Becoming Mrs. Claus

I put up our second Christmas tree yesterday.  It has taken me a week, but all of our indoor decorations are up and we are finally fully Christmas functional. Late last night, as we were playing Yahtzee by the light of the giant tree that takes up a third of our living room, my husband turned to me and asked, "Do you like having a second tree?" I just smiled guiltily and nodded. and he smiled too, and I know we were both thinking the same thing.

I have become my mother.

Last year I wrote a post about my dad being Santa Claus. Nothing about that has changed. This year, however, I am realizing just how vital Mrs. Claus is in all this holiday hullabaloo. 

I have been working on Christmas ever since the day after Sly's birthday in August. With Scott being super busy at work and overloaded with his last semester of his MBA, and trying to keep my depths of depression at bay, I needed something to focus on, and what is cheerier than Christmas? Nothing, so Christmas is the happy place I went to when the weather was still sporting 80 degree temperatures.  

And, even with all that prep, we hit December 1st and my advent calendar and Jesus Tree still weren't up, but that's okay. My kids can't read a calendar and Kevin was more than happy to put two Jesus Tree ornaments up last night. 

After Sly went to sleep, I cuddled Kevin on the couch and I read "The Polar Express" to her. She is finally at an age and attention span that allows me to read longer books to her. As I read, it wasn't my voice I heard telling the tale of the bell still rings for those who believe. 

It was my mother's.

I heard the inflections in her voice. The parts she would emphasize, the things she would point out in the pictures. I could smell the candle my Dad always burned at Christmastime layered with the organic scent of my Grandpa's homegrown Christmas tree. I could hear the Anne Murray and Yanni CDs playing softly in the background. I could feel, more than see, the primary-colored lights on our family tree. 

I remember one Christmas in particular when my mom took the time to read to us each evening. By that point in time, we were older school children and we'd either embraced the deliciousness of reading on our own (me) or tried to ditch books altogether (my siblings). Looking back, I think it must have been one of those times when my mom was at the end of her rope and grasping at straws as to how to keep us occupied and her calm and keep the home feeling like Christmas even when the blizzards were inside and not outside. 

Granted, we weren't super excited when she gathered us in the family room and told us she was going to read a Christmas book to us each night. But, in true Mrs. Claus style, she found a most magical story that appealed to all of our ages and within a few days, we were begging her to read more about Gladys and Shazaaamm! Unto you a child is born! and Imogene and the rest of the Herdmans. We were actually sad when the book was over.  

Perhaps you've seen that saying floating around on facebook: "There is no app to replace your lap." 

In this season of mile-long to do lists, too much sugar, and closets full of hidden presents, I challenge you to add one more thing to your plate. Read to your children. It doesn't matter if they are two weeks old, two-years-old, twelve or twenty. Being read to by a parent is something that sticks with children so much longer than Tickle Me Elmo or the newest iPhone. 

It is a gift that lasts for generations, because someday, your daughter might be reading to her children and it will be your voice proclaiming, "Maybe Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store. Maybe Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more."

Here are some of my favorite books for reading out loud:

For little ones:

• Llama Llama Holiday Drama by Anna Dewdney
• Babylit version of A Christmas Carol by Jennifer Adams
• Sing to Baby Jesus by Rachelle Pace Castor
• Five Christmas Penguins by Steven Lenton

For younger children:

• How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Suess
• The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg
• The Tale of the Three Trees by Angela Hunt
• The Legend of the Candy Cane by Lori Walburg
• My Treasury of Christmas Carols & Stories
• The Nutcracker (any version)

For elementary-age children:

• Christmas in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder
• The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson
• Any of the American Girl "book three" books, for example "Molly's Surprise"
• Chapter Six of "Ramona and Her Father" by Beverly Cleary

For pre-teens and teenagers:

• A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
• The Little Red Buckets by Lynda M. Nelson
• Two From Galilee by Marjorie Holmes
• The Christmas Box by Richard Paul Evans (this is actually a triology, and I especially enjoyed The Timepiece)
• Little Women by Louisa May Alcott