The Great Elsa Ploy

Since holidays are always more fun with kids, I am thinking about Christmas. For me, it's incredibly early to be thinking a Christmas in early November. However, with kids I do need to start planning ahead. Doing last minute shopping Christmas week just won't cut it.

My kids are really into the movie Frozen, just like so many little kids these days. One night I went shopping on Amazon on my phone to start making a wish list. I found Elsa and Anna dolls from Disney. There were single dolls and there were sets that included both sisters. The prices range from $25 for one doll to $50-$70 for two dolls or a tiny set of sculptured figurines for all five main characters (Anna, Elsa, Olaf, Sven and Kristof). My husband, understandably, was disgusted by the prices.

Then I remembered that someone said there were Frozen dolls at Costco for $15. I had seen them when I went week or two ago but didn't buy any since the kids were with me. Plus that was before Halloween so I definitely wasn't thinking about buying Christmas presents. There was a good chance that the dolls sold out. 

Nevertheless, I thought Lil Sis and I could go check. We went to the toy aisle and I didn't see the princesses where I had seen them weeks earlier. Looking down the aisle I saw there was a display of Disney princesses. They were the "toddler" versions of the princesses with bodily proportions more accurate for very young children. Totally appropriate for Lil Sis.

There was just one Elsa doll left. No Anna dolls, but plenty of Belles, Cinderellas, and Rapunzels. I hesitated. Does Lil Sis really want this doll? Would she like something else better? Then an old couple pulled up behind me with a shopping cart. I overheard them say, "Here's some Frozen stuff! I know Frozen is on their list…"

That decided it. I snapped up the last Elsa doll and hid it in my coat. Luckily Lil Sis was looking at another toy at the time. I called to her and we went down the next aisle. I was grateful for her two-year-old lack of observation and suspicion. She didn't care that I now had a box shaped jacket. 

We looked at other toys and I made the mistake of suggesting we go back to look at the dolls one last time. As she browsed I took a picture of the Elsa doll to send my husband to get his opinion on whether I should buy the big Elsa doll or the little figurines of both Anna and Elsa.

Lil Sis had been looking at toys again but turned around and caught me in the act. "Big Elsa is in your coat!" she giggled happily.

Now that I was caught, I thought I could at least get verification of whether this doll was the right choice. "Is big Elsa your favorite?" I asked. "Yes." She answered. I showed her all the other choices again but she still insisted on the big Elsa doll.

"Good." I replied feeling a little panicked. Now what?

"We can ask Santa to bring you big Elsa!" I suggested enthusiastically.  "But for now I have to put her back."

Lil Sis was visibly upset. I secretly re-stuffed Elsa in my jacket and hoped that she wouldn't notice (again) even though she now knew something was up.

I led her by the hand up to the registers. I put Elsa, still under my coat, on the cashiers conveyor belt. "Hey, Elsa's under your coat!" Lil Sis said.

"No, I had to put her back." I answered.

Lil Sis responded with cries of I want big Elsa! I handed her my smartphone to soften her disappointment.

Thankfully, the cashier has evidently seen this scenario before. she saw the item under my jacket and immediately said, oh this must be a secret purchase. She only lifted a tiny flap of my coat so she could scan the doll, and wished me good luck. The guy manning the exit door was also experienced with secret purchases and was very understanding when I showed him my receipt and my jacket wrapped around a box.

Lil Sis fussed all the way to the car "I want big Elsa!" On the one hand felt terrible for making her sad. On the other hand I felt secure that I had made the right doll purchase and relieved that I had pulled off the great Elsa ploy.

Welcome 2014

2013 went out with a bit of a bust. First the ice storm meant that we were stuck at home for 3 days. We could have gone out and braved the roads if we really wanted to on some of those days I suppose, but why? There was no where we really had to go.

As the ice storm was ebbing, I got a bad cold as did my 3 year old. My husband and daughter got it too, but not as bad as my son and I.  On Christmas Eve we did our normal Christmas Eve Scavenger Hunt. It's a fun family tradition we do with my side of the family and culminates in this fun video:


After our scavenger hunt we went to my sister's house for lunch, tea and cookies. Then we opened all our gifts to each other. My 3 year old was exclaiming "This is just what I ALWAYS wanted!" after opening each gift. It was sweet.

Afterwards, we decided we were all feeling too sick to go to my husband's maternal family's annual Christmas Eve get-together. We grabbed some Chinese takeout and headed home for dinner. It was weird. For years I have wondered whether it would be nice to just go home to our own house on Christmas Eve, but it was too ordinary, it didn't feel much like Christmas Eve.

On Christmas Day Grandma and Grandpa came to open presents with us. My sweet boy who yesterday had exclaimed how every gift was just what he always wanted turned into a greedy little monster who only wanted to rip the paper off a million presents. He was heading into a tailspin as his cold ramped up, and his emotions melted down. "I didn't get enough presents from Santa!" he wailed. "I want to play with a toy from Santa!" When my husband suggested some Legos he answered "NO, those are from Grandma, I want to play with a present from Santa!"

Oh dear.

I coaxed him into a warm tub, then he snuggled under the covers with me and fell asleep for hours. At least his illness explained the tantrums. We stayed home from my husband's paternal family's Christmas party, and another open house party we always go to. Once again, it felt like too ordinary of a day to feel much like Christmas. Especially when we ate Chinese leftovers for Christmas dinner.

Thankfully by the time New Year's Eve rolled around everyone was feeling better. We went to a party at a friends house. It was just three families. Six parents and seven children. The kids all got along great and played together. We even got to play a game with just the adults as the kids entertained each other. It was fantastic. A sign of good days ahead.

We were home and in bed before midnight, but I got to see the fireworks of three towns out my bedroom window. It was a good place to be especially with the frigid temperatures outside.

Welcome 2014, let's see where you take us.

"Help Me! Help Me!"

I want to raise both my children as feminists, but sometimes I wonder how. Perhaps I'm being oversensitive but Christmas brought up a few... trigger points shall we say.

My daughter got a baby doll and a stroller for Christmas, and she absolutely loves them. I had a hand in making sure she got those gifts so it's no problem. I tried to introduce a doll to my son (a boy doll that I had growing up) when he was one but he didn't take to it in the same way.

She also got some Strawberry Shortcake dolls. Not first generation child-like, innocent looking ones like these:

The modern day, taller, "sexier" ones like these:

 

These dolls epitomize the classic sexualization of young girls, unattainable beauty standards, etc, etc. My daughter is so little she won't care, at least not yet. But the dolls certainly gave me pause.

Lastly, we got her a Calico Critters Baby Discovery Forest. There is a little perch at the top of the tree and her favorite thing is to put a Critter, other figurine, or stuffed animal at the highest perch and say, "Help me! Help me!"  

Where she learned this, I have no idea. It wasn't from me. She loves it, but I find myself wanting her to play and put emphasis herself as the rescuer. A few days after Christmas she started playing "Help me! Help me!" on the train table, but she has started being the rescuer too.

"Help me! Help me!....Otay!" She exclaims in her cute one year old way as one toy rescues the other.

 

I have to remind myself she isn't even two yet, and her play doesn't mean the same to her as it does to me. She has so much time to change and grow. Still, it is something I will continue to be mindful of as she grows up.

Christmas Magic: The Polar Express

This past weekend we went on the Polar Express train hosted by the Vermont Children's Trust Foundation. The whole experience is based on the book of the same name by Chris Van Allsburg. It is a highly coveted event for young families around the region. Due to its popularity it can also be very hard to get tickets. Last year I unsuccessfully entered the lottery to buy tickets, so for this year I made the required donation to VCTF before June 30th to buy the privilege of not having to enter the lottery just to buy tickets. I wanted to make sure we got to do it before kids at school tell my son that Santa isn't real and some of the Christmas magic is lost.

When the day finally came, we got the kids in their most Christmas-y pajamas and headed into Burlington. Before boarding the Polar Express train, we had an early lunch/dinner at a seafood restaurant conveniently located between the parking lot and the train station. We saw other kids in pajamas there, so we were not the only ones with the idea.

To board the train we lined up in a large hall that was decorated with red and green spotlights. There were tons of kids in pajamas with their parents and everyone was excited and not sure what to expect. The conductor walked down the line saying hello to kids and told them to look out the train window to make sure their were no reindeer on the tracks.

The walk out to the train was magical. The sun had set so it was dark except for streetlights and a light snow falling to the freshly snow covered ground.

We boarded the train and sat at tables. The conductor, chef, and other helpers welcomed us and gave us Christmas carol song books. The lively conductor and chef in our train car led everyone to sing boisterously as we enjoyed cookies, Lake Champlain Chocolates, and hot cocoa.

 

My sister had recommended going when it was dark to preserve the magic more. I do think this was key because the train goes south for about 15 minutes before reversing and returning to the same station. As we got off the train the pathway was lined by elves who greeted kids by name (all kids were given nametags). This time we entered the main train station and were serenaded by a women's choir. The station was decorated like the North Pole and the kids were given mats to sit on so they could listen to an elf read The Polar Express. 

After the story was done we went up to the second floor of the station with elves high-fiving my son the whole way. Once at the top, he got to meet Santa. My son was bouncing around and could hardly contain his excitement. My daughter was a bit overwhelmed but happy and taking it all in quietly.

As we left some of the elves handed each of my kids a bell from Santa's sleigh, just like in the book. It really was magical.

8 Christmas Inspired Kid Activities

What a week it's been! We have had a Christmas filled week and it's been great.

It started on Sunday, First Advent. The kids got their chocolate Advent calendars, we got our Christmas Tree up and had a special dinner to light the first candle on the Advent wreath.

Monday we painted salt dough ornaments to hang on our tree. The undecorated salt dough ornaments were leftover from last year when I went salt dough crazy so that our playgroup friends could do it too.

Tuesday we went to story time and made gingerbread puppets after reading gingerbread themed stories. Then later, back at home, we made popcorn and cranberry strings to add to the tree. Well, ok, just one short strand because I overestimated my 3 year old's ability to thread food with a needle. It was a team effort for me and both kids that ended with jumbled bowls of popcorn intermingled with cranberries and giggles.

Wednesday we made Christmas cookies with Nini (my mom), called Santa's whiskers, a recipe that my mom has been making since I was little. Yum!

Thursday we colored pictures of Saint Nicholas and talked briefly about his story. Before bed the kids put out their shoes for St. Nicholas to fill. It's a tradition I learned from my German mother and we celebrated it growing up. To read more about Saint Nicholas visit stnicholascenter.org

This morning, Friday, the kids awoke to chocolate filled shoes. Saint Nicholas came! Tonight we will have an early Advent dinner with Nini and the cousins. We will have pizza, cookies, and light the second Advent candle.

Saturday will be a Christmas craft show and a gingerbread house making party in the evening.

This coming Sunday, second Advent, we will go to our town's Christmas Tree Lighting if the kids aren't too tired.

We shall see if I can come up with something for every day until Christmas....as long as it's still fun for everyone. Any suggestions?

Don't Forget Santa

I've definitely gotten swept up in the Christmas spirit fast, and since I have kids Santa Claus is a big part of the season. So it's important that I don't forget about Santa in all my preparations.Our most beloved North Pole resident's home is in real danger due to climate change and the threat of oil development in its pristine waters due to opportunities presented by melting ice.

Even for me, a climate fanatic, it can be easy to get lulled into a false sense of security and forget this daunting problem we created for ourselves by burning fossil fuels. It's much nicer to go on with business as usual and not think about it. So, as we go through this season which is largely defined by rampant consumerism, keep the jolly guy in the red suit who lives up North, and your kids, in mind as you make your purchases and travel plans. Do what you can to protect Santa's Arctic home and workshop.

To make your Christmas more green consider these things:

• limit travel
• Carpool, CarShare or use public transit
• Focus on experiences instead of things (Locals, see The Family Friendly Holiday Guide to BVT)
• Limit the number of gift purchases
• Buy local so your goods consume fewer transport fuels? (Locals, see Shop VT 2013). 
• Make gifts yourself
• Buy from craft fairs or other local artists
• Upgrade your Christmas lights to LEDs or get solar lights and put them on a timer
• Use reusable gift bags instead of wasting wrapping paper

There are many things we can do to reduce our environmental impact without killing the holiday spirit. Have yourself a Green and Merry Christmas!

Wooden Nutcracker Soldiers Army

When I was little I loved the Nutcracker solider ornaments on our tree. I took to organizing them like an army sometime around age 11 or 12. My mom gave me the ornaments several years ago and I still hang them together like a toy army on my tree.

During our recent Advent celebration I asked my 3 year old son if he would hang them all together like I used to do. "Won't that be fun?!" 

Sadly, he was uninterested so I did it myself. I hung them on a low branch as I always did. My daughter discovered them and took a liking to them. My husband remarked that perhaps she would carry on the tradition.

Alas, 1.5 year olds don't have a sense of how to organize a Nutcracker soldier army on a tree. Plus, her favorite thing is taking ornaments off the tree. There were a few injuries to the soldiers:

Two lost their strings and so are on leave until I manage to get out the hot glue gun. The remaining soldiers have been transferred to a higher branch.

When my son was younger we had a gate around our tree , but I would rather not do that again. I also hope there won't be too many more ornament injuries.

First Advent: (Re)Starting A Tradition

I almost forgot that yesterday was the first of the four Sundays before Christmas. It also happened to fall on December 1st this year. That meant the start of Advent!

Though there are religious meanings to Advent, for my family growing up it was done in a more secular fashion. We grew up getting chocolate Advent calendars to help us count down the days from December 1st until Christmas. It's something I wanted my kids to experience too, so this year they were both old enough to get one. They don't totally get it yet, but they liked the chocolate.

 

Later on in the day my husband suggested we get our Christmas tree. We drove to a local farm down the road that was selling pre-cut trees. My son helped us pick out which tree to get, and eagerly watched as his father tied it to the roof of the van.

 

Just like last year, my daughter spent the experience asleep in her car seat.

Back at home we set the tree in its stand and let it warm up. The kids loved sitting under the tree.

My husband cooked a fabulous black bean soup using beans we grew, and a white bean soup. He poured them side by side in bowls. Along with the Advent wreath it looked beautiful on the table. My mom joined us for for soup, bread, and a sweet bite while listening to Christmas music on Pandora..

After dinner we set to decorating the tree. My son had been clamoring to get into the ornaments all evening. He hung lots of ornaments closely together on the low branches. My daughter loved naming the ornaments "ball!", "neigh!" (for horse), "rahr" (for bear). But mostly she loved taking the ornaments back off the tree. We sang "Rudolph the Rednosed Reindeer" and "Jingle Bells" as we worked. Each child got a turn being lifted up by their father to attempt to put the star on top of the tree. In the end their dad had to do it himself.

The whole day happened rather spontaneously and stress-free. It's so nice to start sharing my childhood traditions with my own children.