Christmas 2011

With Pop-Pop and Grandma visiting from Thanksgiving Day, we had a very festive lead-up to Christmas this year. First we went to the Candy Cane Tea at the main Copley Library, which was an exciting event with Chanuka, Kwanza, and Christmas stories and songs; a woman playing the guitar; Marcus's first-ever candy cane (it was immediate infatuation); some Christmas and Kwanza crafts; and a beautful catered spread of sandwiches and cookies and drinks.

At the Boston Public Library Candy Cane Tea

Then a few days later we went to see Santa at Magic Beans, since Marcus has seen this Santa every year: at four months old, he burbled happily in Santa's arms; at sixteen months old, he arched his back and screamed and we couldn't even get a single picture; at a bit over two, he slept through the entire event in my sling; and this year, he was shy at first but did walk up and talk to Santa. We also went to an ornament-making workshop with a performance by a one-man band at the Harriet Tubman House just a block away and to the Christmas open house at the Roslindale train museum.

Before the Magic Beans trip, I was trying to prepare Marcus for Santa Claus this year, because sometimes he's nervous about adults in costume as characters--like when we went to the Big E earlier this year and he shrunk away from the mascot. So I thought back and decided to draw on his most positive experience with a character to date, the Boston Duck Tours mascot we saw once in the Pru. "Marcus, remember when we went to the mall with Alex and we went trick or treating?" I asked. "Yes," he said. "Remember there was a giant duck there, a man dressed up as a duck, really, and you went over and talked to him and we took your picture with him?" I asked. "Yes, he said." I felt like this was going well. I called up the picture and we looked at it a bit. "Okay, so tonight, we're going to pick up Daddy after work and go somewhere fun, and you're going to see Santa, a man dressed up in a big red suit, with a white beard." Marcus wrinkled up his brow. "And is he a duck?" he asked. "Uh, no," I said. "But he's like a duck?" he asked. "Well, sort of," I said, and decided to drop this entirely. Half an hour later, we met up with Robert, who greeted Marcus excitedly. "Do you know who we're going to see tonight?" Robert asked, and then answered himself: "Santa!" "Yeah yeah yeah," Marcus said, also excitedly, "we're going to see Santa, and he's a duck!" Robert looked at me in horror. "I know you're not a fan of Santa," he said, "but really, what have you been telling him?"

Other highlights of the holiday season included a brisk December bikeride with Daddy and Pop-pop, a make-our-own gingerbread house morning with Pop-pop and Mommy, and a walk through the Zoo Lights at the Stone Zoo in Stoneham one chilly Sunday evening.

Pop-Pop and Mommy and Marcus also played and sang Christmas carols together, even the very day before Baby Sam arrived, and Marcus played with his new toolbelt at home and some big construction sets at the Children's Museum.