Trimming the Tree

In spite of the fact that we bought the tree over a week ago and it has been sitting, naked, in our living room ever since, we only just got around to decorating it (an inconvenient snow storm wrecked our original tree decorating plans). Although poor Molly was sick and had to go to bed early, Max really enjoyed getting to stay up "late" and being allowed to help decorate the tree. The kids and I (minus sick Molly) made our yearly trek to the Hallmark store to pick out our new ornaments. Every year, each kid gets to pick out a new ornament to hang on the tree. They really enjoy having their own special ornaments. One day, when they're all grown up and off in their own homes, decorating their own Christmas trees, they'll have a little set of "starter" ornaments waiting for them.

There is usually much agonizing over which is the perfect ornament, but we were pretty efficient this year. I held on tight to Max for the entire outing, for fear that he'd do his "bull in a china shop" impression in the store (which is full of nothing but breakables). I was going to let Max pick his own ornament this year, but since he didn't seem to have much of a preference (he was too interested in looking at and naming everything he could see), I ended up picking for him -- he and Molly both got the appropriate "year" ornament in the series that I've been collecting for them.

When we got home, I put Molly to bed, put on our favorite Christmas CD, and we started opening up the Christmas boxes. It's always fun to unwrap all the ornaments and all the memories that go with them. I have a bunch of ornaments from when I was growing up and it's always fun to see them again. We have construction paper and clothespin ornaments that the big kids made when they were small. We have ornaments that were Dad's when he was little. And, of course, we have a bunch of the classic glass balls. Max oohed and aahed over all the ornaments, but he especially liked hanging the glass balls -- especially the red ones. By the time we finished, he had crammed a dozen or so ornaments into one little corner of the tree. It looked a little strange, but Max had a blast.

After we finished hanging the ornaments, put the star on the tree, and got out our stockings, we whipped up the traditional tree trimming hot chocolate. I make the cocoa from scratch, load it up with miniature marshmallows AND whipped cream, and add a candy cane as a stir stick. Max even got to have a little cup (with a miniature candy cane) -- it was the first time he'd had hot chocolate and he was so happy to be sitting there sipping hot chocolate with the rest of us. He kept calling it his "coffee," and after a few sips he declared, "Mmmm, this is good!" He was begging for "more cahfee" when he was finished, but got bundled off to bed for his troubles. ;) I did get the Christmas books down for him, so a reading of "The Snowman" and "Twas the Night Before Christmas" eased his disappointment.

Next year, Molly will be old enough to join in all the fun. Watch out!