(my brother and i meeting santa circa 1973)

corona has completely upended christmas this year. we are not meant to travel or even celebrate locally with others outside of our immediate families. so this will be the first boulder christmas for my family… since we’ve returned to the states we have always gone to california. traditions i have taken for granted will have to wait: my mother’s christmas buns (i CANNOT replicate these - i tried when we were living in amsterdam and they came out like little rocks) or visiting the giant gingerbread house at the fairmont hotel with our dear friends, or going to see the nutcracker (the SF ballet does a terrific one!) or my very favorite - christmas dinner at my sister in law’s house in san francisco (this is a big affair - they also include several other families from various aspects of their lives. i only see these families at this dinner and it is so much fun to note how their children have grown and hear the stories of what has happened to them over the course of the year. plus the food is DELICIOUS - jedo makes a big roast with red pepper sauce, shanon brings a huge, creative, colorful salad, others bring all kinds of interesting side dishes and my mother shares a platter of frosted cookies, homemade caramels and chocolate peanut butter balls. when the kids were smaller, they would eat first while we grown ups hovered over them, cutting their roast beef and encouraging them to try the salad and refilling their milk. we generously let them have first dibs on the desserts and then they would be sequestered away with chocolate smeared faces and a movie. the grown ups would then enjoy a long, relaxing, yummy dinner. last year the kids were deemed competent enough to cut their own meat and we all ate at the same time, which was lovely. the whole evening is chaotic [especially during the opening of presents - one year all of the kids were given red adidas track suits like the royal tenenbaums, which was amazing] festive and exhausting. it is perfect. i can’t wait for next year when i really hope we can resume this special celebration.)

(one of my mother’s famous cinnamon buns)

(the life sized gingerbread house at the fairmont hotel)

(lucy was REALLY in a cheetah phase that year…)

(attending the nutcracker with the cousins)

(the opening scene of SF ballet’s nutcracker - i LOVE how they incorporated classic victorian houses in the set)

(the year of the track suits!)

some traditions we may not return to… putting our children on the lap of a random, disguised, super germy man we know nothing about is definitely questionable. my brother (above) clearly did not enjoy it and i don’t look best pleased either. and yet, i did the same thing to my sweet boy for his first christmas. and it was a BIG effort… in amsterdam santa is not easy to track down…turns out the only place to meet him is at the hard rock cafe and you have to make an appointment. WHY i was compelled to do this i don’t really know.

(our visit started out like this…)

(and quickly devolved into this!)

we DO have one christmas tradition that is outside the reach of the corona. from the time that we were very little, my mother gave us designated ornaments. i received angels (of course!) and my brother got santas. she was planning ahead for when we would be out in the world and have our own trees. as others joined the family, they were assigned ornaments too. my first husband got snowmen, theo gets nutcrackers and lucy gets gingerbread people. each year when we unpack them we try to remember when each ornament was given and what that christmas was like. so when my kids move out (which will NEVER really happen because they love me so much but i humor my mother) they will each have a collection full of memories for their trees.

MERRY CHRISTMAS all! x0x0x

(some of my angels)

(first’s snowmen)

(theo’s nutcrackers)

(lucy’s gingerbread people)

(our first tree away from home filled with angels and snowmen… we had to get a tiny one because theo was getting into everything. * we regretted that elmo immediately - i think i permanently removed the batteries by new year’s…)

(lucy’s second christmas… looking at the ornaments on my parents’ tree)

(lucy last year in berkeley)

(our current tree filled with gingerbread, angels, snowmen and nutcrackers…)