The Holidays are officially over. We stretched them out for as long as we possibly could, but on Monday the kids go back to school. Last night as we sat around the noisy rambunctious dinner table we talked about how great this Christmas season was and then we toasted our glasses with the obligatory “clink” that they do in Despicable Me. One of my favorite parts of the Christmas season is watching tons of movies. I am not even a movie watcher. It has been years since I went to a movie theater without the kids and if someone asks me what my favorite movie is I fumble for words. That all changes at Christmas time when I have all the time in the world to watch the funniest, cheesiest, most heartwarming flicks out there. My movie snack of choice is a big bowl of popcorn and Peanut M&M’s.

The candy mixins are a must! In fact, I put a bag of popcorn in each of the kids’ stockings along with a box of their favorite candy which ranges from Skittles to gummy worms. We watched Elf, Rudolph, Santa Clause 1-3 and we liked Olaf’s Frozen adventure so much we watched it twice.

I even enjoy the Hallmark Christmas movies. Yes, they are the same thing over and over. That’s what I love about it. I can give my brain a break and escape to a Christmas Tree farm in the Smokies, or Alaska, or Vermont. Speaking of Vermont J and I watched White Christmas TWICE in the past month. He will probably be embarrassed that I am even acknowledging this but he is the best Christmas movie partner, even the chick flicks.

Last night for our final Christmas movie (until next Christmas), we watched Home Alone for the first time with the kids. It was a little mature for the younger kids. It kept their attention and all, but I am pretty conservative and there is some language and scary parts. It’s funny how much your perspective changes as a mother. I loved Home Alone as a kid. I just laughed and laughed. This time I talked through the first half and it went something like this-

Now, remember you don’t need to repeat everything you hear in movies.

Do you think that was a very nice thing to say? No. No, it wasn’t.

We should never talk that way to each other.

Is that a good choice or a bad choice? Right, that is a very bad choice.

Oh my, that was another bad choice. This whole family is making some very bad choices right now!

What should you do if you are ever lost or somewhere by yourself? Yes, that’s right. Do not do what he is doing.

Do NOT try that in real life you will break your neck!

 

It was funny though and we had a good time. At the end we showed them the commercial that Macauley Caulkin is in now. It was great because we have a Google home so they thought it was awesome.

https://youtu.be/xKYABI-dGEA

I try not to let the kids “talk” to Google too much because it can get out of hand, but sometimes it knows just the thing to say. Elle got a shirt for Christmas with unicorns on it and it says “I believe in magic”. This sparked a big debate between all four children.

The girls said they believe in magic, but in classic Z fashion he crushed their imaginations with some facts about the reality of illusionists. Ezie, who looks up to his brother, crossed his arms and firmly agreed. This conversation went on for a while and SJ started to get very upset and was even shouting. She stormed over to Google and said “Google! IS MAGIC REAL?” His reply was “It’s more fun to believe.” and that seemed to appease everyone. Good answer Google. Well played.

Today we take down the Christmas decorations and it does make me a little sad, but we’ve had fun. SJ got her first journal for Christmas this year from her grandma. With permission from SJ (who is only 8 and isn’t concerned about privacy yet) here is an excerpt from her first journal entry which sums it up well.

 

 

Topic: Sedona’s Christmas Wish

Date: Dec. 30, 2018

I love to run super fast in my life. I really wish to have a Stick Bot and a Grumbly. My wish came to life, but on Sunday I got two Stick Bot and Tuesday the very last present was a Grumbly. I was so joy. I had joy everywhere in my heart.

The End.