I always feel compelled to blog about the funny parts of Christmas this time of year.
It helps me stay centered and real and not get caught up in the vision that everything needs to be picture perfect.
Especially this year.
Christmas likely didn't look like a typical year for any of us.
Join me on a journey of the little imperfect, silly moments we had this holiday season in my household.
It wouldn't be Christmas without them.
Let's Start with the Tree
The star I bought was taller than I realized. We tried to put it on top of the tree but it didn't fit. We substituted with a Christmas hat that I had bought at the Dollar Tree several years ago. If you look closely at the picture, you'll see a tree branch sticking through it.
We can't hang ornaments on the bottom third of the tree or the cat will knock them all off. Our tree always looks a little bit bare at the bottom (don't look too close at the picture!). Firefly still likes to sit under the tree and stare up at the ones that she can't reach.
Add In a Few Old Age Moments
I tried to tell myself that I didn't need to print my address list for Christmas cards this year. Instead I would just look at it online while I wrote them out and it would all be fine. Obviously, I forgot how old I am now. After I mailed them, I kept feeling like I missed people, so I sent a few again just in case. Forgive me if you got your card twice this year!
The White Elephant gift I thoughtfully bought for our family get together ended up being accidentally gifted to one of the kids on Christmas Day. I didn't realize it until we were already in the truck driving, so we had to stop at Kwik Trip and buy scratch-off tickets. We didn't have any extra wrapping paper or bags either so we had to borrow one from family when we got there. Ironically, they liked the scratch-offs better than the original gift anyway. I'll remember that for next year!
Pay No Attention to the Lights Hanging Down
You can't see it in the picture, but just above the tree, there's a can light that doesn't fit properly. We struggled to find the right size lights to replace the old ones on my lower level for a couple months.
When we finally found the right size, we put them in, but they don't sit flush against the ceiling. So now we have to replace the cans with ones that don't have a lip on them.
Lights are randomly falling down out of the cans while we sleep. Even as I write this, there's one right above my head that is hanging down, dangling from the cord.
I've given up putting them back in for now. It's futile.
We'll get them all in properly by January...hopefully.
And Find the Simple Joy in the Little Things
The gift that got the most reaction from my boys this year was the "Bruh" button. (Parents, you can relate to this if you have teens or tweens). It's a button that you press and it just says the word "Bruh" over and over again. For 10 minutes Christmas morning, my son pressed that button over and over again. And I saw the smiles and heard the laughter from both of my boys. All of us, sitting in the living room around the tree, laughing at this silly voice coming from this silly button. It was priceless.
A coffee mug that Ryder made, a handwritten card from Jacob, tootsie rolls in my stocking, learning to play cribbage...
All of the little, inexpensive gifts added up to a memorable holiday.
So many of us stress way too much this time of year, trying to make everything perfect. What we forget is that the mishaps are an important part of our journey.
It was a much smaller holiday this year in terms of the people we gathered with. But we made wonderful memories just the same.
And we have stories to tell for next year...and a lifetime.
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