Christmas isn't about perfect

How are your Christmas preparations going?

As I write this, my boys are looking through the Christmas presents, drooling. They have been pretty good about not messing with the presents too much. We didn't put up a big tree this year, but plan to next year. We have one of those pre-lit trees that sits on a long table/dresser we have. I have a fiber optic Santa (his beard fades in and out of different colors, he's really cool) on one end of the table, and a Nativity scene on the other end of the table. It's my attempt of a balance of power between Santa and Jesus.

Santa: "ho ho ho...we meet again, Jesus."
Jesus: "This time, we finish it, Kringle!!!"

But I need to get a larger Nativity scene or a smaller Santa, because visually, Santa is much larger than Jesus - and I know kids consider size in how important someone or something is, so I really do need to get that adjusted!

Yesterday, my daughter helped me make this chocolate-vanilla swirl cheesecake. It came out great! It makes a huge 9"x13" pan, so I cut some up this morning and wrapped it up on plates to give some as small food gifts. It must be a million calories per piece. It tastes amazing, and as we know, anything that tastes great will inevitably kill us.

Today I have a client coming, and she is going to see all the mess and mayhem. (gasp!) I had nightmares, literally...that her visit here was a total disaster and on top of that, she hated the artwork I did for her. But the 'awake-me' knows that is ridiculous. She's been here before and if anyone doesn't understand how little kids can cause mayhem, oh well. Even if she hates the artwork, no big deal. Refund. Done. Talk about your last minute art job!

Today we will bake cookies. The whole process of making Christmas cookies shows me how far I have come.When my daughters were little and we baked cookies, it would drive me crazy when they didn't do things "right." I used to be a control freak. Now, my attitude is that the kids will make a mess, the cookies may not be perfect, but who cares. The act of making the cookies is a project, a craft, to keep kids busy and happy. The messier it is, the better. Have fun!

My daughter worked with my son to put together the gingerbread house from a kit. Failure to follow directions resulted in a caved in house. It needed to set before being decorated. An excellent lesson learned for only $9.99.