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Breaking Tradition
I love Christmas. I love Christmas so freaking much. It surprises people because I am loudly atheist and I guess that seems like a big disconnect. I don’t notice because I always forget that Christmas is about Jesus. I get excited about finding memorable gifts and knitting scarves and baking pies. I had to make a rule that I couldn’t start Christmas shopping until after Labor Day (a rule I have frequently broken in the past) but to make up for it I am allowed to MAKE gifts all year round. (Not pies, obviously.) The sad this is that I love Christmas so much I usually ruin it. I realized…
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Does Your Christmas Need Some Krampus?
Mine did, but I didn’t know it! Not until I took a shortcut through a little neighborhood trying to avoid shopping traffic last weekend and saw this: Do you see it? One of these things is not like the others, right? What? The? Holy? Fuck?! It has plastic hands but that is fur of some kind. I took a friend by the next day in the rain and it looked even crazier when it was soaked. It reminds me of Ethan’s books on extinct Ice Age animals, so I’ve been calling it a sloth. But my friend Gina was like, “That’s a Krampus!” Neither is quite right. I’m just going…
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Christmas Bites
At some point in the week, a truck (I assume?) came through the neighborhood and collected the discarded Christmas trees. I didn’t see it happen. One day I saw the trees lying in the gutter, a corpse in front of every home, and I thought of the Monte Python line, “bring out your dead!” Then the next afternoon they were gone. One final Christmas magic trick. My holidays were a whirlwind. As a new step parent, I am learning that Christmas with a child is much more fun, but so much more work! It is possible that we over-do it. The kids don’t need the dozens of elaborate recipes executed…
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Gifted Hands
I ordered a pair of gloves for my nephew for Christmas. They arrived just now. Judging by the description on the tag, I feel that they should have been much more expensive.