Celebration: Giving and Receiving

I like pleasant surprises. For instance, gifts. I like preparing gifts for other people and seeing their faces at the reveal. That's part of the magic of Christmas and this year I definitely enjoyed that aspect of the holiday. Of course, it can be a little disappointing when people obviously don't appreciate their gifts as much as you want them to, but one of the best parts about giving to other people is the excitement I feel myself regardless of their reaction, so giving gifts is always worth it to me.

I also like receiving gifts. Jordan, who likes to give the perfect gift and tends to put a lot of time and energy into preparing gifts for people and sometimes would rather know exactly what a person wants in order to give the perfect gift, has found out that I don't want him to consult me in too much detail about his presents for me because the surprise is at least half of my pleasure in receiving. Why do I like surprises? I can't pinpoint the reason exactly, but I know a huge part of it is that sense of an exchange between two people, of seeing into the other person's mind and the way they see you, and understanding them a little better and appreciating them more.

Sometimes when I've received presents I've gotten too focused on wanting the gift to be exactly what I want and I forget the importance of that exchange with another person. When I was in junior high the shoe brand Vans came out with a series of shoes that were made of shiny fabric that was covered with even shinier plastic. My best friend got a pair of red, smooth sneakers, like a hip version of Dorothy's glass slippers. A girl on our bus also got a pair of red ones, but hers were finished in a reptile skin pattern. At the time I didn't have very many fancy clothes and those shoes seemed like the fanciest things a girl could own while still being cool instead of prissy. I wanted a pair so badly, and I wanted them to be that same deep red because it was just so pretty. Vans only had those two kinds of red ones, so when I was writing my Christmas list that year I opted to get the ones like my best friend rather than the other girl who I did not like very much at the time.

On Christmas morning I saw that shoebox-shaped gift from my grandparents and I knew what was in it. When I tore off the wrapping paper and saw the Vans logo on the box I was even more sure. Then I opened the box and inside were a pair of red, shining sneakers finished in a reptile skin pattern. I was so disappointed. I couldn't imagine going to school wearing the same shoes as That Girl. I pretended to try to be happy the rest of Christmas morning but really I wasn't trying at all; I wanted my grandparents to know I was disappointed. Finally my grandpa asked what was wrong. It was his turn to look unhappy, but I was focused on getting the exact shoes I wanted not on whether he knew how much I appreciated their generosity. That week he went and exchanged the shoes and I thought I was in heaven. Until my best friend saw them and got annoyed that I'd copied her. She never wore hers again.

It didn't take very long for me to look back on that experience and realize what terrible behavior I exhibited and how much less enjoyable Christmas was for me because I got so focused on getting those dumb shoes. There are probably situations when it's best to let a gift giver know that they got it wrong, but I think most of the time if that's where your focus is, you're missing the point completely. I think giving and receiving gifts is about looking at each other more closely and appreciating each other. I got so many great gifts this year, and I'm really grateful for them. But mostly I'm grateful for the people who gave them to me.

Celebration: A Christmas Miracle

This week I accomplished something I have never accomplished before. I completed enough of the book I'm writing to fill over fifty pages. Are they filled with literary goodness? There's some of that in there. Are they full of literary badness? I'd have to say that they aren't. Do they still need a lot of work? Yes, a whole heck of a lot. But I've never gotten so far in a book before. So that's a huge accomplishment. Now I can focus on decorating for Christmas and making sure I really do have everyone's presents ready.

Merry Christmas Miracle to me!

Celebration: Christmas Memory #2: Hot Wassail, Mood Lighting and Good Friends

I met my best friend in high school and she and her family have become like a second family to me. While she was on her mission I hung out a lot with her younger sister and that winter the two of us and sometimes some other good friends of ours (or other family, which were also our friends) would make a batch of wassail and sit cross-legged next to the Christmas tree and talk with all the lights out except the ones on the tree. Probably we were mostly gossiping about boys, but the light from the tree and the warmth of that wassail in our bellies made those moments seem magical and life changing. I'll always remember that feeling at Christmas.

I wanted to find a video of steaming hot wassail to put everyone in that magical mood, but can you believe no one's posted something like that on youtube? So here's an traditional Christmas song I've never heard before, but is sung by Loreena McKennit, who generally makes really good Christmas songs. I haven't decided if I like this one that much yet, though. Note: I've noticed those old Christmas carols really acknowledged the importance of food at Christmas, sometimes in impressive detail.

Celebration: Singing Christmas Songs in Church

I like going to church in December because it means we get to belt out Christmas songs with a whole load of people. I wish we'd add more Christmas songs to the hymn book though. Like wouldn't it be awesome if the congregation attempted the high notes in "O Holy Night" or crooned "Santa Baby?"

Here's a version of "Santa Baby" with a hilariously incongruous graphic. Try to picture the Relief Society president putting on this mood. (Or if you're not Mormon, picture your proper, kindly aunt trying it.) I know there's only part of the song here, but I'm tired and I don't feel like searching for a full version.

Celebration: Christmas Movies

One of the best parts of the Christmas season is Christmas movies. There are a few standards that I try to watch every year, like White Christmas and Love Actually, but I'm looking for some new ones to watch this year. Not necessarily ones that were made recently but new to me. For instance I watched The Christmas Story FOR THE FIRST TIME (Yes, that's right; the first time) only last year. So obviously my Christmas movie experience needs to be expanded. And I need your help. What are some of your favorite Christmas movies?

White Christmas is, I think, the ultimate Christmas movie. I wanted to share two of my favorite parts of the movie - 1) where Danny Kaye does the "Choreography" dance and 2) where Rosemary Clooney sings "Love, You Didn't Do Right by Me" - but I couldn't find those clips anywhere on YouTube. So instead here is another of my favorite moments (I shared the URL in one of my comments earlier, but if you didn't check it out then, check it out NOW! My favorite part is at around 1:30.):

Celebration: Christmas Memory #1 - Elementary School Christmas Song

(This is the meager little Christmas tree we had our first Christmas together...

and is still the only one we have.)

Whenever anyone says, "Merry Christmas," I immediately think of my elementary school Christmas song. Part of it goes like this, "Merry Christmas, Orem Elementary! May your Christmas be all that it's meant to be."  That always gets stuck in my head. 

I don't know if it's a common thing for elementary schools to have Christmas songs, like maybe you have to have a school Christmas song before you can officially function as an elementary school? But my school definitely had one. We had a Christmas assembly and all the kids in the whole school would gather in the auditorium where they had this huge Christmas tree and we would sing our Christmas song, each grade with its own special verse. I remember the first time I ever sang it; it's probably one of my first clear Christmas memories. There I was, a puny kindergartener (I've always been small, but in kindergarten I was super puny), sitting next to my friend and next door neighbor Amelia (who was taller than I was then but is smaller than I am now - I even remember the day we noticed I was taller) and staring up at the enormous tree and over that crowd of kids who were all way bigger than I was, feeling a sort of trepidatious excitement as the other kindergarteners and I got ready to belt out our verse, hoping I wouldn't get the words wrong, and wondering in a sort of vague confusion why it was we were singing a song to our school building. I thought maybe even inanimate objects needed a little Christmas cheer.

The problem with this memory is that for years I couldn't remember any other part of the song than the one I quoted above and the very end: "...a merry Christmas, Orem Elemen-ta-ry!" So this year I utilized the magical world of Facebook and asked my fellow Orem Elementary alumni to help put together all the pieces. We're not sure we've got everything right, but we're pretty sure it goes something like this (pretty sure the kindergarten line is wrong):

Merry Christmas, Orem Elementary!
May your Christmas be all that it's meant to be,
As we gather 'round the Christmas tree,
A merry Christmas Orem Elemen-ta-ry!
The kids in kindergarten are ready to get started
The children in the first, are just about to burst.
The children in the second, are hoping and expectin'.
The carols down in third are the best you've ever heard.
The children in the fourth are spreading cheer of course.
The children in the fifth are making Christmas gifts.
The kids down in sixth are playing Christmas Tricks!
Through out the school we'll have a happy yule!
A merry Christmas Orem Elemen-ta-ry!

Years later in college I reconnected with some friends from elementary school. I remember sitting with them at Wingers where we often went to eat and talk, and someone brought up the old elementary school Christmas song. Trying to remember the words and laughing over our mistakes while eating hot taco soup on a cold day - that's a good Christmas memory too.

Celebration: Baby, It's Cold Outside. Even in Vegas.

Although there is no sign of snow in Vegas, it has actually been pretty chilly. So I'm celebrating that the elements are giving me at least that much Christmas spirit. In honor of the cold(ish) weather, here is a little Christmas treasure complements of Gap and my good friend Carrie who shared this on her blog last Christmas (or the one before that?)



Ah, isn't that fun? Carrie, I miss you.

Celebration: The Christmas Season, Baby!

I can't stand how happy I am that it's the Christmas season. It makes me so happy I can't sit still. I'm listening to Christmas music and dancing all over our apartment. Maybe I can count it as my exercise? I've always loved Christmas, but I think the last few years I've developed as much excitement for the Christmas season as I used to get as a kid. Who knows why? Just one day it started feeling completely magical again.

Another thing that's changed is I've mostly embraced the cheesy nature of Christmas music. I remember sitting in the car with my parents and plugging my ears and moaning through most of the Christmas music played on FM100 or whatever station it was. Now I've got a Pandora Radio station filled with loads of cheesy Christmas music (though I still can't handle some of it - really, there's a limit, Brian McKnight) and I'm LOVING it. My favorite Christmas song right now is Stevie Wonder's "One Little Christmas Tree." I discovered it in our iTunes library my first Christmas with Jordan and I can't believe I'd never heard it before. (I'm so glad I married Jordan so my Christmas music experience could be enriched...) So I'm sharing it with everyone today, the first day of December. Please embrace this cheesy wonder:

(Unfortunately I couldn't find one with a real music video. So sad. I bet if there were one, it would be AMAZING.)