I wasn’t sure if I would see the kiddos Christmas Day so on this cold December morn, I drove over to Roy’s to perform the role of Christmas elf and deliver gifts. Roy had a few errands to run in downtown Nashville before we got started and Jax decided to ride along to pick up a few last minute gifts for her friends. So, since Elijah elected to stay home we hung out together and played games on the chopping block in the kitchen: a few hands of solitaire, “Rock Me Archimedes”, a teeter-totter board using strategy to the board balanced game while moving marbles from the center to the ends, that he roundly trounced me at and a game of War in which I was the victor.
I just love finding that perfect special gift for someone so Christmas is my happy place. Since Elijah visited the US Space & Rocket Center on a school trip this year he loved his Saturn V rocket ornament just like the one he saw in Huntsville, Alabama. He also seemed to really like his cozy set of Eddie Bauer winter pj’s as well as the book, “Who Built That? Bridges: An Introduction to Ten Great Bridges and Their Designers” that I thought would appeal to his engineering mindset and the crazy “Tetromino City: A Geometric Jigsaw Puzzle“.
Since the kids are now the proud caretakers of three rats, yes, rats I figured Jax would get a kick out of a Christmas mouse ornament and a resin mouse desktop lamp for the desk in her bedroom.
I think Roy liked the Golden Gate Bridge ornament that marked their epic trip to San Francisco and the West Coast this past summer. His package was topped with a magnet of Madeline Kahn quoting, “Flames!” from one of our favorite movies, “Clue” for their refrigerator.
As a budding artist and illustrator, I thought Jax would appreciate a 2023 illustrated mini-Literary Desktop Calendar with 12 “bold graphic interpretations of provocative literary lines“. And as a totally rad skateboarder, I also thought she would dig a throwback enamel pin of a penny skateboard to adorn her backpack. Penny boards were popularized in the 1970’s and were known for their small size and short, molded, lightweight, plastic deck.
As soon as we finished with our early Christmas, Elijah’s friend arrived and he was off. He and his best bud Eli were continuing their volunteer service at the Second Harvest Food Bank as part of their community service that BGA requires for their curriculum.
Tomorrow, the kids will be hosting their very own cookie day for some of their friends which I’m sure will be loads of fun.
Happy holidays!!