Our Christmas Tree, Darth Vader and the Tooth Fairy

Since it was a cold, miserable rainy day today, it seemed like the perfect time to stay indoors and decorate our Christmas tree. While both kids napped this afternoon I went ahead and strung the lights.

I need to do this while they are napping to spare them the pain and agony of watching me spend 2 hours trying to hide the cords that attach the lights to one another from view. I rest all blame for this somewhat neurotic behavior squarely on the shoulders of my Dad. I remember watching and waiting (not very patiently) for him to finish this same task when I was as child. It was like torture. There we were, my sister and I, all ready to hang all the ornaments, but first we had to wait for my Dad to hang the lights in such a way that there were no visible cords. The entire time he was working, we would pepper him with the standard question "Are you almost done yet?" endlessly. It took a long, long time and by the time he was done, I think he was just as frustrated as we were (If memory serves, I think he actually walked off the job one year & handed the responsibility over to my Mom who being less of a perfectionist probably had all the lights up in about 20 minutes or so...). Sorry Dad!



So, you ask yourself, why do I do the same thing? Why not just throw them on the tree with abandon so I can get to the really fun stuff? Words fail me....I'll just say that I try to do my kids a kindness by doing the task while they sleep, so as not to inflict them with my crazed behavior. Mr. Crackers can't even watch me do it anymore - I think it gives him hives.


So, I poured myself an eggnog (with a little extra enhancement to make the task more fun) and proceeded to hang about 800 white lights on our tree. When I started I was listening to some Christmas favorites, but about 30 minutes into the task, Mr. Crackers broke out the Lego Star Wars game and I lit the tree to the sounds of battles in a galaxy far, far away.



I also got to listen to a steady narrative stream from Mr. Crackers that went like this...


"Why is he jumping? Aaaarrrrggg!!! Tell my why he keeps jumping!"


"I'm gonna kick your booty!" "Aaaaaaaahhhh"


"GOD BLESS AMERICA, WHY DOES HE KEEP DYING!!! Aaaaarrrggg!"


Not as soothing as Nat King Cole, but entertaining nonetheless.



When the kids got up, we had a great time hanging the ornaments on the tree. I always love looking at them and reliving memories. Ours is not a designer tree, but a tree made up mostly of homemade ornaments and gifts from friends and family members. Here are a few favorites:

My mom made this one

And these I think

Glass ornaments we got as gifts long before we had to worry about little hands


Once the decorating ended & we finished dinner, it was time to unwind. K and I played with the kids' Fisher Price nativity scene. We've had this set for years. It was bought for us by my Mom when C was a toddler & I love it. The kids get to play with it and there is no worry about them breaking anything.

Before we started playing, we reviewed all of the main players and I was corrected by K when she perceived I had made a mistake. The angel Gabriel, will now be known to K as the Tooth Fairy. Her job is to bring the Baby Jesus, his Mommy and Jofus (this is my fault. I pronounced Joseph's name the same way when I was little) pennies while they sleep. It was unclear whether or not the family had lost any teeth. She seemed to be giving them the pennies because it was Christmastime. The fairy also serves as a middleman between the 3 princesses and the holy family (I could not convince her that these 3 were really Kings - they wore dresses and crowns and to K that means only 1 thing - Princess!). It is the Fairy's job to take the gifts from the 3 princesses and fly them over to the family. I'm not sure why the 3 can't deliver the gifts themselves, maybe it's a union thing...

While we played with the nativity set, the Cracker boys helped out with the rebellion in a galaxy far, far away...

You'll be happy to know they were successful.

Tomorrow our long holiday break is over and everyone here at the Cracker house returns to the normal routines of work and school. But it was a good vacation and we all had fun with the tree, Darth Vader and the Tooth Fairy