There’s something about having a baby that makes Christmas seem extra important. I think it might have a little something to do with the fact that everyone and their mother comments on “Baby’s First Christmas!”
No pressure, really.
This was going to be a low-key Christmas. And by low-key, I mean that we “only” hosted eleven people on Christmas Day. In this family? Eleven people counts as small. Also, we’d both been sick for over a week, so we had even less energy than we normally do. And we’re both sleep-deprived parents of a little baby.
Christmas Eve was a Monday, aka Grandma Daycare Day. So, Lilian got to spend some time with all of the folks that were there for the holiday, including her auntie and cousins.
I got her all dressed up in an outfit that I just knew my mother-in-law would love and we headed over there for our traditional Christmas Eve celebration. I would like to state for the record that I nailed it.
“Smocking! It has smocking!”
I also dressed Kristian, and I think he looked quite dashing. If I do say so myself. The dress shirt is all him, though. He proudly told everyone about how he bought it at Costco. I love that man.
If you hate all of the jockeying that usually accompanies the discussion about who is going to spend Christmas Day with who and where they’re going to spend it, I would highly recommend that you marry a Scandinavian. My in-laws always celebrate Christmas on Christmas Eve, and they do it while drinking copious amounts of glögg.
Pretending to drink your glögg is also a great excuse for why you fell asleep around 8pm. Sure, they’ll think you’re a lush, but they’ll never suspect that you are secretly pregnant. Worked like a charm for me last year. Muahahaha.
Christmas morning was super cozy. When we first woke up, I was starting to work myself into a snit about how we were both so tired and sick and this is Lilian’s first Christmas and it’s supposed to be special, goddammit. And then I realized that she will never, ever, not in a million years remember anything that happened. Because she’s only four months old. I could photoshop a picture of her so it looked like she was riding a dinosaur and tell her that it was the coolest Christmas ever. And, until she gets old enough to realize that grownups often lie, she’d probably believe me. This first Christmas was for us. So there was no point in making myself miserable about it.
Besides, after a good cup of coffee I was already feeling a lot more festive.
We all curled up on the couch and opened presents together.
Kristian bought me a couple pieces of jewelry to replace some of what got stolen last year. I got him a wireless thermometer that’s specifically designed to be used with a smoker. I’ve been accused by a few people of buying a Christmas present for myself. Smoker accessories = more smoked meat for me. To which I say: the smoker last year was kindof a present to myself. The thermometer this year just makes Kristian’s life easier.
(And he asked for that smoker. So there.)
My Mom made a big deal about sending us home with a bag of presents on Christmas Eve. I thought it was a little silly… until Christmas Morning rolled around and we had a few extra things to open while being cozy on the couch. So nice. Especially since we didn’t do stockings for each other. Or buy anything for LJ.
(She’s four months old and not really into toys yet. She likes boobs, snuggles, and dry diapers. What was there for us to get for her?)
(I bought something for Toys for Tots instead.)
(Worst comes to worst, her no-presents Christmas will give her a fun little anecdote to tell her therapist when she’s older.)
My extended family slowly trickled in and we settled in for a long day of eating and shooting angry birds at pigs on the Death Star.
And making pink cake.
And, at some point, there was turkey and mashed potatoes. And my nicest dishes and stemware.
I had a much more enjoyable Christmas once I realized that this didn’t have to be the greatest Christmas EVAR. It didn’t even have to be great. But, it still ended up being pretty awesome.
