Christmas in California

Saturday found my husband and I standing in a 65 degree tree lot in the sun looking for the perfect Douglas Fir tree. We tossed it into the back of my mom's new SUV and jumped into the second lane of traffic to drive the three blocks home again. Once home the hubby put the tree in the stand walked it through the sliding glass door and as I took of my sunglasses and flip flops we decided which side looked the best and then placed it next to the fire place to decorate it. We both know that even though we use the fire place we don't use it to heat the whole house so the tree will be safe for the next 25 days.

The truth is that I decorated most of the house already...in fact I did most of it the day before thanksgiving because now that I have a baby I didn't want to wait till the last minute only to find that my hands were full of fussy infant and I couldn't get it done. This weekend is the small downtown Christmas Parade which is held in the evening and everyone is decorated with lights. We're going to go to a little Bistro on Main Street, have a nice meal and a glass of wine and sit outside where it might get as gold as 45 degrees (so we'll bundle up) and let the kids watch the parade lights pass.

This weekend is also my annual "back in the day" party where people come over in their flannel pjs and bring cookies and we watch the old Christmas classics like Rudolph and Alvin and the Chipmunks and we eat food we liked when we were 7 like hot dogs and chili boats. We'll through in some competition rounds of candy land and chutes and ladders and for a whole day adults act like little kids. I wanted to be decorated for that.

So this morning I walked through my pine scented living room, passed the white light piles of pine cones and the nativity on top of the piano. I walked passed the tree that was bigger than we thought and the presents all decorated in red and white and I sat in my chair. 7:30 am...the babies awake time and we sit in the middle of Winter Wonderland and listen to the Christmas music channel while I drink a pepsi and she has a bottle. She stares at the light and I know in my heart that by this time next year 5 minutes at the tree lot and throwing up the decorations will be a lot more hands on.

Next year she'll start being active in our little California Christmas. Next year she'll walk Christmas Tree Lane and see all the lights and really sing the songs. Next year she'll ooh and awww at the parade and next year she'll pull the ornaments off the tree when we aren't looking or sit on the wrapped boxes when she plays. Next year Santa will have his hands full when we take pictures at the mall.

I can't wait for a sunny California Christmas through the eyes of a toddler.