Ye Olde Salem Christmas

This past Friday was Salem's Christmas Parade. We always go down there, bundling up in many, many layers and taking blankets to sit on & wrap around us. We normally take hot cocoa, but this year it was accidentally left at home. Justin's family has been coming over and watching the parade with us for the last few years ~ a really nice tradition to have.
The day after the parade is always "Ye Olde Salem Christmas." There are activities going on between the Farmer's Market and Longwood Park, but we usually just walk down past the Market and to the library where the real treat is: a visit with Santa Claus!
Every year the Santa & Mrs Claus visit the Salem Public Library. You can sit on his lap and have your photo taken, or you can take your own photo ~ and, of course, you get to tell him what you want! Mrs. Claus reads Christmas stories to the kids elsewhere in the library and there are areas for crafts and letter-writing set-up.
It is always a special time, but this year was made even more special by the fact that ... it SNOWED! We only got a dusting down here, but the timing couldn't have been better!

So, we bundled up in our warm clothes and walked the couple blocks to the library as the snow came down all around us. As we neared the library we spotted a very familiar, but wonderfully surprising sight.


~What to our wondering eyes should appear?~

Santa was outside the library! We talked with him, certain that he must've brought the sudden snow with him, down from the North Pole. Seriously, flowers are in bloom here.


~Budding pink roses covered in the sudden snow~


~The boys posing with Santa as it snows all around~

After seeing Santa outside we headed indoors to look for new books to check out, and return already read ones. We love our library, it kicks some serious library butt! We then waited for our turn to sit on Santa's lap.


~Sitting on Santa's lap~


~Telling Santa what they want for Christmas~


~Listening to Mrs. Claus read a Christmas-time story~

On our way home we walked back by the Farmer's Market. I took more photos of things going on there. Of locally grown veggies and locally made crafts, of wreaths and greenery of all sorts. We got some hot apple cider, definitely a perfectly timed treat!
By the time the boys got up from their naps the snow had pretty much stopped. Today it is already all gone, with only the cold weather and wilted flowers serving as a reminder.
Living in this area of the country, snow is no longer a guaranteed thing. White Christmases are very, very rare. I remember when I was little, getting Christmas trees and there being snow on the ground, but that is rarely the case anymore.
The snow this past Saturday, however little and brief it may have been, couldn't have been better timed. With every snowflake that fell Christmas joy seemed to fill the air. It was beautiful.

De-Commercializing

While we aren't Christian we do celebrate Christmas. At this time of year, regardless of your religion or what you celebrate, trying to de-commercialize is especially difficult but even more important. If you have children in your life (be it your own or family members) it is even more of a challenge and all that much more important.
We started out as many parents do with their first child: swearing that we wouldn't allow them to watch any tv. And, just like the majority of those well-intentioned parents, we let them watch tv. We do however limit them to certain channels and won't allow them to watch tv all day. Mainly they are allowed to watch a little bit of PBS in the morning, but they usually end up focusing on playing with toys (right now they're building with blocks). They also get to watch a channel called Noggin, which is mostly educational stuff ("It's like preschool on tv" as Shannon quotes to us! - It's the channel's tag line.) - they only get to watch that on very special occasions here ... like when Mommy is trying to cook dinner and REALLY needs them out of her hair. ;)
More and more though I find myself muting the channel if the shows get too "commercialized" - Sesame Street did a take-off of 'High School Musical' the other day called 'Preschool Musical' that I muted. If Noggin is on, commercials are muted. So, it was a moment full of an enormous amount of pride when my mother told me how Shannon told her that they didn't need to watch any other channels because there were too many commercials for him!! Talk about one VERY PROUD Mama!!! They both also will turn off the tv here saying they've had enough for the day, a wonderful surprise.
With Christmas now quickly on it's way this issue is a daily one. Last night and again this morning we talked about how the elves make toys at Santa's workshop in the North Pole. The toys they get from Santa & the elves we try to ensure look like they could've been truly handmade, if they weren't in reality. Last year we bought several handmade wooden toys from a local man who makes them. We stamped them with a stamp we had made that says "Made for you by the Elves is Santa's Workshop."
Our home has hardwood floors in every room, except for the bathrooms and kitchen. We keep our house at cooler temperatures in the winter as well. The two combined make for pretty chilly floors and the need for "house slippers" a necessity. So, last year the boys got "Sock Monkey Slippers" in their stockings, knit for them by Mrs. Claus. (You can find your's at http://www.uncommongoods.com/) Of course those slippers have been out-grown, so this year they'll be getting some new indoor slippers made by Mrs. Claus and the elves. (http://www.kidbean.com/)
It's a continual challenge, keeping out the commercialism. I know it will get harder and more challenging as the boys get older. But, so far, I think we're doing a fairly decent job of it. Whether the successes show themselves in Shannon's rejection of tv & commercials, or in their delight in singing Christmas Carols and wanting to get out instruments so they can play music along with it, they are those moments that you know you've done a good job.