"Christmas Night" by Amy Ludwig Vanderwater
After all the gifts
After dinner is done
After everyone goes home
we lay by the Christmas tree --
My new book and me.
Merry Christmas! I hope you have a new book of your own to enjoy.
25 December 2011
24 December 2011
Holiday Feasts
So much of our holiday celebrations center around food that it is hard to separate the day from what we eat. When we learn about other holidays, one of the facts that we learn is what they eat. For Christmas, a lot of the food we look forward to is sweet -- cookies, cakes, pies. The turkey and mashed potatoes are nice too, but it is the treats that we really want.
When Isaac learned about other holidays in school, he came home talking about latkes. So I thought it may be nice to try to make some of the foods that are mentioned in books about the Hanukkah and Kwanzaa. I got up this morning to chop apples for apple sauce and grate potatoes for latkes. I sliced chicken breasts for coconut chicken chews and everything was ready to cook at lunch time. We followed the recipes in A Hanukkah Holiday Cookbook and A Kwanzaa Holiday Cookbook. Our lunch was multicultural . . . and pretty good. But, of course, Isaac ate none of it. I should have expected as much, but I tried. We will have leftover latkes and coconut chicken chews at some pint in the next couple of days.
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When Isaac learned about other holidays in school, he came home talking about latkes. So I thought it may be nice to try to make some of the foods that are mentioned in books about the Hanukkah and Kwanzaa. I got up this morning to chop apples for apple sauce and grate potatoes for latkes. I sliced chicken breasts for coconut chicken chews and everything was ready to cook at lunch time. We followed the recipes in A Hanukkah Holiday Cookbook and A Kwanzaa Holiday Cookbook. Our lunch was multicultural . . . and pretty good. But, of course, Isaac ate none of it. I should have expected as much, but I tried. We will have leftover latkes and coconut chicken chews at some pint in the next couple of days.
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The Christmas Eve service at church is one of my favorite services of the entire year. Each year we have communion. Again, food is central to our celebration, but this time the food reminds us of the sacrifice that is to come. We are focused on the surprising gift that we receive, but the ultimate gift is yet to be given. Tonight, as we lit our candles and sang "Joy to the World," I watched Isaac hold up his candle on the last verse and had to stop singing. I was too choked up to get the words out.
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It has become a tradition for us to go out to dinner after church on Christmas Eve. This year we chose "The Melting Pot." We thought Isaac would like cooking his own food, though we weren't sure how much of it he would eat. He refused the cheese, liked the steak, and loved the chocolate. He was funny and talkative throughout dinner and it was one of the most fun experiences that we have had this season. We may have to go back next year.
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We will be going to church tomorrow morning, so in the interest of time, Matt and I decided we would open family gifts tonight and leave Christmas morning for Santa. I thought Isaac would love this idea. What six year-old wouldn't? His response was that he wanted to wait until the morning so he could be surprised. His father and I are flabbergasted . . . and a little proud of his restraint. So, we will leave the milk and cookies out for Santa, with some carrots for the reindeer. Then we will head to bed after checking NORAD one last time.
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Tomorrow we will wake up and see Isaac's excitement, explore the presents that Santa left, then go to church. I like that Christmas is on Sunday and we can celebrate the birth of Jesus with our church family. Afterwards, we will come home and have a smaller version of the traditional Christmas dinner. We will cap off our holiday with some of our favorite foods. And lots of sweets. It's been a pretty good Christmas already. I think Isaac would agree.
23 December 2011
May Your Days Be Merry and Bright
One of my new Christmas traditions is going to see "White Christmas" at the Carolina Theater downtown. They play a classic film series and have played "White Christmas" and "It's A Wonderful Life" for the past couple of years. This year they added "Miracle on 34th Street" to the repertoire. They have had a good response to the movies and plan to add more viewings next year.
Last night, I attended the movie with a friend and her daughter. We ran into a couple of people that we knew in the crowd and sat in the balcony of the old-fashioned, two-story theater. It was a packed house. After watching "White Christmas" throughout my childhood on a television screen in my parents' living room, it is fun to see it on a big screen in a full theater. The audience applauded after each musical number, laughed in unison at Danny Kaye's antics and sang along with the finale. It was one of my favorite things that I have done to celebrate Christmas so far this year.
Isaac did not go with me (he was playing laser tag with Matt and a friend). I didn't think he would like it and I wanted to be able to enjoy the movie. I may take him next year. We will definitely see "Miracle on 34th Street" again next year -- that will be a tradition that he and I will have together. But "White Christmas" is for me. Having him join me would be nice, but not necessary.
I watched "A Christmas Story" with him and Matt last weekend, and most of the things we do during this season are geared toward him. Tonight we will watch "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" and before Isaac goes to bed on Christmas Eve we will watch "A Charlie Brown Christmas." But last night was for me. And it was good.
Last night, I attended the movie with a friend and her daughter. We ran into a couple of people that we knew in the crowd and sat in the balcony of the old-fashioned, two-story theater. It was a packed house. After watching "White Christmas" throughout my childhood on a television screen in my parents' living room, it is fun to see it on a big screen in a full theater. The audience applauded after each musical number, laughed in unison at Danny Kaye's antics and sang along with the finale. It was one of my favorite things that I have done to celebrate Christmas so far this year.
Isaac did not go with me (he was playing laser tag with Matt and a friend). I didn't think he would like it and I wanted to be able to enjoy the movie. I may take him next year. We will definitely see "Miracle on 34th Street" again next year -- that will be a tradition that he and I will have together. But "White Christmas" is for me. Having him join me would be nice, but not necessary.
I watched "A Christmas Story" with him and Matt last weekend, and most of the things we do during this season are geared toward him. Tonight we will watch "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" and before Isaac goes to bed on Christmas Eve we will watch "A Charlie Brown Christmas." But last night was for me. And it was good.
22 December 2011
I Believe . . . I Believe . . . It's Silly, But I Believe
Apparently the debate about whether or not parents should let their children believe in Santa is much further reaching than I had assumed. I have tried expressing my opinions, but I find it hard to articulate why we have chosen to "do" Santa with Isaac. Then I read a friend's blog on just this topic and he expressed my feelings more clearly than I have ever been able to. So, please, read what he has to say. And know that I couldn't have said it better myself.
To be honest, I don't know that Matt and I really made a deliberate decision to let Isaac believe in Santa. I know people who have debated this topic with spouses and friends. To Matt and I, it just didn't seem like that big a deal. My parents were not very religious so Santa didn't contradict beliefs in my home. I grew up having believed, as did Matt. If I catalog all of the things that scarred me as a child, and there are many, having believed in the magic of a benevolent man who made children happy wouldn't make the list. Matt and I are very deliberate about avoiding what we see as mistakes that our parents or others made and try to raise Isaac as honestly and with as much integrity as possible. To us, Santa wasn't a mistake and we don't feel like cultivating Isaac's belief in him is dishonest or lacking in integrity.
So, Wednesday evening I took Isaac to see the ultimate pro-Santa movie, Miracle on 34th Street (the Maureen O'Hara, Natalie Wood version). I wasn't sure how he would like it, since it is black and white, and I was actually a little concerned that his belief in Santa may be compromised after seeing it. But his faith held up and may even be stronger than it was before he saw the movie, though if you ask him he would say he didn't like it. But it was funny when Santa got bubble gum in his beard.
I left the movie with a new appreciation for its message after hearing the debates about whether or not Santa is good for kids. Santa and other fairytales that we tell children aren't just for them. They are for us, too. Because sometimes to deal with our reality, we need to have faith in the magic and the impossible and the things that seem silly. It may be all that gets us through some days. Like Susan, we repeat to ourselves, "I believe, I believe. It's silly, but I believe." And, sometimes, our belief is rewarded.
So, Isaac will wake up on Christmas morning and look for signs of Santa's visit. We will play along, having eaten the cookies that were left out and piled the presents under the tree. Dave the Elf will have disappeared, having gone back to the North Pole until next year when Santa needs his help again. Eventually, the time will come when Isaac knows that it is all a game and that the gifts come from Matt or me or other family and friends. I don't think the realization will be traumatizing and I hope that the memories he will take away will allow him to continue to believe that there is magic in our lives, even if it is only the magic that we make.
To be honest, I don't know that Matt and I really made a deliberate decision to let Isaac believe in Santa. I know people who have debated this topic with spouses and friends. To Matt and I, it just didn't seem like that big a deal. My parents were not very religious so Santa didn't contradict beliefs in my home. I grew up having believed, as did Matt. If I catalog all of the things that scarred me as a child, and there are many, having believed in the magic of a benevolent man who made children happy wouldn't make the list. Matt and I are very deliberate about avoiding what we see as mistakes that our parents or others made and try to raise Isaac as honestly and with as much integrity as possible. To us, Santa wasn't a mistake and we don't feel like cultivating Isaac's belief in him is dishonest or lacking in integrity.
So, Wednesday evening I took Isaac to see the ultimate pro-Santa movie, Miracle on 34th Street (the Maureen O'Hara, Natalie Wood version). I wasn't sure how he would like it, since it is black and white, and I was actually a little concerned that his belief in Santa may be compromised after seeing it. But his faith held up and may even be stronger than it was before he saw the movie, though if you ask him he would say he didn't like it. But it was funny when Santa got bubble gum in his beard.
I left the movie with a new appreciation for its message after hearing the debates about whether or not Santa is good for kids. Santa and other fairytales that we tell children aren't just for them. They are for us, too. Because sometimes to deal with our reality, we need to have faith in the magic and the impossible and the things that seem silly. It may be all that gets us through some days. Like Susan, we repeat to ourselves, "I believe, I believe. It's silly, but I believe." And, sometimes, our belief is rewarded.
So, Isaac will wake up on Christmas morning and look for signs of Santa's visit. We will play along, having eaten the cookies that were left out and piled the presents under the tree. Dave the Elf will have disappeared, having gone back to the North Pole until next year when Santa needs his help again. Eventually, the time will come when Isaac knows that it is all a game and that the gifts come from Matt or me or other family and friends. I don't think the realization will be traumatizing and I hope that the memories he will take away will allow him to continue to believe that there is magic in our lives, even if it is only the magic that we make.
21 December 2011
Number One
I read a cute book to my students today that I intended to bring home to share with Isaac. Alas, in the hustle and bustle of trying to finish up work before the winter break, I left it at school. But I will share it here anyway because I think he would like it.
Santa Claus the World's Number One Toy Expert by Marla Frazee details Santa's efforts to match the right toy with the right child. He inspects them, tests them, and inventories them all before wrapping, packaging and delivering each one. If a pogo stick or trampoline cannot withstand his weight, then the kids don't get it. 99.9% of the time his gifts are the perfect match. But no one is perfect, so there is always one or two that aren't quite the right fit. At the end of the day, after all of the gifts have been opened, Santa has saved one for himself. And, of course, it is exactly what he wanted.
This is a really fun book and a nice addition to the Christmas storybook cannon. Marla Frazee wrote one of our favorite books and her style is light and engaging. I want to say I am confident that Isaac will like this book, but he surprises me often. There is no guarantee, but it's a pretty good bet this one would be a hit.
Santa Claus the World's Number One Toy Expert by Marla Frazee details Santa's efforts to match the right toy with the right child. He inspects them, tests them, and inventories them all before wrapping, packaging and delivering each one. If a pogo stick or trampoline cannot withstand his weight, then the kids don't get it. 99.9% of the time his gifts are the perfect match. But no one is perfect, so there is always one or two that aren't quite the right fit. At the end of the day, after all of the gifts have been opened, Santa has saved one for himself. And, of course, it is exactly what he wanted.
This is a really fun book and a nice addition to the Christmas storybook cannon. Marla Frazee wrote one of our favorite books and her style is light and engaging. I want to say I am confident that Isaac will like this book, but he surprises me often. There is no guarantee, but it's a pretty good bet this one would be a hit.
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