Christmas revisited

Christmas started at the bathroom sink, passed without a nap and ended quickly with a record conk-out in bed.

That's right, we had to woo Claire away from a running faucet -- one of her favorite experimental places in the house -- to get her to come to the Christmas tree. That's where Santa had left a second-hand-store-bought dollhouse, an Ikea train set, a homemade stocking hung by the fireplace and mounds of wrapped gifts.




The candy canes and lollipops in her stocking became major distractions, the first of many to lure her away from the tree. In fact, distractions were so frequesnt and so lengthy, we still have a half dozen unopened presents in her name under the drying tree.




Books demanded immediate readings, usually for more than one time through.




Gifts themselves became window dressing for the ... window dressing. Grandma and grandpa gave Claire some stacking blocks, pictured here in the background. Notice, it's not the blocks holding her attention. It's the enclosed toymaker's catalog.



Later, blocks finally got stacked.





A Playdough set stole her away from the tree for 30 minutes. The parents took advantage of the break to grab a snack and open our own few gifts. When we invited her back in, she replied from the kithcen, 'I busy."



Other hits: Bubble wrap, her existing baby doll, the old playdough, Post-it notes

There. Now you have next year's Christmas list. It's sure to be economical.




It was all worth it when, this morning, as I was leaving for work, Claire said: "Daddy, you want play with my dollhouse?"