Baby's First Christmas

Christmas Eve found Alex, Al, the Bean and me eating homemade pizza, opening two gifts - a new holiday book (Bear Wakes Up for Christmas) and festive jammies, and watching Bad Santa. Damn that movie is funny. Alex called me "Mrs. Santa's sister" for the rest of the week. And I couldn't stop thinking about Therman Merman's t-shirt - "shit happens when you party naked" - and his offering to make me sandwiches. We forgot to read The Night Before Christmas, which was a tradition when I was growing up. And I never did find the Santa and little elf helper hats for us to wear, either.

Christmas Day was more of the same low-key, holiday fun - a leisurely morning cuddling in bed, delivering homemade goodies to our favorite neighbors' doorsteps, Dutch baby and coffee with Irish creme, Santa sacks, opening presents all.day.long. Facetiming with both uncle Brians, the Close grandparents. Texting with friends. Ham and manloaf for dinner. And taking pictures. Hundreds of them.

Francie certainly seemed to enjoy herself. She loved sitting surrounded by all her things. Must be a Closeman, I said. She particularly loved the wrapping paper, and gifts that weren't hers - like Alex's new spatula, my LED keychain, and the giant container of almonds Santa brought my dad. But she loved all her goodies too, and boy did she get more than enough of them - a "puma" suit like Uncle B; old-school wooden alphabet blocks; a wooden xylophone; a play grocery shopping kit; lots of 12-month clothes; penguin PJ's and a penguin fleece hat and a toy penguin stacker; lots of books - Goodnight iPad, A Book of Sleep, Goodnight Little Sea Otter in English and Spanish, Quick as a Cricket, and more. The rest of us didn't fare so poorly either. I had already "received" the elliptical. Bri got me a gorgeous diamond and aquamarine pendant. Alex built me a side table to match my rustic entryway table. Al got a new old-school shaving kit. And an inappropriate t-shirt. Alex got a bunch of new pants. A new, new-school electric razor. And some sort of tool he likes. We all got calendars. Several of them.

Baby's First Christmas was small (in number of people in attendance, not in number of gifts received), relaxing, and very, very pleasant. Alex said it was one of his favorite holidays ever. So thanks, Jesus, for being born. Whatever came after that, I'm not sure. But happy birthday to you and to Santa and to Rudolph and to Hallmark.