the early bird catches... the calendar

YES!!! I finally did it. I was able to beat Laura, George, and Mom to putting up today’s piece on the Christmas calendar. I know in previous weeks I have shared some of our family’s Christmas traditions, but I have yet to mention our Christmas Countdown calendar. It is a ratty, twenty-something-year-old felt calendar that has a green felt Christmas tree on top and a calendar running from Dec 1 through the 25th on the bottom. Each day leading up to Christmas you take the plastic Christmas character off the corresponding day and Velcro him securely to the Christmas tree, so day by the day, the calendar empties and the tree is “decorated” with these plastic figurines velcroed to it. This calendar is one of our most treasured Christmas traditions, and also the source of much anxiety and strife between Laura and I as kids (And still to this day). In past years we would alternate days, her doing the even days and me doing the odds, and of course even that was a struggle because we would argue over who got to do the odd days (which includes Christmas) last year.

In recent years it has been whoever remembered to do the calendar for that day got to do it, but this year, my first year to not be home for a great length of time for Christmas, I have been jipped on the Christmas Countdown calendar! I stop by the house several times a week, but every time I get there someone’s already put the calendar piece up for that day. I found out yesterday that I am not only competing with Laura to put the day up, but now George and even Mom! Well not this morning folks. Due to inclimate weather, I stayed at home last night and thus was able to get to the calendar before anyone else did this morning. Yes, I know, it’s petty to fight over a piece of plastic with Velcro on the back, but it’s a long standing tradition that I have been cut out of simply because I can’t make it over to Chateau Bradley until after 5 o’clock. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, I should be able to get to the calendar for the next two days before anyone else since I’ll be staying at home, and thus will have made up for the entire month of calendar pieces that I’ve been shorted. I feel that getting to do Christmas Eve and Christmas day is only fair. Today’s piece was Mrs. Claus. Tomorrow is Santa, and Saturday’s is a church for Christmas.

We are rejoicing in the fact that we even have the church piece for Christmas day because last year the church fell off the calendar and an unidentified animal (read: Stockwell) chewed up the plastic piece. This was a devastating blow for our family, but Mom being the resourceful woman that she is managed to salvage the church-shaped sticker, and Dad got creative and made a new plastic backing with Velcro for it so that we have a brand-spanking new piece for this year’s calendar. It’s the little traditions like these that make Christmas such a fun time of the year for our family.