Search Results for: blog my daughters very merry christmas eve

Let There Be Light

If it were a crime to be eating leftover Halloween candy in late November, I’d be in jail right now. There’s something not quite right about stuffing your face with Reese’s Peanut Butter Pumpkins while stringing up Christmas lights. Which is why I did the former rather than the latter today. Apparently, I was the only one. It seems all my neighbors were on the same page this weekend: “Let’s add some holiday twinkle to our homes while Michele polishes off her kid’s Halloween treats.” Mission accomplished. On both fronts. Listen, I’m all about decking the halls, but my family … Continue reading →

Scrooge Lives in Chicago

My 7-year-old daughter truly believes there is a Santa Claus, and I would like to keep it that way for, oh, the next… 30 years. If you have other ideas on how Barbie’s Three-Story Dream Townhouse magically appears (fully assembled) at the foot of a lopsided Fraser Fir on Christmas morning, keep them to yourself. I’m talking to you Robin Robinson. Recently, the FOX Chicago news anchor took it upon her to dash the dreams of Santa-loving kids by declaring that the jolly ol’ gift bearer was no more real than a herd of pastel-colored unicorns. Robinson’s self-absorbed remarks came … Continue reading →

Silly Sounds of the Season

Have you seen the Wal-Mart Christmas commercial where the guy insists on playing “Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer” while an elderly woman wearing a leg cast looks on in disgust? I walk out of the room whenever it’s on. Conversely, my 7-year-old loves the TV ad almost as much as her beloved “Peggy” commercial. Tis the season for crazy Christmas carols. Only this year my kid finally gets the joke and is obsessed with committing the holiday parodies to memory. Grandma, help me! Along with the granny versus caribou carol, my daughter delights in Bob Rivers’ twisted holiday … Continue reading →

Christmas Card Coma

I received my very first Christmas video card last week and bid adieu to my electronic holiday greeting virginity. The Hallmark e-card stripped me of my seasonal innocence and now I guess I should expect my mail carrier to travel a little lighter next Christmas. Apparently, holiday e-cards are the wave of the future and soon traditional Christmas greetings, like these, will go the way of the Walkman and typewriter. Say it ain’t so. How many paper holiday cards did you receive this year? I sent out nearly 90 and have received more than half that amount as we wrap … Continue reading →

Is Technology Messing with Christmas Traditions?

Just how tech savvy is Santa anyway? Does the big guy in the red suit really communicate via a small smartphone? Are traditional paper letters to the North Pole on the brink of extinction? Are PDFs and instant messages the preferred method of sending one’s Christmas wish list to Jolly ol’ St. Nick? Say it ain’t so. Call me old-fashioned, stodgy, or a stalwart traditionalist, but I’m not a fan of the litany of new high-tech ways kids can communicate with Santa Claus. I don’t want my daughter emailing Santa, nor do I want her faxing, tweeting, Skyping, or texting … Continue reading →

Pervert Ruins My Daughter’s Christmas Tradition

My daughter has been writing letters to Santa since she was two years old. I’ve documented the sweet tradition on this site with parental pride and a touch of sadness knowing that her childhood belief in an oversized gift-bearing elf would not last forever. Little did I know that my daughter’s annual holiday letter writing tradition would come to a screeching halt before she learned the truth about Kris Kringle. Thanks to a pervert in Maryland, my sweet, innocent, Santa-loving five-year-old may not get a reply from Mr. Claus this year. The pervert responsible for ruining this joyous tradition is … Continue reading →

Christmas Music in October?!

I rarely listen to the radio while driving, but my 5-year-old insisted on hearing some tunes as we navigated our way to yet another Halloween event last week. Rather than waste time trying to convince her that silence is golden, I hit the “scan” button on the radio and the tuner immediately landed on a soft-rock station. Only instead of playing its usual fare of “How Deep Is Your Love,” “Sailing” and “If You Leave Me Now,” Bing Crosby’s “White Christmas” merrily flowed from the car’s speakers. I thought it was a commercial. Seriously. It was the day before Halloween, … Continue reading →

There’s a Lesson in Here Somewhere

Christmas isn’t over quite yet… at least in our home. Tuesday we celebrate the Epiphany, also known as Three Kings Day (formerly known as the “Feast of the Wise Men’’) or the 12th day of Christmas. Or, in the words of my preschooler: “A day for more presents.” For those of you unfamiliar with the holiday, January 6th basically foretells the visit by the Three Wise Men, who followed a star in the night to bring gifts to the infant Jesus. The Epiphany is a major holiday in Latin America, but in recent years it has been increasingly embraced by … Continue reading →

Santa and Science: What Happened to Just Plain Magic?

When your kids ask how Santa Claus is able to visit every house in the entire universe in a single night, how do you respond? My young daughter could careless how Santa is able to fly around the world courtesy of aerodynamic reindeer, sort gifts, slide down chimneys, snack on cookies and deposit coal in some kids’ stockings, and still get home before the sun rises. All she cares about is that Santa delivers. Period. However, when she does get savvy enough to start inquiring about how the big guy is able to cover 200 million square miles visiting hundreds … Continue reading →

Would You Buy Your Kid a Barack Obama Doll?

Remember the stampedes that ensued when the original Tickle Me Elmo hit the shelves back in 1996? Thousands of parents pushed, shoved and pummeled their way through toy stores to get their hands on the furry red monster. Back then Sesame Street’s most famous resident was the hottest toy around. Elmo was hands-down a mass marketers’ dream come true. But this is 2008 and Elmo (even the newest version) has been upstaged by a truly historic presence. According to reports, the new Barack Obama action figure is flying off store shelves. The 14-inch plastic version of Obama is dressed in … Continue reading →