Christmas trees can be one of those traditions that can cause disasters. Is it too big, too short, too full, or too sparse? Did your family always do a real tree or is artificial the way to go because of all the sap and clean up?
And don’t even get aquatic creatures started on the hassles of getting a tree. You just can’t keep one in an aquarium without weighing it down with a ton of lead garland!
Santa has a tough time in the retail world. He gives toys away, he cares about good behavior, he works at all the malls without concern for competition, and his distribution system is superb to Amazon’s. Keep it up, Santa. We love you just the way you are!
Cartoon of Santa chasing his sleigh. The caption reads, “Thanks to a joy ride, Christmas was nearly canceled!”
I don’t know why Santa would trust those elves. They always looked a little too mischievous for my taste.
Google is helping Santa Claus this year. Apparently, you can track where he’s at using Santa’s Dashboard.
I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas. And if you hear a clatter on your rooftop, it may be those crazy elves taking a joy ride!
Cartoon of a boy at a fast food restaurant. He asks a worker, “My dad hates gift cards. Can you wrap up a hamburger in festive paper and a bow?
Our children are assaulted with a flood of commercials this time of year. They have seen so many toy commercials, they could probably quote them back to you verbatim. What do you do when everything around your children screams greed and you want to teach them to be giving?
My local paper had a great article by Kathy Schwartz entitled 10 Perfect Gifts Parents Can Give. That got me thinking about ways parents and teachers can teach how to be giving.
Here are seven easy tips:
Try some of these techniques to get the focus off of the gift-getting and onto being generous.
Cartoon of a boy in a shepherd costume and a teacher. The boy says, “You call this a Christmas play? There is no playground and you’re putting us to work!”
I am a big fan of A Charlie Brown Christmas. We’re the same age. We both came to this world in 1965. I’ve been in my share of Christmas plays and they always seemed as chaotic as the one Charlie Brown is directing. And I’ve always been tempted to break out of character and just dance in the middle of the play.
Christmas plays are hard work because you have to act A LOT when you’re in one. You have to pretend that boy who you know is a practical joker is Joseph. You have to pretend the girl who kicked you in the shins during recess is Mary. Then YOU have to pretend you are somber and just seen a platoon of angels when you know full well it was the Smith triplets in bath robes.
Christmas plays are also hard work because we can’t get our head around the notion God came to Earth as a baby to a poor family and was born in a barn. Lets face it. If we were God, WE wouldn’t want to be born in a barn and we’d want more than some smelly shepherds to visit us that first night.
Those Christmas plays are just hard work!
