We had Christmas as usual in Austin.   In addition to Kit, the girls, and myself, we also had Kit’s parents, my parents, and Kit’s Uncle Bob.  So it was a party of nine.  Us adults can get pretty boring at Christmas, but not so much with the kids in the mix.  The sneaking around to hide presents, stuffing stockings, leaving cookies and milk for Santa were all still in play this Christmas.

Claire reminded us several times in clear terms that Christmas is not about the presents.  It’s about togetherness, Claire says, and she is right.  At one point for fun, Claire and I asked Siri on my iPhone what the true meaning of Christmas was.  Siri said it found a related article on the web.  That is always her lame answer!  Claire and I had a good laugh at that.  Siri is great, but she should know the true meaning of Christmas from her heart, not some web page!  😉

For her part, Molly basically is a Christmas elf.  She has exactly the right size and energy as an elf.  You don’t get to have an elf join you for Christmas every year.

Even Molly didn’t ask for presents for Christmas, and she didn’t snoop and poke at the presents under the tree.  That may be because there was basically nothing under the tree until December 23 or so, as is our tradition.  By the time Kit and I had agreed on what to get everyone, bought all the gifts, wrapped and labeled them, and transported then down to the tree, it is a miracle that Christmas has not passed by already.

Probably the best part of Christmas was seeing the girls have nice long days with all their grandparents, doing art projects, games, cooking, etc.  It was almost perfect.  Then there is the overlapping sound of different TV shows, music, etc. on the TV, the computer, someone’s iPad, etc.  Kit made a rule that only one show/sound could be played at a time.  In general, World War II documentaries dominated the TV.  At one point, Kit and I resolved that there was going to be a goddamn Christmas movie on for Christmas.  We put on White Christmas or something.  Within an hour, it was back to the war documentaries.  But that’s okay, at least it was one sound, and we all settled into it.  And the kids had already seen plenty of Elf and The Polar Express in the weeks leading up to Christmas.

Okay, so we have established that Christmas is not about the presents.  You can stop here if you don’t care about presents.

Okay good, since presents don’t matter, I shouldn’t even mention them.  But since they are kind of a time capsule, here are a few highlights… Both girls got sleeping bags for camping.  They also each got a big fancy box from Santa to keep their stuff in.  Many of Molly’s favorites were actually from Uncle Bob, including a 530-piece (!) paper activity set and some plastic princess shoes which Molly calls her glass slippers.  She also ended up with a giant floor piano you play with your feet and a musical marble stacking/rolling thingy.  Claire got some cool sets for designing clothes and making her own custom dollhouse.  She also got her some shoes and roller-skates for her beloved Fluttershy stuffed pony.  And a sewing machine that doesn’t work so much, or at all (oops!).

So there it is, Christmas 2013… Sometimes a little too fast, sometimes a little too slow.  But this was still a real kids’ Christmas full of magic and togetherness.  See the brief Christmas video too.  Also, the girls’ very sweet present to Kit and me.