When we first got Twinkles, our Elf on the Shelf, from Sam’s mom, I wasn’t sure that we’d be up for creating something new for it every night leading up to Christmas. Over the last month, I discovered an Elf on the Shelf Facebook group with ideas and stumbled across many on the internet as well.
I won’t lie, it has actually been very fun to do every night. Ella loves waking up and searching for her elf. Twinkles will be heading back to the North Pole on Friday night to help Santa get ready for his ride and deliveries. I’m sure next year she will have as much fun or more!
We may or may not have to recycle some of these ideas in years to come. Here are a few of my favorites from the past few weeks.
Twinkles the action hero! Zip lining to the tree.
TPing the tree! Festive, right?!
Sam gave her some wings!
Ella had been talking about paper snow flakes. I got to make a mess and she loved it!
When we were all sick, it only made sense to give Twinkles a cold, too!
Sam grabbed Ella’s princesses and they had a little dessert party.
Twinkles threw “snow balls” at all of us in pictures on the wall!
She obviously had so much fun with the “snow balls” that she challenged one of Ella’s Barbie dolls.
When Ella woke up, I didn’t say anything. I was making her chocolate milk and she looked up and saw Twinkles. She looked at me, then back at Twinkles, then back at me and said, “Daddy! Twinkles is in my chips!” Priceless.
Last night, Sam sent me this at work in a text message that read, “See? I can be creative, too!” I laughed out loud!
I may have to start planning next year’s Elf things ahead! This was fun!
We took Ella and Andrew up to Cabella’s after their dentist appointment to get pictures with Santa yesterday. I thought for sure that I had posted some of my childhood Santa pictures before. However, after glancing through some of my past Christmas themed blogs, I discovered that I hadn’t. For what it is worth, it was a quick glance, so there is the possibility that I missed them. If that is the case, I apologize for repeating.
I thought it would be fun to check out some of these amazing photos from the past –
I cannot be sure which of these photos was taken earlier, but I think it was this one.
My dad wrote on the back of this that I am “about 2 years old.
My all time favorite photo with Santa is this one, in which I am wearing the craziest pants ever.
I joke all the time that the reason I am crying is because of those pants! I am probably 3 here, but I cannot be sure.
After that time, my folks probably decided to wait a few years before trying to get a picture with Santa. The next one that shows up is from when I was 6 years old, and it is with my brother and I.
I’m sure that we probably had more taken of us, but I have no idea where they are. Maybe a family member has a copy of one somewhere, but I don’t think I do.
I don’t know that we really ever took my boys to get their photos with Santa when then were tiny. So Fast Forward to 2009. Dante’ would have been 7 and Dimitri is 2 in this one. My brother actually took the above photo and put it in a frame with this one of them. It’s cool to see just how much they boys look like us.
One year later, we took them again to get photos at the mall. I remember this Santa. He was SO good!
I want to say that this Santa was the same Santa that appeared at an office networking party my morning show co-host, Stephanie, and I emceed in 2007.
He sure looks like it to me. If it is, the picture above would have been taken 3 years prior to the one with the boys.
I found this one after I posted this blog! This must have been a year or two after the boy’s previous picture. They used to like their hair “spiked.”
Some of my favorite Santa pictures were not professional ones at all. Ella was born just before Covid hit at the world shut down. A good friend of mine was out doing an appearance as Santa and stopped by the house. I blogged about it here:
Jan was such a great guy. He passed away not to long ago. I can never thank him enough for making a special trip over for Ella. I miss him.
Andrew was only about 2 months old at Christmas last year. We went to Cabella’s and Covid was still a worry. They had a bench in front of Santa for the kids to sit on. There was no way he was going to be able to so that, so the entire family got our picture with St. Nick!
Ella knew that after her dentist appointment yesterday we were going to see Santa. She was very excited. We arrived about 30 minutes early for our appointment. I didn’t matter, there was no one there when we arrived and we were able to get right up for pictures. When Ella saw Santa, she yelled, “Hi Santa!” and ran up and gave him a hug! The photographer deserves kudos because she actually snapped a picture of that.
She made sure that he knew she wanted a “princess castle” for Christmas and then she sat on his lap. We placed Andrew on Santa’s knee and the tears started! The photographer snapped a few photos and we got the best one. It’s totally ok that he was crying. Like father, like son, right!? Ella never has cried when she has seen Santa, which still amazes me.
I think it came out cute. Maybe next year, they can talk about Twinkles, our Elf on the Shelf, and about how she reports things to him at the North Pole.
It is hard to believe that we are just 4 days away from Christmas. Someone observed that time moves a whole lot faster in December if you are an adult. This is so true! As a kid, it seemed to crawl by as we waited for Christmas.
SNOW!
This weekend kept us pretty busy. We got about an inch of snow on Saturday night and when Ella woke up she saw the ground was covered. So after breakfast, the kids and I suited up in snow gear and went out to play in the yard.
It was fun to see Andrew all bundled up. He looked so funny trying to walk in his boots and snow pants. The snow wasn’t “snowman” ready, so we really couldn’t build one. But we did get to run around and throw snow at each other. He really had fun once he got over the “awe” of it. Ella? Well, she just loves to run and jump in the snow.
Cookie Time!
Our Elf on the Shelf, Twinkles, had the idea to decorate cookies this weekend.
She is obviously a Sam’s Club member!
The kids had a blast decorating them.
Ella had her “Bucket O Princesses” with her as she decorated hers. Andrew was eating them as fast as he decorated his …
Picnic
Yesterday, Ella wanted to have a picnic. So we put a blanket down in the living room, I whipped up some grilled cheese sandwiches, and they had a picnic.
Note the “Bucket O Princesses” are with her at lunch, too! LOL!
I probably should have thought about giving them applesauce pouches. That blanket needed a good wash after the picnic was over.
Say “Ahhhh”
This morning, when Sam got home, we had to take the kids to the dentist. Ella did ok, but there are things that she won’t let them do. Sam went back with her and I guess she started to freak out about getting an X-Ray. We will probably need to see a pediatric dentist who may be able to get her calm enough to get them. Andrew had no issues at all, He was a champ.
After our visit to the dentist, it was time for a visit to Santa. Ella was so excited to go see him. More on that in my next blog!
One Final Story
Last year my dad got us an Amazon Echo. You have to link it to an Amazon account, so I linked it to mine.
Sam and I decided that we were not getting each other anything for Christmas this year. I decided to get her something from the kids. So I took $20 I won on an instant lottery ticket and put it in the account I used for my DJ business (so she wouldn’t know) and ordered her something on Amazon.
She was standing by the fireplace yesterday where the Echo is yesterday. She see’s something that pops up on the screen.
She asks me, “What did you order from Amazon?”
“Nothing,” I said.
“According to the Alexa, you have something arriving Thursday that YOU ordered,” she says.
“Don’t worry about it!” I told her, hoping she would drop the subject.
She didn’t drop it and says, “We don’t have the money to spend. Did you put this on your credit card?”
“No. It’s not anything big. It’s something from the kids to you.” and I explained that it was from the lottery ticket money.
She finally drops the subject, until today.
“By the way, I know what you have coming from Amazon,” she slyly says.
I look at her flustered. “Every time I try to get you something as a surprise, something spoils it!”
She then says, “What made you think to get that?”
I don’t say anything. I told her to just act surprised when she unwraps in.
Then she laughs and says, “Yeah, I don’t know what it is. But I was hoping you would tell me by telling you I knew what it was!”
“Wife Trickery” at its finest!! Man, I almost told her what it was! Somehow I think she knows what it is anyway, but we’ll see.
Bing Crosby has been called the “Voice of Christmas.” Rightfully so. There were many years that Bing’s music was the background soundtrack as my family and I opened gifts.
His versions of White Christmas, Jingle Bells, Mele Kalikimaka, and Santa Claus is Coming to Town are holiday staples. You simply cannot turn on the radio during the holidays without hearing them. Today, however, I share with you a Bing song that is less familiar, but has a powerful message.
Give The Secret of Christmas a listen:
It’s such a simple song. But there is one line that just rings true all these years later:
“It’s not the things you do at Christmas time but the Christmas things you do all year through.”
Read that again.
Everyone is a bit nicer, more loving, more generous, more compassionate, and just overall – better people at Christmas. Imagine if we acted like we do at Christmas time throughout the year!
My friend, that is my challenge to you today and in the year ahead.
The Secret of Christmas
It’s not the glow you feel When snow appears It’s not the Christmas card You’ve sent for years
Not the joyful sound When sleigh bells ring Or the merry songs Children sing
The little gift you send On Christmas day Will not bring back the friend You’ve turned away
So may I suggest, the secret of Christmas It’s not the things you do At Christmas time but the Christmas things you do All year through
In trying to find a picture to use for this blog, the above one came up in a Google search. I could see me and Sam filling up multiple volumes with just the things Ella says. Just within the past 2 weeks, there have been plenty of potential entries. Here are just a few:
Manger Stories
Ella loves Little People by Fisher Price. She has a ton of them. We recently received this manger scene as a gift. When you push the button on the top (where the angel is in the photo), it plays Away in a Manger and the star lights up.
Manger Story #1:
Ella keeps pushing the button and playing the music. I said to her, “You must really like that song. You are playing it a lot.”
She looked at me funny, looked back at the manger, back at me and simply said, “Daddy, I’m turning on the light for Jesus!”
Manger Story #2
You may recall that Sam’s sister, Grace, passed away recently. Ella and Grace were very close.
Ella was playing with the Little People from the manger set. So Sam placed the angel on the roof.
Ella: Mommy why you put the angel on the top?
Sam: So she can watch over everyone and keep them safe.
(There must have been some conversation about angels living in heaven.)
Ella: Angels live with Jesus? Like with Gracie?
Sam: They do.
Ella: Mommy, that means Gracie is an angel too! Oh mommy she has a beautiful crown! And beautiful wings!!
Sam posted this on Facebook with the story: “This girl melts my heart!
She sure does!!
Keeping the Peace
Sometimes, Ella makes me laugh so hard. A fine example happened a week or so ago.
Sam and I were in the kitchen talking while I was making dinner. Ella comes up the step into the kitchen from the living room and says loudly, “Just stay calm, everybody!”
Now, I could see if Sam and I were arguing or in a heated discussion about something, but we were literally just talking. This was so out of the blue and random! Both of us looked at each other and started laughing. We have no idea where she heard this from.
There was no indication that she had done anything wrong, or that she broke something, but we walked around the house anyway to make sure everything was ok!
Please Shut Your Mouth!
Remember how as a kid you would put your fingers in your ear when you didn’t want to listen to what someone was telling you? Ella has no issue just letting you know she’s done listening.
From my wife’s Facebook:
When I’m telling her something she doesn’t want to hear Ella’s new thing is to say “Please stop talking to me mommy!”
So tonight I decided to listen to her. I started talking to Andrew…
Me: Here Bubs, let’s get you some chocolate milk. What a bummer I can’t ask Ella if she wants any.
Ella: Oh, mommy, I want chocolate milk.
Me: Here Bubby. (Hands him chocolate milk in sippy cup)
Ella: Mommy! I said I want chocolate milk too!!
Me: Oh, I thought I wasn’t allowed to talk to you.
Ella: Mommy, I love you so much! You’re so special to me!
As my wife said in her post – We are in so much trouble with this one!
Jewish Italian?
One of Ella and Andrew’s favorite shows to watch on TV is Blue’s Clues and You. Sadly, it doesn’t come on as often as I’d like (Because they play Paw Patrol for HOURS at a time!). We set the DVR to record episodes and watch them whenever we want.
They have been running many holiday themed episodes of the show over the last week or so. One of the episodes (pictured above) is based on the neighbor’s celebration of Hanukkah. Sam and the kids were watching it tonight as I drove into work. Sam calls me to tell me about the following conversation:
Ella: Mommy, where is our menorah?
Sam: We don’t have one, baby.
Ella: Why not?
Sam: Because we are not Jewish.
Ella: Why not?
(Long Pause)
Sam: When Daddy gets home – ask him!
Maybe Josh and Blue can help me answer …
Ella, you are such an amazing little girl. We are so blessed to have you! Thank you for being such a wonderful part of our lives!
It’s time for another Friday Photo Flashback. As we get closer to the Christmas holiday, I picked another Christmas photo to look at. It is from 1974.
I found this on a hard drive. I am guessing that it is a scan that my brother did of some of the photos from my aunt. My Aunt Jodi and I are 4 years apart. This photo was taken on Christmas Day in 1974. My aunt and I are featured in the picture.
There are a few reasons I chose to feature this particular picture. First of all, I do not remember it. As I said, it had to be one my grandmother took. I don’t recall seeing it in an albums at my house, or in any batch of digital scans from my dad.
Next, it takes me right back to my grandma’s living room. Where the Christmas tree is, my grandpa’s rocking chair was usually there. Next to it, or on the wall next to it (which was a half wall as I recall) was where my grandpa kept his cabinet phonograph.
Those things were awesome! He had many big band albums, and one with Harry Belafonte singing in concert. He always played the song about a hole in the bucket or something.
The fireplace was a real fireplace as I remember. I may have only witnessed one real fire in it growing up. I recognize the red candle that is behind me and to my right in the picture. Grandma had that for at least a few years. I am four in this picture, but it is in the same spot in another Christmas picture from their house when I was 2.
I love the mess of open boxes and wrapping paper all over the place in the picture. It is a bit too blurry to tell what some of the toys in boxes are, but that army jeep was probably my gift. This may have been the year I got a GI Joe Doll. The GI Joe came with a small hand grenade. This must have been years before anyone worried about kids choking on things, because it was quite small. It was so small that my brother stuck it in his nose and it got stuck! I know that required a trip to the ER to have it removed! The more I think about it, he may have stuck it in his ear, I don’t know.
UPDATE: My brother was able to zoom in a bit on the picture and told me that the box behind me is actually a Weebles set! Sure enough, here is the box!
I’m not a fan of the buzz cut that I am sporting, but it was a favorite haircut of my folks. I had them often. I also don’t know what to make of the outfit I am wearing. Wow! The 70’s sure had some crazy patterns on pants! Even my aunt’s pants look like something you’d see on an old golfer.
I really have no idea what my aunt is handing me. Of course, the way we fought as kids, she might be taking whatever that thing is away from me. Is it a snake? Is it a dinosaur? Is it a fish? I really cannot say. I don’t remember that thing at all! I’m smiling, so I must have thought it was cool.
The crocheted shawl my aunt is wearing has GOT to be something my mom made. If I were to make a wager, it very well may have been her Christmas gift from my mom. Mom loved to crochet and made a lot of things for family. She made me some sort of sweater vest one year. When she was into ceramics, she made something for every one. When she was making fabric painted sweatshirts, everyone got one. Because the pattern, I would certainly think that the shawl is my mom’s handiwork.
You will also notice that on the tree, right behind my aunt is a crocheted diamond ornament. My mom made hundreds of those ornaments. One year our tree was full of them! Want proof?
The other thing I notice in the picture with my aunt and me is the garland. It seems like garland was a necessity for Christmas for my mom and grandma. It is wrapped around the tree, which is where you’d expect it, I suppose. But you see the lone strand hanging down along the wall by the fire place? Right there between the tree and the melted plastic Santa? I can almost bet that it is strung along the top of the fire place.
I stopped writing and went to my hard drive to see if I could find a picture of the garland. Sure enough, a couple years earlier, here is my aunt and I in front of the same fireplace. There along the wall – is the garland!
In a recent conversation with my brother, I was informed that Starbucks does not have their Egg Nog Latte on the holiday menu this year. This was a major disappointment. In all honesty, it was the ONLY reason I ever ventured out to Starbucks voluntarily. I suppose in the fall, I might go there for a Pumpkin Spice Latte’, but I can get those at other places. The only place I could get the Egg Nog Latte’ was Starbucks.
In doing a quick search of the Internet, it seems they pulled it off them menu at some point last year. When they announced their holiday items this year, the Egg Nog Latte’ was absent. The articles I found were about how angry customers were that it was not on the menu.
I guess there are plenty of people making a big stink about it on the various social media sites. There are sites and campaigns calling for the return of the beloved drink, but I highly doubt it will return. It’s kind of like when a radio station fires a favorite personality – no matter how many people call, picket the station, or say they are boycotting the station – they aren’t coming back.
Good riddance, I say. I hated paying so much cash for the delicious drink anyway. I have always felt that Starbucks was overpriced and that their coffee tastes “burnt.” I would probably be able to do a quick Google search for an “Egg Nog Latte'” recipe online and it would be cheaper to make at home. As a matter of fact, I think that is what I will do.
Please don’t tell me that McDonald’s got rid of Egg Nog Shakes. I would really be upset about that ….
I’ve seen a couple bloggers I follow post this in one way, shape or form. I thought it would be a quick and fun thing to do. Two options are presented – you have to pick one. You are supposed to tag someone else to answer the questions, but I won’t do that. Feel free to chime in with whatever you want in the comments, if you wish.
UPDATE: After being tagged by Dave and Lisa (and seeing their responses), I thought I should go through and maybe expand on my brief answers).
Christmas Eve or Christmas Day?
Christmas Eve has always been the bigger day in my family for as long as I can remember. I’m not saying Christmas Day is not as important, but Eve was just always the bigger celebration. We spent every Christmas Eve with my paternal grandparents. It was the Italian side of the family and there was always plenty of food, desserts and family.
We’d have an early dinner (and graze throughout the remainder of the night), and the adults would play pinochle while us kids played with toys, watched videos, or played video games. I would say many of my favorite Christmas memories stem from those Christmas Eves!
Real or Fake Tree?
I have never had a real tree. I know they smell wonderful, but the upkeep of them and the fear or a fire starting has me liking the fake one. When visiting family or friends with a real tree, I always thought they looked great. I was often wowed by the size of some of the trees.
The tree we have at our house now was left by the previous owner. Sam has been using it every year. It has lights on it already, but there is a short in the wires. So we just string a bunch of lights on it separately. For as old as it is, it still looks very full. We talked about getting a new tree this year, but once this one was up, I remember thinking it still looks good.
Snow Globe or Snowflakes?
I think snow globes are nice. We have one that plays music. However, nothing beats real snowflakes falling. I have always enjoyed watching it snow. There is something peaceful about it. Even when it is really coming down, I still find it calming. Unless, of course, I am driving!
Sledding or Ice Skating?
I tried to ice skate once. Once! I can’t do it. I can’t roller skate either. I love sledding. I love taking the kids around on a sled. There is a small hill near us that I can’t wait to take them to.
Before my divorce, we lived at the end of a cul de sac. When they would plow our street, they always just pushed it all to the end. This made a wonderful hill for the boys to sled down. There was also a big hill at one of the parks that we would go to and sled.
I need to go buy a good two person sled this year so I can pull the kids around on it, or ride down a hill with one of them in it with me.
Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate?
Egg Nog hands down. I know a lot of people hate it, but it has long been a favorite of mine. I have blogged about this before, but my grandma used to by this instant egg nog in a pouch and make it. My brother and I loved that!
One year I found a custard egg nog that was absolutely delicious. I wish I could find it. It came in a container that looked like a nutcracker. The only thing I cannot do is low fat egg nog. There is something about it that tastes different.
Photo Taken In Edinburgh, United Kingdom
Do It Yourself Gift or Store Bought Gift?
I guess it depends. Gifts that were made by my kids will always mean more to me than store bought gifts. Either one works, as long as there is some though involved. My wife is the best gift giver and always seems to be able to find just the right gift for me. I wish I had that talent! I don’t know that my gifts to her, no matter how much I thought about it, are as good as the ones she has gotten for me.
Something Red or Something Green?
This is a stupid question. Christmas colors are red and green. A co-worker said “Green can be St. Patrick’s Day, so you have to pick red!” I don’t really know why you have to pick one at all. They go so well together.
Giving Gifts or Getting Gifts?
Personally, I think there is more joy in giving them than getting them. I have told my wife many times that I don’t need anything. I never really understood why my dad would say he didn’t want anything when I was a kid. Today I understand. While it is nice to receive a gift, I just get more joy out of actually giving one to someone.
White Christmas or No Snow?
White Christmas without a doubt. I think that snow just adds to the magic of the day. There is a certain sadness that I get when there is no snow on Christmas. I’m happy with just a dusting, or even flurries. There just has to be a little snow. I really don’t know how people in the south deal with it. When I hear “Let it Snow,” “Winter Wonderland,” or “White Christmas,” I immediately picture snow on the ground. Do they even play those songs in Texas or Mexico? LOL
Colored Lights or White Lights?
I think in certain situations white lights (or any other single color) can look very pretty. However, there is something about having the variety of colors that seems more festive to me.
I recently took the kids to Menards and walked through the Christmas decorations aisles. There are trees that look very nice with all one color – blue, green, or white. I am not sure I could do my tree that way. Perhaps I would do outdoor decorations that way, but on the tree they just have to be multi-colored.
Celebrating at Home or Celebrating Away From Home?
There is a similar question that asks whether you would rather host Christmas or go visiting. There are perks to both. I love being at home in PJ’s while the kids open gifts. I love being able to have breakfast and just watch them enjoy the day. At the same time, celebrating with family at a get together outside of the house is just as fun. Hosting is a bit much for me – too much responsibility.
Opening Gifts One at a Time or Opening All At Once?
We have always done them one at a time. I think it is important to see the receiver’s reactions to the gift they get. If everyone is opening all at once, you miss so much. Besides, I’m a picture taker. I like to capture reactions to gifts. One at a time makes that a whole lot easier. I also think that opening gifts one at a time allows the rest of the family to be joyful for you and what you received.
Gift Wrap or Gift Bags?
I suck at wrapping. I always let Sam do it. If I was responsible for wrapping – everything would be in bags! I think there is something to be said about a beautifully wrapped present under the tree. Wrap it is.
My mother was an amazing gift wrapper. I remember how she’d measure the paper on the box, skillfully slid the scissors along the paper to cut it, and used minimal amounts of tape to wrap something. My kids used to hate gifts I wrapped because I was using a LOT of tape. The corners were never perfect, the paper was never tight around the box, and it really was a shoddy job when I was the wrapper.
Wrap master – I was not.
Angel or Star Topper?
I am not sure we ever had an angel on the top of our tree. It was usually a star or no topper at all. Now, we have this cute snowman that sits on the top, which I really like a lot. I saw somewhere online a snowman topper that makes it look like the snowman is stuck in the tree. That would be very cool. I also saw on Facebook an ad for the Abominable Snow Monster from Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer that you can put on the top of the tree. I’d get that too!
Wreath or Garland?
I don’t even know how these two relate to each other. My mom used garland all the time around the tree and would string it up on the walls and such. It’s pretty, but we don’t use it. I think a wreath can be very festive. I like them both.
We don’t have either at our house. The garland above isn’t the garland I remember. Mom and dad used to have gold or silver garland that was placed all over the house. Even little pieces of the stuff wound up somewhere. It seemed to be every where in the house.
Santa Wraps Gifts or Santa Leaves Gifts Unwrapped?
Growing up, gifts were always left unwrapped from Santa. The wrapped gifts were from mom and dad. I kinda like that. I know know why my folks were always so tired on Christmas morning. They were up the night before putting toys together! There were plenty of nights we didn’t get home from my grandmas until way after midnight. This freaked us out because all kids think that Santa comes at exactly midnight. If my dad had a dollar for every time he told us, “Don’t worry, Santa will come!” he would be a rich man!
Matching Pajamas or Ugly Sweaters?
As corny as it sounds, I think it can be very cute to have matching PJ’s. The kids had matching jammies for pictures. I think if we had extra money, we’d have bought matching ones for Sam and I. Ugly Sweaters are a party thing. I have one and I plan on wearing it to every ugly sweater party I every attend. LOL I need to get my money’s worth.
Cash or Gift Cards?
This depends. I know my son wants a video game this year. I can’t afford to buy it for him, but I will get him a gift card towards it. I think many folks would love cash, but I usually use any cash I get to pay bills. Not very Christmasy. “Hey, Pop. Thanks for helping me with the electric bill this year!” LOL
Mariah Carey or Michael Buble’?
Mr. Buble’! I love how he has brought back some of the great standards. I only really like the one Mariah Carey song, and they play it so much now it just drives me crazy. Buble’ has many great takes on holiday standards. He’s no Bing, Frank or Dean, but he still is one that I enjoy listening too!
Gloves or Mittens?
Gloves! I never cared for mittens. I never felt like my hands worked properly in them. LOL!
Grinch or Charlie Brown?
Charlie Brown! The Grinch song is over played. There are so many reasons why Charlie Brown gets my vote. Linus’ speech tops the list!
It was pointed out to me that the Grinch does come around and loves Christmas much like Scrooge does. True – but Charlie Brown still wins this battle.
Turkey or Ham?
Neither! On Christmas, it is always ravioli for me!! It’s a Christmas Eve Tradition!!
There were many other choices, but I think that is enough for now.
How would you answer “This or That?” Do you have two choices you’d like me to answer?
My last post about the elementary school secret Santa stirred up another Christmas memory – Santa Shops! Do you remember them?
The Santa Shop was basically a bunch of cheap stuff that kids could buy for family for Christmas. Oh, the things I would buy for my folks! Urgh!
Basically, they would bring each classroom down to wherever the shop was set up (the gym, the library, or lunchroom) and they got 15-20 minutes to look at the stuff for sale. Each kid was given a piece of paper to write down numbers and descriptions of things along with who they were for and how much they cost. Then you would take the list home and your folks would give you money to spend. Yes, the parents were buying their own stuff.
I almost never got the amount of money I wanted to spend. If my list was $25, I’d get $10. I doubt I ever got more than that. I usually just bought for my parents and my brother. There was always a bunch of stuff to pick from, but it was never really anything good. Sure, there were a few nice items, but most were plastic junk.
My brother always seemed to get toys that we could both play with. Usually slime or something like that.
Many times I tried to buy cheap for him so that there was extra left to buy myself something!
There was always stuff for mom. I remember one year buying her a “mom’ necklace. It was so cheap and it made her neck turn green. Another year, I bought a ring with a fake jewel in it. I think it bent or broke.
My dad always got a key ring or something like that. I don’t think I ever saw him use it. One year, I found it in the top drawer of the desk at home. I may have bought him a wallet once, too.
I remember thinking that I was buying high class stuff, after all some of the items cost a whole $5!!
When it was my turn to be dad, I remember my kids buying their mom candles or stuff that was much better than they stuff I got. I was ok with that. I had a keychain once that had a tape measure on it. The first time I used it, it broke. My oldest was so sad about that. The following year, he got me a coffee much that said “Super Dad” on it!
It didn’t look like this – it actually had the “S” like Superman on it. I actually still have it and use it. My middle son also bought me a coffee mug with Mr. Incredible on it. I doubt he got it at the Secret Santa shop, but it says “Incredible Dad” on it. They both know how much coffee I drink, so these were smart gifts!
The best gifts they ever got me were not even Christmas presents. They both went to the same elementary school and in Kindergarten, every June their classes made coasters out of tiles. They glued cork on the bottom and painted the tops. I still have both of them. I don’t use them for coffee, but I won’t part with them.
I know that it is not about the gift or the money spent on them. They could wrap up a box of moth balls and I would be happy about it! The fact that they get to go and “shop” for family is the cool thing. It also is just great for them to see your reaction to it when you open it. That puffy sticker that said “#1 Dad” meant more to me than anything of value under the tree.
I don’t know if they are still doing those Santa Shops. I really hope they do. It will be interesting to see what Ella and Andrew will bring home for Sam and I when they are in school. I may have to drop a few hints …
I was in elementary school. This happened somewhere between 3rd and 6th grade. I cannot be too sure when, although I bet if I reached out to my friend, she would know. Here is the story:
One of the wonderful things about elementary school (at least when I was there) was the class Christmas party. They probably call it a “Holiday” party now, or maybe they can’t do them anymore, I don’t know. Each student would bring a treat or drink to pass around and the day before Christmas break, you’d have a celebration.
Each year, there was a gift exchange. It was never anything really expensive. I think there was a $5 or $10 limit. A couple weeks before the party, each kid came up to the bowl or hat with the names of the kids participating and drew a name. One year, I drew Carol’s name.
Carol sat in front of me every year. Her last name came before mine alphabetically. She had blonde hair and I remember thinking how pretty she was. Of course, you never told anyone that in elementary school. The other boys would make fun of you! Anyway, I remember freaking out about what to get her. What does a boy know about buying for a girl!? (Incidentally, this still holds true today for most guys I know – myself included!)
I’m sure I had to ask my mom for help deciding. I don’t exactly remember all of what I got her, but it was probably candy and such. But there was one thing I remember seeing that I thought was a good idea. A snowman pin. I wouldn’t call it a hat pin, it was more of a lapel pin. You know, it was metal and had the gold or silver clasp that fit over the pin to keep it on where you pinned it? I did a search online and this is pretty darn close to what I remember it looking like:
It was such a simple little thing. Back when we were in high school, she still had it. She would wear it around the holidays. I was floored that she kept it. I know I would have lost it over the years.
After graduation, as most people do, I lost touch with Carol. Years later, thanks to Myspace, I was able to reconnect with her. One of the first things she told me was that she STILL had that snowman pin! She told me that she would always wear it every holiday season! I could not believe it.
With the dawn of Facebook, we connected on there and are still friends. I met her about 45 years ago. That pin has to be at least 42 years old and as far as I know, she still has it. This makes me smile to know that the one thing that I thought would be a good gift – was.
Merry Christmas, Carol. I hope that snowman is still smiling at you and making you smile, too!
Various Ramblings of a Nostalgic Italian 