Sharing the spirit of Christmas

One of my favorite things about being a mum is sharing the things I love with Daisy. My favorite food, my taste in music, clothes, travel, movies, books... you name it, it's just so fun to see how she reacts to the same things and whether she loves them too.

All of this, of course, makes Christmas a smorgasbord of opportunities to share childhood memories and traditions, especially since, in my family, Christmas is a BIG DEAL.

Last year, however, Missy was not even a year old and, while her eyes sparkled in the reflection of the Christmas tree and she ripped open gifts with gusto, she didn't understand what any of it meant. There was no context, no anticipation, no appreciation.

This year, at nearly two, all that has changed.

Daisy knows who Santa is, that he brings gifts on Christmas Eve and that naughty children don't get any. She can sing most of the words to "Rudolph the Rednosed Reindeer" (sporadically) and busted out "Santa Claus is coming to town!" (in rhythm) during a diaper change last week. Of course, we've been priming her with songs and books but the point is that this year she's putting it all together and it's so cool because I can see the excitement building in her. By the time Christmas Day rolls around, I can just envision the fever pitch!

I love it. I still remember how that felt and I can't wait to see it on Daisy's face.

Which is why today was so fun. We bought Missy her own three foot Christmas tree and I took her to Target this morning to pick out her own lights and decorations.

Pink and twinkly was the theme. (Oh, with a touch of Dora and Hello Kitty, of course.)

Ok, truth be told, we bought her the tree because we wanted her to have one she could mess with. This year, due to the toddler penchant for ripping, throwing, and smashing, we decided to put our own tree (which usually graces our living room) in with the dogs in the family room. The fact that we entrust hundreds of dollars of fake-lit tree and glass ornaments to a hyperactive 3 year old Cocker Spaniel tells you just how incapable we are of controlling our hyperactive 20 month old. Ahem.

Either way, it turned out to be a great idea - whatever the motivations - because she loved every minute of the picking and the decorating. When we plugged the lights in, she sat next to the tree and started singing "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" which almost broke my heart. Man, I need to get the video camera up and running again. Some things a still photo just can't capture.

After a nap, it was on to setting up the big people's tree and, of course, the tree box was the highlight of the afternoon.

Daddy was not left out either. "Daddy SIT!" was repeated at least 20 times before and after this shot. Daddy had to work a little on the tree and then pause to hang out in "Daisy's" box.

Once the box was hoisted away and the tantrum of loss was over, we moved onto picking through the Christmas storage boxes to see what we could get in trouble with.

First there was the Santa hat...

Which lasted about 5 seconds after this shot.

Then we moved on to ribbons and contemplating how to tie a bow around our oldest dog, Frankie.

Anyone who knows Frankie knows that this is NOT beans idea. Even Daisy knows that "Frankie's growwwchie"

But finally, Mumma finished the tree.

And then it was off to beg Daddy to put Mary Poppins on the DVD player. While it's Mumma's favorite Disney movie, let's just say it probably doesn't rate in the top 100 for Dad. But still, it made a cute picture and Daisy happily kicking her feet to the songs for almost an hour made Mumma teary-eyed. Especially during Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious. Ahh... memories.

And supercalifragilisticexpialidocious kudos go to Daddy who, on the eve of his birthday, sat down and pretended to be into Julie Andrews' sing-songy antics.

Even the dogs suffered for Daisy's enjoyment. These are Daisy's feet using Maggie's back as a foot rest. Again, not advisable if the black ball of fur beneath you is Frankie.

Nope, not spoiled at all.

Daisy was well behaved all day today and we had a wonderful day, mostly at home, getting excited for Christmas. These are the wonderful memories I carry with me from my childhood. I hope she'll do the same.

Incidentally, I found a wonderful Christmas book I've been reading to Daisy before naptime. It's called "The Spirit of Christmas". I highly recommend it if you have a little one. It's beautiful.