Santa brought Malia a beanbag chair. It turned out to be perfect because Kevin and I bought her a new bed-a big girl loft bed. It has built in bookshelves and a perfect space underneath for a cozy reading nook. She was super duper excited about it and spent the afternoon helping Kevin build the bed.
She also got Barbies-one from Daniel and one from Kevin’s mom. She was thrilled to have an assortment of clothes and accessories as well. I dug through one of my boxes in the basement and pulled out the Barbie bag that my mom made for me when I was young. After a run through the washer, it was good as new. It is fun to have some things to pass down to Malia. None of my boy children had any sort of caring for many of my childhood treasures. š
Matthew got an iPod Nano from Santa and we felt very lucky since everything below the iPod Touch has been discontinued. He loves music and is thrilled to be able to listen to whatever he wants whenever (almost) he wants.
He also got a ukulele. Our elementary school has a full-time music specialist (whom we totally love) and he teaches the fifth graders to play ukulele. Matthew has been wanting one of his own so when my parents went to Hawaii last month, we asked them to pick one up for him. Before they could even shop for one, my Mom’s cousin, Audrey, offered them one that she had been given. It had been meant for her grandkids, but none of them had any interest. Matthew, on the other hand, was ecstatic. And the fact that is was a hand-me-down from family made it even better.
Nathan got a Fitbit Blaze. Over the summer he discovered that he feels better when he is more active and I let him have one of my older Fitbits. Like me, seeing the number of steps go up and reaching a daily goal is very motivating for him and he has been wanting a device that would show more than just a light so he would know exactly where he was. He also got a mini tripod and a set of camera lenses that work with his phone. He has developed a passion for photography so he was super excited about those as well.
Nathan has always been a fan of board games and card games, so it was not a surprise that several of his siblings selected card games. What was unexpected was the cat theme that emerged. Daniel bought him a game called Exploding Kittens and Malia chose one called Cat Stax. It seemed totally random to him, and it probably was, but both are actually very fun.
Daniel got a set of Doctor Who mini figures. They aren’t actual Lego, but they are similar and combined with the Lego set he got a year or so ago, he now has mini figures of all the doctors except for the newest lady doctor. He also got a mini drone which he was excited about. They are just super fun!
And of course, there was Lego all around. (Nathan got some as well, but he was too engrossed with getting his Fitbit set up and we didn’t get a picture.)
There was a nap midmorning for me, much Lego and bed building and a tasty traditional ham for dinner. To top it all off, we ate Chinese pretzels. These are a traditional Christmas delight for my family, but I haven’t made any for years because Matthew can’t eat them. We’ve snitched a few at my mom’s house, but we don’t make a big deal of it so that Matthew doesn’t feel deprived. But my wonderful mother totally rocked the pretzels this year and figured out how to make them without eggs. She filled an entire tin just for Matthew before she made the eggy version for everyone else. Watching his eyes light up as he crunched into his first ever pretzel made me cry. Yes, I’m a huge bawl baby. It’s a proven fact. It’s also a proven fact that my family totally rocks the allergen accommodations. They go out of their way for Matthew time and time again and I’m enormously grateful for their efforts. It helps him feel included and loved. And really, isn’t that the definition of Christmas spirit? Making everyone feel included, loved, and special is really what it’s all about. It's an integral part of being Christlike.
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