That Christmas Spirit
As you may know, Mr. Pink isn't the biggest fan of Christmas. His opposition to "the most wonderful time of the year" is a bit murky, but I think it has something to do with the dark years of his childhood when he had to live with his dastardly biological father and his wicked stepmother. Apparently, his half-sisters were fawned over and showered with gifts, while he was treated as an outsider. Anyway, now he finds it hard to feel festive. But I think I'm starting to change all that.
I couldn't get him to compromise on the tree this year. I wanted to go to an actual tree farm where you drink hot cider and feed the chickens and get free candy canes and roam the grounds with a large knife on a stick to cut down your own tree. But just like last year, we ended up in the Target Garden Center. This was the extent of our tree selection:
Mr. Pink: "We're not getting a big tree. How about this one?" [We were in the cheapest section: 5-to-6 foot Douglas fir.]
Me: "Maybe. But we can't just buy the first tree we see. We have to look around more!"
MP: "Well, there aren't that many options."
Me: "Can't I at least look in the 6-to-7 foot section?"
MP: "No."
Me: "Well, how about this one?"
MP: "No."
Me: "This one?"
MP: "No."
Me: "This one?"
MP: "No. The first one we looked at is the best one."
Me [grudgingly]: "Okay."
MP: "Good. Now let's get out of here."
The whole process, including getting the tree wrapped and tied to our car, took maybe 20 minutes. But in all fairness, our tree is quite nice, if a little short. But hey, we live in a small place.
Okay, so once again, I did not get the tree selecting experience I had hoped for. (See last year's post about Christmas trees.) But this year, my husband was much more willing to help me decorate the tree. We put on Christmas carols and threw a crackly log on the fire and decorated it all up. And Mr. Pink actually seemed excited about the process. One day, I said that I thought maybe I'd add some ornaments to the tree, and he said he didn't want me to do it without him!
The most telling sign of Mr. Pink's increasing holiday spirit, though, was the cookie experience. I decided that the impending holiday called for some homemade sugar cookies. I made the dough, but Mr. Pink actually volunteered to cut out shapes and decorate the cookies with me! Again, we listened to some Christmas carols, and he took pride in wielding the rolling pin and getting the dough to just the right thickness. We chose three cookie cutters (star, Christmas tree, snowman) and placed them carefully on the dough to maximize our cookie outcome. Then, I made icing from powdered sugar, vanilla and milk, and Mr. Pink, who normally hates sweet things, kept sticking his finger in the bowl and licking the icing off! We frosted the cookies and got a little crazy with the sprinkles: red sugar, green sugar, red and green balls and red and green sprinkles with white snowflakes. Delicious! Then we promptly ate them all.
We celebrated Christmas with my family a little early, and Mr. Pink actually seemed to enjoy all the gift-giving and the trimmings of the season. The only thing that brought out his inner Grinch was his company holiday party, but I can't blame him for that. It was at a Doubletree Inn, the food was lousy, and he got a $5 Starbucks gift card as his annual bonus.
Now, we're in Minnesota, spending Christmas with Mr. Pink's good family--his mom and stepdad, aka the Blacklabels. So, I think he's finally got the Christmas spirit--peace, joy, and family togetherness.
Merry Christmas and happy holidays, everyone!
I couldn't get him to compromise on the tree this year. I wanted to go to an actual tree farm where you drink hot cider and feed the chickens and get free candy canes and roam the grounds with a large knife on a stick to cut down your own tree. But just like last year, we ended up in the Target Garden Center. This was the extent of our tree selection:
Mr. Pink: "We're not getting a big tree. How about this one?" [We were in the cheapest section: 5-to-6 foot Douglas fir.]
Me: "Maybe. But we can't just buy the first tree we see. We have to look around more!"
MP: "Well, there aren't that many options."
Me: "Can't I at least look in the 6-to-7 foot section?"
MP: "No."
Me: "Well, how about this one?"
MP: "No."
Me: "This one?"
MP: "No."
Me: "This one?"
MP: "No. The first one we looked at is the best one."
Me [grudgingly]: "Okay."
MP: "Good. Now let's get out of here."
The whole process, including getting the tree wrapped and tied to our car, took maybe 20 minutes. But in all fairness, our tree is quite nice, if a little short. But hey, we live in a small place.
Okay, so once again, I did not get the tree selecting experience I had hoped for. (See last year's post about Christmas trees.) But this year, my husband was much more willing to help me decorate the tree. We put on Christmas carols and threw a crackly log on the fire and decorated it all up. And Mr. Pink actually seemed excited about the process. One day, I said that I thought maybe I'd add some ornaments to the tree, and he said he didn't want me to do it without him!
The most telling sign of Mr. Pink's increasing holiday spirit, though, was the cookie experience. I decided that the impending holiday called for some homemade sugar cookies. I made the dough, but Mr. Pink actually volunteered to cut out shapes and decorate the cookies with me! Again, we listened to some Christmas carols, and he took pride in wielding the rolling pin and getting the dough to just the right thickness. We chose three cookie cutters (star, Christmas tree, snowman) and placed them carefully on the dough to maximize our cookie outcome. Then, I made icing from powdered sugar, vanilla and milk, and Mr. Pink, who normally hates sweet things, kept sticking his finger in the bowl and licking the icing off! We frosted the cookies and got a little crazy with the sprinkles: red sugar, green sugar, red and green balls and red and green sprinkles with white snowflakes. Delicious! Then we promptly ate them all.
We celebrated Christmas with my family a little early, and Mr. Pink actually seemed to enjoy all the gift-giving and the trimmings of the season. The only thing that brought out his inner Grinch was his company holiday party, but I can't blame him for that. It was at a Doubletree Inn, the food was lousy, and he got a $5 Starbucks gift card as his annual bonus.
Now, we're in Minnesota, spending Christmas with Mr. Pink's good family--his mom and stepdad, aka the Blacklabels. So, I think he's finally got the Christmas spirit--peace, joy, and family togetherness.
Merry Christmas and happy holidays, everyone!
posted by Astera @ 10:45 AM
1 Comments:
At 9:29 AM,
Anonymous said…
You are all missed--Mr. Pink, Astera, and The Blacklabels this Christmas Season. Hurry Back!
I have an idea for you. Why not have Mr. Pink go out with the family that started this tradition and see how much fun it can be. Of course, a flask would be necessary for this event. Try it next year. It might be fun.
O Kanenas
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