late Advent musings

We are in the final countdown to Christmas.  Now, for some people, Christmas is a whirlwind of parties and presents.  Some people have glamorous office parties to attend (I see my sisters and they are amazingly glamorous, even on the years they are pregnant with twins or toting a nursling).  Not me.  I just have to have something good enough to qualify as a decent outfit for church, and it can be just good enough to pass if covered with my nicest "church coat".   

 Nope, no big social events.  Except that my family is eleven people strong, so my life is sort of "big", and this year, my in-laws are joining us.  That actually makes things smaller for me because I'm giving my in-laws 100% of the holiday and skipping my side of the family's parties this year.  My side of the family is significantly bigger than my husbands'.  This is the only year my in-laws have ever come for Christmas, so it's important and I want to make it special.   But they are also quite elderly at this point, and it is quite cold and snowy here.  We won't be going out much or doing much.  The point is that while others may be making plans for a lot of celebrating in the wider circles of their lives, I'm turning inward and looking to make my home a warm place of hospitality...starting Friday!  Yikes!!

I mean, it's kindof always a place of hospitality in the sense that I have a whole bunch of kiddos to feed and keep happy.  There's a lot of cooking and cleaning that goes into "what I do" every day.  But Christmas hosting of older in-laws from far away (warmer) lands does require a bit of creative thinking.  I would like things to be pretty clean and tidy.  I can't have them tripping over two dozen boots at the front door.  We may have to keep our heat up a bit higher.  I will make sure the New Mexican patterned throws that my mother-in-law gave us last year are displayed and available on the couches.  We'll need a couple of decks of cards handy, because "rummy" is always a good past-time during winter holidays.

We will have to build in a lot of extra time into getting to Christmas Eve Mass (where Galadriel sings in the choir) and Christmas Day Mass (which my boys serve for) given a) the fact that we're caravanning b) the speed at which my in-laws walk (and factor in the snow) and c) the general crowds due to the holiday.  My days will probably be made up of little more than meals and trying to calmly move this group to and from a single event outside of the home each day.  And dressing my family for those events.  Just think "hair" for my four girls and myself.

That being the case, I went to Target (because I cannot let a single momentous event pass without going to the place that has everything I need for any occasion) and stocked up on socks and tights and nylons.  I will not survive a Christmas morning with no tights for some girl or socks for some boy and then discover that I have a run in the only nylons that match.  No, I will then die.  So to avoid such end, I bought several.  Of all of the aforementioned necessities.  And a hair bow, some cardigans for over my girls' dresses...and cookie cutters.  Where else can you buy all of these things in one place?!

We baked cookies yesterday and made frosting tonight.   Tomorrow I will let the kids frost our cookies.  Today I wrapped presents in the basement with my husband.  Actually, he ended up doing most of the wrapping because Sam was fussy and the kids couldn't make him happy anymore.  While we wrapped I let my kids watch "When Calls the Heart", which is essentially the Hallmark Channel's version of a soap opera.  At least it is by the time you've reached the end of the second season and see that many more episodes stretch before you.  Will it ever reach an end?  We may not find out.  My husband issued a ban on any more seasons.  The kids and I are addicted.  I'm so embarrassed.