Wrapping up Christmas

We're finally finished with wrapping up Christmas around these parts (yes, total pun intended) and I can't say that I'm too sad this year. It's almost like Christmas came and went so quickly this year, it hardly registered a blip on my radar. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE Christmas, but Christmas in  Italy is so different than what I grew up with, I'm just not feelin' it over here.  And we've been so rushed this holiday season--too rushed to even really enjoy much. I swear, next year we will be putting up the tree the week after Halloween, just so that we have a chance to enjoy it instead of rushing to get ready for Christmas and then rushing to put it all away after January 1st. And then I've got it--the dreaded mommy guilt. If you're a normal mom (not a Pinterest mom with far too much time on her hands) like I am, you know what I'm talking about. Nothing is ever good enough and soon your kids won't be little anymore... Ugh, the Guilt!!

When I was a little girl, my parents put up the same fake Christmas tree every year.  I use the word "fake" for a reason... It was white (to portray the image of a snow-covered tree, I guess) and my mother put these pale blue lights on it.  I pretty much hated it.  I wanted a cut tree more than anything but my mom's "allergies" kept us from getting a cut tree.

But my father volunteered with the Lion's Club and every year, he would work the club's Christmas tree lot. And every year, close to Christmas day, he would bring me my own tiny little tree that he would put up on a table and let me decorate with flashing colored lights--you know the huge bulbs and come in a rainbow of colors? I loved my short, fat little tree.  I was perfect to me.

Here in Italy, a cut tree is very hard to find--surprising, right?  They are so popular in Germany! There are some available but they're usually ugly and expensive, so our family was stuck again this year with the pre-lit 220 volt tree that we bought at the PX last year.  It.is.so.ugly.  For some reason, Jackson absolutely LOVES it.  To him, it is the prettiest Christmas tree EVER.  Jackson is our "Christmas kid". He lives for the holidays, and so when Steve and I went to Ikea a couple of weekends before Christmas and they had tiny, fat LIVE Christmas trees that you could plant after Christmas, I knew we were in trouble.  So Jackson got his very own living Christmas tree in his room this year :)  Wish I could have found some big, fat, flashing 220 volt lights for it...

But it was perfect for him.

Santa Has Arrived!

Look who we caught passing out toys tonight!

Merry Christmas!

Adding a Little Christmas Cheer

I was surprised this week when Jackson's awesome 1st grade teacher sent out a link to the Portable North Pole website.  She got it from a family member back in the states and I was shocked that she'd never heard of it.  (She's pretty with-it)  Equally surprising to me were the number of with-it mommies at the classroom Christmas party, sorry....HOLIDAY party....who hadn't heard of it.  Rarely in life am I the one who is in The Know, especially when there's Technology involved.  Technology and Math...not my strong points.  

Anyhow, our family has been using the Portable North Pole website for several years and our kids always look forward to it.  The awesome thing is--IT'S FREE!  You answer a few simple questions about your kiddo, upload a few pictures, and WHAM...a video arrives into your email box to your child from Santa.  It's the Real Santa, too--not some fake looking guy in a fake beard and red suit. This Santa is legit.  There's also a paid video you can buy for a couple of bucks as well.  Paying will make your video a bit long and more detailed, plus you get to upload more pictures--proof that Santa REALLY is watching and he Knows....This year you can also sign up for a video that will arrive on Christmas Eve.  I'm hoping it tells the kids to get into to bed--somehow, our brats always struggle with that!!

Another one of my favorite Christmas traditions is snapping a picture of Santa in front of our Christmas tree.  On the I Caught Santa website, you can upload a picture of your Christmas tree (or fireplace, outside of your house, etc) and super-impose Santa right into the picture.  It's not super cheap, but my kids LOVE it.  Santa always leaves his picture taken in front of our tree next to our milk and cookies plate. This is great for kids on the brink of doubting Santa's existence--I hate the idea that children are learning "The Jingle News" as we call it at our house at a younger and younger age!

Santa in front of our tree last year...

And finally, my personally favorite: Norad Santa.  We've been using this for years and every year, I cry when my kids are talking with the volunteers at Norad who are spending Christmas Eve answering calls from excited children all over the world.  I remember Tory and Trey calling when they were both little and I remember how sad I was when I thought that we wouldn't be able to call from here in Italy (especially that first year when we were living in the hotel at Christmas while we were waiting for our house to be ready) Cheer up, though...you can call from overseas and the wait time is actually far shorter :) The folks are always super nice and my kids are always thrilled to talk to a real Santa helper.  They have a pretty extensive website also! The number to call is 1 (877) 446-6723. (1-877-HI-NORAD) 

If you've been living under a rock recently and somehow have never heard of these  websites, be sure to check them out. And if you have some equally (or better) Santa websites, be sure to share in the comments below!