My
hyperactivity reaches new heights at Christmastime, starting the day
after Thanksgiving. I don't waste any time with the memory making,
people. My craziness started in November when I decided I wanted to
make a felt advent calendar of heirloom quality. Rather than buy the
calendar from Pottery Barn for $60, I went ahead and spent $100 on 100%
wool felt for the
project.
Then between Kerstin and I we spent hours cutting, embroidering, and
sewing-- the results will be in pictures later on. Anyway, there is a
long list of Christmasy things we Karlssons need to do in the month of
December. Making our gingerbread house (out of a kit from IKEA) was the
first activity crossed off our checklist.
The following weekend we baked pepparkakor from scratch.
I've been doing this since way before the kids were born, so it's nice
to have a little helper. In addition to the traditional boys, girls,
and pigs, Linus cut out some dinosaurs.
Then
last Sunday morning, we drove out to Poolesville, MD to cut down our
Christmas tree. We like that a fresh cut tree lasts longer, but we also
love that getting a tree is a whole day outdoorsy affair. Getting
trees from local farmers also encourages tree planting, so it's a
win-win all around. We packed hot cider and fresh bullar (cinnamon buns) and drove down a gorgeous country road.
At
first Linus talked about not wanting to saw down a tree. He is a
gentle soul, so perhaps the whole idea sounded a bit violent. But as
soon as we got to the farm, and especially after he saw the bucket of
saws, all inhibition was out the window.
Magnus loved trekking around in the wagon while sipping on warm cider.
The trees were quite short at this farm so we picked the tallest one we could find. It was just barely taller than me :)
We met the Harris family there, and Linus and Finn had a ball running through the rows of trees together.
Then we went on to visit the farm's animals...
... before strapping the trees onto the car and finally heading home.
A
couple of nights later we got around to decorating our tree. It's been
cold lately which makes Mattias a little happier-- he loves making wood
fires in our fireplace. It definitely makes the house feel real cozy.
Magnus clearly looks like he's nice and cozy.
This year Linus got to put the star on top of the tree, but he knows that next year is Magnus' turn.
Here's the finished tree, with our family advent calendar on the wall.
This
past Friday I hosted our playgroup's second annual cookie exchange,
which we augmented with a traditional cheese fondue spread. Everyone
brought amazing cookies and we had so many of them to share! The kids
oogled at the cookie spread, but knew they didn't get to eat any until
after dinner.
The babies chowed down on snacks and worked together to trash the toy area.
Us moms didn't care because we were enjoying our warm pot of melted cheesy goodness.
Wow,
I'm tired just writing about all the stuff we've done. People often
ask, "How do you make time to do all of this?" And the answer is: I
neglect other things, like housework. Until this morning our floors
were so dirty I felt uncomfortable walking barefoot inside the house. I
have piles of laundry that still need to make their way back into the
dresser, and piles of toys that always seem to reappear no matter how
often I put them away. I'm old enough now to know that I can't have it all.
So I say "Fuck it."* and bake my cookies and make my crafts and send my
cards, because these activities bring me enough joy to make up for the
little bit of sanity I lose with a temporarily filthy house.
*Not around the kids, of course!
Linus has finally reached the age where he understands
and even anticipates all the fun Christmas traditions. He's written his
letter to
Jultomte and
loves to sing Christmas carols. He finishes his dinner so that he can
have a chocolate coin from the advent calender, and cozies up to the
fire with the rest of us. While Magnus can't appreciate traditions, I
know he is enjoying all the time we are spending together. And that, to us
Karlssons, is what Christmastime is all about.
