Extreme Christmas

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.