Holy conspicuous consumption, Batman! The Christmas season has EXPLODED in my area. We haven't even finished the last of the Thanksgiving leftovers and some mad Christmas guerrilla has gone and taken upon herself in the middle of the night to put these tacky red ribbon and holly bows on all the mailboxes in my neighborhood. Evidently, I also live up the street from the real life version of Clark Griswold, who is busily stapling lights to every square inch of the outside of his home. I shudder at the thought of his electricity bill at the end of the month. Another neighbor is spraying her windows with a chemical that makes them look frosted--in sunny California, mind you. The neighborhood is awash in wreaths, lights and lighted lawn ornaments (is it me, or do they get bigger every year? A lighted reindeer or two on your lawn is one thing, but a huge Santa on a Harley is something else).
The pressure is too much for my kids, who have asked that we get out our decorations and tree (after much consternation and debate, we opted to get a fake tree three years ago, thinking it was the greener choice--but we all miss the smell of a real tree) today and join the crowd in proclaiming it CHRISTMAS TIME!!!! (emphasis intentional) We have our own little traditions around decorating. Daddy gets to put the star on top--it's an heirloom from his parents' tree. Mommy adds the sparkly lights and strings the traditional Danish flag garland (very nationalistic bunch, those Danes), and the kids fight to put on the ornaments we pick up to commemorate significant moments: the little lab puppy for when we adopted our beloved Sophie dog; the gondola from Venice; the Danish nisse from Copenhagen; the Disney princesses for my Disney-crazed girls; the Statue of Liberty from our recent trip to NY.
And over it all, we listen to Vince Guaraldi's incredible soundtrack to "A Charlie Brown Christmas", a gift from Howie Klein. Absolutely my favorite Christmas album of all time.
Now, we celebrate a fairly secular version of Christmas. But there are many different ways to celebrate. What are your traditions and what is the soundtrack for your holiday celebrations?
