Ha Ha Ho

Ooooh Christmas, how we love you. We still count down the days like kids. So much of the magic is in the small details - Christmas music playing, candles lit, the smell of fresh pine, egg nog (diluted with lots of milk), lights on the tree...we love every bit of it. See our 'Tis the Season post for more details.

The holidays are a time to spend with family, and to me, family is almost always synonomous with laughter (said laughter is not always induced by lighthearted merrymaking. Oftentimes it is a result of a family member's serious behavior being ridiculous enough to deem laughable). My sisters and I have a way of finding almost anything hilarious. So by the end of the visit, we've shared enough deep belly laughs to give us six-packs (not really. I don't know why people say this because it's a lie and never works).

Anyway, sometimes things are so bad they're funny. While I adore listening to holiday music, there are a few select Christmas songs I think are just awful. The one about the shoes, the little drummer boy (I know it's a classic, but it makes no sense. Bang on your drum for a woman who's just given birth in a barn and her infant son? Yeah, didn't happen)...there is one song, however, that takes the cake with it's "badness," one that we all first loathed, then laughed at, now love. The song is so awful, so 80's, and watching the video will make you realize how simultaneously terrible and amazing it is. I used to hate hearing it on the radio, but now am convinced that every time it plays, an angel gets its wings.

 



In recent years, Andrew and I have grown very fond of an aspect of Christmas often overlooked, and that is the gag gift. It's so much fun. During this exciting time, as people anticipate what wonderous things might be inside of those beautifully wrapped packages with their names on them, there's nothing quite so entertaining as watching their faces while they discover something completely unexpected, strange, or even downright gross.

For example, a couple years ago when my big sister Liz requested a set of hot rollers  for her silky golden locks, we took the opportunity to fulfil her Christmas wish. One trip to the Goodwill and a dollar-fifty later, we had an old set of hotrollers, complete with scratches, holes from missing rollers, and lots of hair from whoever used it last.

The set, 23 years and 3 owners earlier.

We wrapped it and labeled it to Liz, from Santa (so she'd assume it was from our parents), and tried to mask our amusement and delight as she opened it during our family's Christmas. Watching her confusion mingled with disgust as she still tried to appear pleased and thankful made it all worthwhile! That moment was priceless.

We hope you have a very very merry merry Christmas, and remember to make time to laugh!