So, before Thanksgiving I made myself laugh (hopefully at least one other, too) by stating that Turkey Day was nothing more than a speed bump on the road to Christmas. In large part I believe that to be true although I fully admit to enjoying TG this year much more than I have in the past. Mercifully, the many and various pies I made are almost all gone! Both T and I hauled it to the gym today to work off several pieces of pecan-oatmeal and apple. In any case, Thanksgiving -holiday or speed bump- has passed, and...."Christmas, Christmastime is here, time for joy and time for cheer." Though I am not sure what my ardor for Christmas and Valentine's Day says about me in terms of many people considering both of them to be tributes to materialism foisted upon us by greeting card companies and their ilk, I love them both SO much. Frankly, even if this means I do like hearts and pink and love and carols and garlands and wreath and shiny things more than the average bear, I accept and love that about myself. We all have our peccadillos, you know?

Long story short, we bought and erected our Christmas tree this afternoon. There is little that makes me feel more festive than seeing cars with Christmas trees lashed to their roofs, so I was thrilled to have my car used as the sleigh this afternoon. Upon returning home and watching T set the tree in the stand, the kids decided that their first task would be to carefully snip away the netted binding and while doing so said they were going to make a film about how to best cut the tree harness away. I am usually very supportive of their random ideas, but before I could stop myself, I said, "y'all, that sounds incredibly dull. How on earth could you make a movie about cutting string?" They replied, "it'll be a short video on YouTube." Touché. But I maintain that this is not a niche that needs to be filled in the old how-to department.

Even though Tom and Oliver picked out a runty sub-6-footer when I went inside to pay, I will bedeck it until its boughs groan with shimmery baubles. The boys and I started decorating before dinner, but the real fun will come tomorrow when they are at school, T is at work, and I can crank the Vince Guaraldi Charlie Brown Christmas CD up to full blast and go to town with my ornaments all by myself. Then I'll do the mantle, arranging the freshly trimmed branches just so, placing tiny lights and a beloved iron reindeer in the "forest", and hanging the stockings. I'll wrap a garland through the hand rail out front and get out festive hand towels and funny decorations for the boys' rooms that they love meeting anew each year.

I'll have to make butter cookies at some point, too, rolling the dough out time and again as seasonal cookie cutters pressed carefully into the thin dough leave behind scraps too good to waste. And then there's the wrapping to do! I love to wrap presents, love to give them. I love the kids' letters to Santa and I love seeing the magical looks on their faces when they open their gifts and with awe and wonder and thrill think that he received their sweet notes and answered them perfectly. It is such a joy, and I feel so very grateful that we can give our children Christmases like we can.

In other news, I also made a nice dinner tonight. A clean, sugar-free meal that will help the excesses of TG start to bid us adieu: crispy kale, garam masala cauliflower mash and oven-roasted King salmon. And now to bed with a good book and some tea.