Above and Beyond

As we get ready to leave for Germany, I wanted to take a moment to reflect on Christmas so far. And I really must say I have not only gone above and beyond in my motherly duties but all of the events we planned to do before we left also went above and beyond my expectations. Let’s take a walk down Christmas Town memory lane

Thanksgiving: we kicked off the holiday season with a week up at Dunsmuir. My parents joined for most of the time and Cody and Brenda came down for two nights before heading over to Pillsbury for a long weekend. I love this tradition and hope it continues. I would love it even more if Dana and her family joined as well. 

Attempting to get a family photo up at Bunny Flats

The Lighted Tractor Parade: when Oskar was born I stumbled upon a story about the Lighted Tractor Parade in Calistoga that happens every year in December. I added it to the list of fun things to do with the family once the kids were old enough to stay up to see it. And this was the year we were going to do it. The parade and overall weekend did not disappoint: it was everything I had envisioned and so much better. On top of the parade (truly the highlight) the kids also loved swimming in the hotel pool before dinner (I should note it was raining and cold, but the pool was heated by thermal springs) and on the way home Martin used the opportunity to stop by a house he designed for us to see. 

Parenting Overdo #1 - The Advent Puzzle: one of Martin's friend's sister-in-law's best friend’s cousins started a tradition of giving a few pieces of legos to the friend's son everyday in an advent calendar so at the end of the 24 days, they had built a new Lego creation. Martin wanted to do this same idea but with puzzle pieces for our kids. The concept seemed easy enough and, being the puzzle lover between the two of us, I took on the task of buying the puzzle. While the concept was straightforward, execution was another story. The kids typically do 200 piece puzzles in an hour so I would need to buy one with more pieces… if it was to go in their advent calendar, 1,000 pieces seemed like the right size. But then I realized, in order for the kids to have fun putting it together, they would need to have matching pieces in each bundle. Which meant I had to put together a 1,000 piece puzzle in November before leaving for the week at Dunsmuir so I could take it apart and wrap it up.  If that isn’t going above and beyond on this idea I don’t know what is. 

Parenting Overdo #2 - Packing the Gifts: this is our first year back to Germany since Oskar was 3.5 and Alva wasn’t even walking. Christmas presents were slightly different back then, so when we started prepping for the trip I naturally assumed that we would take all of our presents with us to Germany for the kids to open there. I mean, it’s Christmas, you have to have presents under the tree right? Apparently not! Everyone I talked to thought we were crazy (and I can’t say they were wrong). One family leaves the presents under the tree for when the family comes home from their travels. Another suggested just bringing one or two and leaving the rest behind. Of course I didn’t talk to anyone until after we committed and reconfirmed with the kids that Santa would in fact deliver presents to Germany. Instead of disappointing, I did what I had to do, I bought two large extra suitcases to pack it all up to Germany and then back to San Francisco. I really hope we find a better solution next time. 

Nutcracker: this year we got to introduce the kids to the Nutcracker at the SF ballet. And we did it right. We (meaning I) bought great seats, the first row of the grand tier, so the kids could stand and look over the side for an unobstructed view of the dancers. I pre-ordered apple cider and champagne for us to enjoy during intermission.  We prepped the kids ahead of time, telling them the story and explaining what to expect and as a result, they loved it!  And even better Alva and I participated in the Nutcracker Dance Along later that weekend to learn some of the dances at the real ballet studio. 

Crab and Raviolis: as mentioned before, for my family Christmas is all about the tradition rather than the date on the calendar. This is incredibly helpful when leaving for Germany and not being in town for the main event. So Christmas for my family was planned for the weekend before we left for Germany. As always, it was a loud, fun evening filled with love and laughter and a few elbows thrown to get the last crab claws out of the bowl.  

Christmas celebrations could end now I would still be happy.