After Thanksgiving Day

Yesterday was my favorite day of the yeare - after Thanksgiving Christmas decorating!




And we did it all with a very sick kid, who insisted we trudge on anyway.






She woke up at 3 am crying because of her barking cough, sore throat, and general misery. Ryan stayed up with her for three hours, giving her meds and snuggling. She and Ryan want to back to bed at 6, and Andrew and I got up at 8. Rory followed shortly after, but we let Ryan sleep in until 11.






Rory and I started on the little Christmas tree she loves and the stockings. I sorted through our huge amount of Christmas stuff and got a pile of items ready to drop at Good Will. We're skipping the garlands this year, because I feel lazy.






We finally all got moving, after some leftover turkey dinner, and headed to Starbucks for our peppermint treats. Then we drove to Fort Osage Christmas Trees, about thirty minutes away in Independence. We hadn't been there before, and we loved it. Great selection, sweet dogs wandering the property, reasonable prices. I still miss Bishop's (which closed due to blight), as they had a train and hot chocolate (that wasn't brown water) and cookies. But these guys will be a decent replacement.




We found a white pine tree that fits our dining room perfectly. When we got home, Rory crashed hard, passing out until her fever broke. Then she watched The Nutcracker (1993 Balanchine ballet), while Ryan did the lights and I untangled ornaments.




Rory got her new Elsa ornament (I'm a sucker) and Andrew got his Baby's 1st ornament. The kids also had ornaments from their grandparents, Rory a beautiful metal one from their trip to China, and Andrew a Hallmark one that was probably made there anyway. Andrew turned into a cranky little elf and went to bed right before we started decorating.




After tree decorating and eggnog, the three of us watched Elf and ate popcorn. Rory had a LOT of questions about the movie. Where is his home? Why does he think he's an elf? Why isn't that the real Santa? Which one is the real Santa? etc etc. Then she went to bed and I watched Scrooged. Every year I forget how dark the movie is, and all the sexism in it. Oh, the 80s.




I'm thinking of hosting a Christmas Eve dinner for a couple people, but haven't decided yet.