Monday, December 19, 2011

Christmastime is here...

...Happiness and cheer

We are officially on Christmas break and my little family couldn't be happier! Even now I can hear little hands dragging through piles of matchbox cars, or is it legos? There is a soft hum coming from the direction of my daughter, as she absent-mindedly makes her way through her Christmas carol repertoire. The fireplace is keeping us toasty and there will be cookie baking soon. Are you enjoying these precious days with your kids home from school? What will you do to help them create memories to cherish? Will you bake with them (see www.janbrett.com for a great Gingerbread Baby recipe)? Perhaps you'll pop corn and string it while you watch a movie (White Christmas is a favorite around here). I hope you plan to sip hot chocolate, piled high with marshmallows, and snuggle in a cozy spot with a great book (For little kiddos, look for Bear Stays Up, Harold at the North Pole, and Cranberry Christmas; for bigs, you can't go wrong with The Bobbsey Twins or Happy Hollisters, and for you, I love The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society). Don't forget to sled with the kids (if you have snow, which we don't, boo hoo) or take a meandering walk through the woods (why not pick up pine cones while you're at it). Have soup on the stove for when you get back inside. Chicken is always a favorite.

Enjoy these days. Relish the rollicking running in and out and in and back outside again. Pleasure in the peace of a pile of kids with a plethora of page turners. Savor the sweet sticky smooches of candy cane lips. Build snow forts or blanket forts or eat under the dining room table. Set aside the every day (you didn't really want to do laundry today did you?) and dive headlong into the childish delight in today. Have fun with each of these days. Unwrap them like a gift placed before you at the dawn of each wool gray morning.

Happy happy winter vacation! Bliss!