Friday, December 10, 2010

Christmastime is Here!

So I know you all have been waiting for this moment to come, but here's a little taste of Christmas at the Sloup household. The tree has been trimmed, the other 9 trees have been trimmed, every flat surface in the house has been covered by garland, fake snow or figurines, and the living room glows from the beam of a thousand+ Christmas lights. 'Tis the season to decorate beyond reason, no? The glorious tree! See how many Christmas balls? My grandma decorated ALL of them.
"Artistic" shot from below.

I am oh-so-excited to bust out my 87th box of Christmas balls for the tree!

As I'm pondering the Christmas season, I can't even count all of the things I look forward to every year. Here's a few of the highlights...

1. For the past few years now, my dad (who Deva and I fondly refer to as "Papa Lange") has tried to convince my family that it would be great for us to put on a Christmas performance, singing in 5-part harmony. Much like the VonTrapp family singers, except with fewer Nazis and more sarcasm. Last year, he even went so far as to print off some sheet music. However, the protests from my brothers were enough to stop his attempts to make us the hit of the holidays...last year. Who knows what tactics he'll try for 2010.

2. I know everyone says their grandma makes the best cake/pie/kolatches/what-have-you. But my grandma seriously makes the best Christmas sugar cookies. Seriously. And if you don't agree, that's fine. More cookies for me. But really, everyone in our family loves them. The cookies are kept in a cardboard box wrapped in wrapping paper in the toy room. The only reason to go in the toy room in the winter is to get cookies, because otherwise it's freezing in there. Needless to say, I make many sprints into the toy room. Recently, my grandma has given us each a limit of 17 cookies, but no one trusts each other to stick to the limit, so you gotta get in there fast. (17 is not very many. They're small.) Generally, I eat my mom's too. Whatev. So. Excited.

3. As soon as my brother Jordan arrives, there's the annual hunt for the Christmas gorilla. "What's the Christmas gorilla?" you might be thinking. Well, it is what it is. It's a stuffed animal gorilla. Actually, the gorilla has no intrinsic Christmasy qualities. He's just holding a banana. However, somewhere along the line, Jordan started placing the Christmas gorilla in a prominent location of the house. Not to have her Christmas-only themed decorations tainted by this silly ape, my grandma took to hiding the gorilla each year. Well, she hasn't stumped Jordan yet, and the Christmas gorilla continues to make its yearly appearance much to grandma's chagrin.

The great thing about traditions like these is that no one really knows where they started (except for the cookies. Those have been around since the dawn of time.) And yet, as ridiculous as they might seem to the outsider (you), I cherish these little quirks. Frankly, I can't wait to see where the Christmas gorilla pops up this year, or what songs my dad will have picked out for the family choir. I know the greater traditions of Christmas like being with family, exchanging gifts and celebrating the birth of Christ are all important and wonderful. I just want to let these unusual customs have their moment in the limelight too.

So enjoy your Christmas traditions, whether they're funny or serious, traditional or original. Or make up a brand new one starting this year! Whatever it is, it's sure to make your holiday season more memorable. As long as the memories don't involve you stealing my share of the sugar cookies, we're good to go. :)

2 comments:

  1. A "down to earth" sparlke, sparkle. A cheer for memories! HURRAH!

    Your hair is getting long, dude.

    Peace and Blessings. Happy Holidays!

    Hashem

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  2. Actually, uncle paul started placing it out. I've just been carrying on the legacy when he's unable to.

    But i will find it this year!!

    -Jordan

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