Christmas: Simplify and Slow Down, posted by Jenny, was one of the first ones for the season I saw.

When you care enough to send the very best. included Pops’ answer to the question: Do you mention your blog on your holiday greeting card or family newsletter? (my answer is coming later, in another post).

Photoshopping Your Partner in Christmas Cards: Darren Barefoot posted his friend’s amusing ethical conundrum: (quoted email)The question is not so much about whether it’s okay to alter your photos, but more whether it’s offensive to correct your loved ones’ dental work…without asking them

Like I did, Gotham Gal used Shutterfly, one of many Photo Sites, for her holiday cards.

Elisa’s Camahort posted helpful Secrets of a Savvy Seasonal Shopper.

Tyler Cowen claimed Experiences, not possessions were the answer to What are the best Christmas gifts?

If you wish it would snow stop by this blog and see links to snowflake pictures. Cool!

Ilona wrote on Christmas light and also re-posted thoughts blogged when her father was dying last year:Christmas is not about sparkle and good feelings at its core.

Grant shared thoughts on Christmas trees:The Christmas tree is first and foremost an invitation to disaster.

Fred and his wife might agree.We have this year’s tree up as of yesterday, and we are still married.

A picture of Samantha’s post-modern Christmas tree.

Christmas Either/Or list by Marla also has some fun comments in comparison.

Funny Hanukka list via snippy.

Great Things about December in California and Christmas Lights

It’s 8 am Christmas morning and as I walk outside to get the paper, I look up and down the street, at all the homes, lights aglow in the quiet. I wonder how many living rooms are filled with wrapping paper, how many children opened their gifts hours ago, how many families relaxing before the fire, coffee in hand, Christmas finished for them. I think about the wonder and awe, the rustling and wrapping of paper, the roller coaster ride of the holiday.

I imagine the neighbors’ homes may be like “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” or “Jingle Bells”. Loud, busy, boisterous. But inside our house it is still quiet. More like “Silent Night”. Everyone except me still asleep after spending Christmas Eve with my family, who missed the boat, literally, and ended up staying late. I sit there on the living room carpet and meditate in the silence. I think about Christmas and Silent Night. I think about the peace inside me, a peace that seems strange, after all the busyness of the holidays and the various chaos within me this past year. A heavenly peace. I think about the peace that must have been in that manger with Jesus, even among the animals and noise, the stink and straw. The peace He has and gives.

Up from the carpet, I decide to make cinnamon rolls using the last packet of yeast I have. I’ve never made them before, and I rarely bake with yeast. Kneading the dough, I read the recipe book and listen to news stories on the radio. With my hands I push the raisins into the sticky soft mixture. I make pieces the size of what I think look like “lemons” and roll them into snakes, then shaping those like snail shells. Five in one pan and six in another. In the oven the rolls rise and turn brown on the top. I take them out and put frosting, leftover from last nights cookie decorating, on the top for a treat.

By now the girls wake and I make eggs and meat for our breakfast while Ted takes a shower. We all can smell the cinnamon. The frosting melting across the rolls looks like snow, thick and white, covering mountains.

homemade goodies….

and a visit from the Christmas gorilla…

…who let our daughters borrow his head and feet

Christmas Eve at 1 am or so, I heard a story on the BBC – couldn’t find an internet link though – about a musician in Iceland who makes his instruments from ice. He described how they conform to you, melting as you make music, becoming individualized: no one else can use them.

Christmas morning I heard this NPR piece about Christmas Carp a Czech tradition Instead of wearing a red Santa suit, Czechoslovakian holiday jobs include fishing and selling carp on the street, big rubber boots and all. The part of the story that appealed to me the most was keeping the carp alive at home in the bathtub until Christmas Day. As a child, I always wanted a pet in the tub, a walrus or otter. This Czech tradition sounds like that fantasy come alive, like a Christmas wish received from Santa, although I’m not so sure how happy I would have been eating my pet for dinner!

Tonight we had our Christmas Eve with my family. And I’m realizing more and more how much Christmas is for children. What fun to watch them tear through the wrapping paper…and how much they enjoy the simple pleasures of playing with a ribbon, box or bow! The other day, when Elisabeth pulled away some tissue paper to discover a toy bear, I think I enjoyed it as much as she did! How easy it is for children to accept from others and how much they love to give to us too. Ted and I treasure all the kisses, hugs and kind words we are given by our children. Both Abigail and Michaela this year made paper presents, wanting to share. Abigail’s secret creations are all in a construction paper envelope waiting for later today….

Christmas is for children and about children. Christmas is about a baby born in Bethlehem. It’s about becoming a child. Becoming like a child. And it’s about being a child forever.

“Merry Christmas to the whole wide world!”

During December, I enjoy taking girls downtown and looking at the lights. No snow falling on cedars here, but plenty of cedar and lights hung across shops.

I didn’t capture this view too well with my camera, but I like looking down Winslow Way and seeing the rows of stars in the dark…..

Stars, reminders of the one the wise men followed, are my favorite shapes of the holiday season. They speak to me of seeking and finding, and of a God who gives clear guidance. Walking down Winslow Way during December with all of its stars cheers me, even in the cold. The girls and I spent a few late afternoons this month walking up and down the sidewalks, going in and out of shops, admiring gingerbread houses and evergreen decor in the store windows (“look at that!”), holding hands and having fun….finding hope in the darkness…..