Haertel Happenings

Thursday, December 9, 2010

Our Christmas Tree

A new tree! We have had a little table-top tree for the last 4 years. It was fun to get a bigger tree this year! I found a tall, skinny tree which fits perfectly in our living room.
After several years with our small tree that didn't hold many ornaments, the kids had so much fun discovering all the ornaments we could hang on our tree.

Each year the kids receive ornaments from us and from Nana and Papa (a tradition my parents began when I was young). There were several ornaments that we have never been able to hang up because they were too big for our little tree. What a gift for me to watch the kids unwrap and discover the ornaments - each one had a special memory for us - from different times in our lives. It was fun to talk about them with the kids. And to share the ornaments that I received as a child. They learned new things about me and what things I liked as a child. A great afternoon together!

A visit with Santa

Hannah and Luke wrote letters to Santa this year. And hand delivered them to Santa when they saw him and Mrs. Claus on Saturday. They were so proud of their letters.

The girls wore their Big Sister/Little Sister shirts for their visit with Santa.

I thought for sure Sophia would be scared. But she got right up on Mrs. Claus' lap and talked a blue streak with her. They gave Santa their letters and he had a special book to put them in which he showed to them.

This is the first time our kids sat on Santa's lap (Jacob had a few experiences with Santa when he was young but they always ended in tears). And this year he said he was too old to take part. The small-town Santa experience was wonderful. They took time to listen to the kids, interact with them and this helped our kids not to be afraid or shy. They each gave Santa a hug goodbye. Sophia talked about giving Santa a hug for the rest of the day.

The next day Luke found our Santa hat and he and Hannah had fun playing Santa and Mrs. Claus together. Hannah stuffed his belly to make him look fat and they made pretend lists which Santa read and then delivered presents to our stockings. I love their creative play!