the art of giving during the Christmas season and some people don't celebrate anything at all.  After a long "Family Guy" whhhaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat???? She said, "That is sad. Everyone should celebrate Christmas because everyone needs to be happy!"  It's nice that the Christmas season can bring so much joy! I wish I still had a little bit of kid-like joy during the holidays!  But, then again, the kids don't have to shop in big long lines with obnoxious people.

My tree is not up and my Christmas shopping will not begin until the 22nd. Yes, it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas.