Holiday Leftovers

Some random thoughts from the holidays that never got blogged:

One day, mistletoe came up in conversation, so I gave the kids a little rundown on the associated tradition of kissing under it. Several hours later, Shayne approached me and asked for a detailed description of what mistletoe looks like. You could tell he had been thinking about it and wanted to be sure he could avoid getting caught under it at all costs. Kissing is gross!

One really fun part of our holiday was that we had a Secret Santa dropping off gifts at our doorstep for the twelve days of Christmas. We loved it so much, and it gave me lots of fun ideas for doing it in the future. I have to say, though, that having someone sneaking up to your door is a bit unnerving, only because I'm sure that a couple of times Secret Santa probably got an earful! Nothing says Merry Christmas like Mom threatening and/or kids melting down. Awesome.

Matt and Mandy were here from Chicago, and they brought with them the most delectable treat--Garrett Popcorn, in particular, the famous "Chicago Mix" of caramel popcorn and cheese popcorn. It sounds weird, but it is seriously amazing. Like, eat yourself sick amazing.

One of my favorite things the kids received for Christmas was this Calico Critters set Gracie got for her dollhouse. Seriously, so cute. It's one of those toys I don't mind agreeing to play with her when she asks. I could see myself easily being suckered into furthering her collection, too. There are hedgehogs, and kittens, and other families. There are nursery sets, bunk beds, and tiny little living rooms. Everything is so detailed and sweet. The miniature drawers and canisters open, and there are pipes in the cupboard under the kitchen sink. Love. it.

This tidbit is too late to do anyone any good this year, but maybe you can file it away for next. Last January, Karisa posted about how she organized her Christmas stuff as she put it away, and shared how she wraps up their 24 Christmas books before storing them. So I followed her advice, and let me tell you, it was so nice to be able to pull them out, all ready to open one each night this December. Definitely a keeper idea.

Every year for the past several years, we have gone to look at the lights at this one house near our old neighborhood. We've always referred to it as the crazy house, and as we drive by we usually wonder aloud about why in the world, what in the world, and how in the world, because it is this tiny little house and SO over the top. This year when we went by, we noticed that they had opened it up for people to actually walk around in the yard and check things out up close. You better believe we were all over that.

 
Window boxes actually built onto the side of the house to protect the motion-activated displays.

The owner had an article one of the local school newspapers had written about the house laminated and on display at the front door. And, oh man, I am so glad I stopped to read it. (For background, this house is directly across the street from what was formerly the largest hospital in our city.) Turns out the crazy lights tradition started years and years ago when the homeowner's own daughter was in the hospital over the Christmas holiday. She was sad about not being at home and seeing the lights of the Christmas tree, so her mom bought a big, light up Snoopy Christmas yard decoration to put up so the daughter could look out from the hospital windows and at least see her house decorated. From there, it grew and grew, and looking at the lights and displays across the street became a favorite pasttime of the children in the hospital at Christmas.

The hospital moved last year, so she opened her yard up for people to get a closer look, as a new way for children to have a little added fun and joy. Our kids totally loved it. It is still crazy, but I was pretty touched by her story. I'm glad there are "crazy" people like her in the world!