Fake Snow, Real Snow, and Christmas Trees

1.

I think I've hinted before that I live in the tropics, well, I don't exactly see the equator out my back window, nor do I see palm trees, but still, winter is mild and if it drops much below 50 degrees we feel like we are freezing!!! So what does our small town holiday festival do to celebrate the season in a place like this? Create a little yard of man-made snow and then our children wait in line to play in it!

2.

Oh yes, we do!!! And here's a picture of my poor, winter-deprived daughter contemplating just what exactly to do with the "snow"But hey, my son was successful in creating a fairly decent snowball!

3.

Now, usually around this time of year I hear several of my fellow topic-like region dwellers complaining that, "It doesn't feel like Christmas!" Because it is 75 degrees outside. And I can assure you I am never one of those people! I have absolutely no problem celebrating Christmas in my flip-flops, because you see the cold and I, we do not really get along. But this year is different because y'all, it is cold!! There may even be snow tomorrow, extremely rare in our parts and this early in the season it is unheard of! My only solace is that chances are it will be back in the 70s next week!

5.

Anyone have little kids and a Christmas tree? Yeah, it's fun isn't it?!! Whoever decided on the tradition of a Christmas tree obviously was not a mom with toddlers. I mean seriously, let's set up a tree in the middle of the living room, decorate it with sparkling lights, shiny balls, and toy-like items, and then expect our toddlers to leave it alone for a month!

I do stop short of employing the idea I've heard of placing the Christmas tree in a playpen for its protection. Instead we usually just decorate the top of the tree with the breakable ornaments and the bottom with the non-breakables and kid-craft ornaments. It makes for a beautiful two-tone look and works great until one of your kids gets a little too crazy with ringing a bell on the lower half of the tree and pulls the entire thing over, thus breaking even the high up breakable ornaments! I believe that was Christmas 2005 for us, or was it 2006 -- who can say?

6.

This year I didn't supervise quite as much as I should have when my kids were decorating the tree and allowed some glass balls to be hung low down on the tree. The green ball in this picture met its demise the very next morning!

And do you notice in that picture how there are about 7 ornaments all on the same branch? Kids don't get the idea of "spreading them out"!

7.

But oh, the true joy of having little ones around during the magic of the Christmas season! Completely worth a glass ball ornament casualty or two or fourteen and a funny looking Christmas tree!

Find more Friday Funnies at Homesteader's Heart, Finer Things Friday at The Finer Things in Life, 7 Quick Takes Friday at Conversion Diary.