Baby's First Christmas

Alison has never had Christmas in her own home, and we like it that way. But like most everyone else, COVID has put a cramp in our stockings.

Actually, it's forced us to use our Christmas stockings for the very first time. Because we have spent Christmas in Maine since 1996 - and Santa knows where to find us - they've been for decorative use only. For three years, there were just two stockings, which explains why the third one doesn't match. (Yes, I looked.)

COVID did not, however, rob us of Cookie Day with Auntie Jen. We think Ali was three-years-old when we started, and that photo of Grammie and Ali is cheating just a bit. It was the same year, but not yet Christmas. That was the summer Grandpa took Ali fishing. She didn't catch any fish, but she got to pee in the wood on a rock, so it was still a good adventure. 

Grammie couldn't hide her horror when Ali plunked her cookie cutter into the middle of the rolled-out dough rather than carefully positioning them all to get the most dough out of the roll, but she laughed and then tried to teach her some tricks. Ditto with dumping a jar of sprinkles rather than, well, sprinkling them.

In any event, we LOVE Cookie Day with Auntie Jen. 

So this year, we decorated with Teams.

It wasn't the same but it was awesome just to see each other and show off our masterpieces. Truth be told, both Jen and Ali have increased their skills over the years whereas I am lucky if the end result is recognizable. 

It was better than skipping a tradition we didn't even know we were making that first year. We'll be doing the same kind of thing on Christmas Day when we'll celebrate Alison's first Christmas - at home.

Speaking of traditions, in Maine, Grammie was big on saving "good" paper, and her stock of Christmas wrapping, ribbons and bows literally went back to when she was a child. There were boxes from the department store her mother worked at but is long closed and ribbons that still had their 5-cent tags. She also kept gift tags given throughout the years. While she with us, I always brought out the "To Momney from Jeffrey" tag for a gift we had for her.

Jeff grew tired of the used paper tradition years ago and set about to thin that herd as best he could. He'd come up with Frankenstein-ed packages that somehow still manage to look good. Here're some examples of what he's doing to my effort to emulate the tradition. 

We started watching Christmas movies this week. We started with "Nightmare Before Christmas" and then argued over whether to watch "Rudolph" or "The Year without a Santa Clause." 

With a few victims still left to be eaten, Ali got a text from her boyfriend, who reported he watching "Elf" with his family.

"We're watching Santa Jaws," she gleefully replied.

Destined to be a cult classic, the movie is available on Netflix should you delight in terrifically awful movies.

Last night we watched "Home Alone." I have a bid in for "Love Actually" tonight. Wish me luck.

Crazy shark movies aside, we will have a lovely Christmas because we're together, safe and healthy. Our deepest wish is that you will have a similar experience this year. Please know if you're suffering a loss, we mourn with you. If you're celebrating something wonderful, we're cheering with you. You're loved.

Happy Holidays. Cheers to a better year for all of us in 2021.