It certainly moves swiftly. With one more deep inhale and exhale Christmas will be over. Things will be tucked away with the understanding that much will happen between now and when we unpack them again.
In the movie Elf Central Park is on Santa's route. Last year we wondered if we would find any signs of Santa if we walked through the park on Christmas Eve. We found bells and sparkly stuff (magic?), and pieces of cloth that looked like it might have ripped off of an elf uniform, and a torn piece of parchment that had people's names on it -- perhaps the naughty/nice list? I kind of expected to find those things... What I wasn't expecting the kids to find was sleigh tracks and reindeer scat. It seems like if we provide the means to find something, the children can take it much further...
Tonight we will go again. We might find some expected things... Having now been inducted in the 100-viewings-of-Elf-club, I'm kind of expecting to find a bottle of maple syrup? I'm most excited to see what the children find that I'm not expecting. It's the convergence of adult expectations/preparations and childhood imaginings that make the magic.
After going to Macy's and asking all the elves their elf names we came up with our own on the subway home. I'm Mistletoe (which is totally stupid... I kissed a kid on the top of the head as I said it... How is it that the mom always ends up the dork of every family activity/project?). The Sister is Cough Drop. She started out as Gum Drop, but then we made fun of her for kind of being a hypochondriac and decided Cough Drop would be funnier. Judd the Red Chicken is Eggnog. The Girl is Arctic Fox. The Dad wasn't there so the children dubbed him not Silverback, but Silver Unicorn (very manly)... A man sitting across from us was laughing until we got off at our stop. I'm sure he was thinking that I should have been Cuckoo Clock...
So from all of us, Silver Unicorn, Mistletoe, Cough Drop, Eggnog, and Arctic Fox, we wish you a very Merry Christmas. And if you don't celebrate, we wish you a very Merry Tuesday.
