Christmastime in the City

I'm really glad I get Monday mornings off work. I need it after today!

We had two Christmas parties; one a big one for our religious education program, and the other my youth group. Between those events, just getting back from vacation and trying to catch up on emails and voicemails, I don't think I stood still for more than a second or two all day. The big party was cute and included skits from all of the grades. The youngest group was asked what they liked best about Christmas and what they would give Baby Jesus as a gift if they could. The best response was a little boy who answered the first question greedily, saying, "Presentsssssss...!" and the best response for the second question came from another little boy, who wanted to give Jesus "A spaceship!" They were just too cute.

My youth group had a gingerbread house making competition and amazingly, the boys beat the girls. Then we made Christmas tree ornaments and all of the kids laughed at my remedial arts and crafts skills. We had lots of cake, gingerbread and candy canes, most of which got mashed all over the floor. By the time I got rid of the kids, and then the parents, and then the food, I was at least an hour at work later than usual. So tired... One nice thing: a few of the kids brought me presents. One bought me a baking pan - she obviously could tell I enjoyed cooking from my eggless, nut-free cake experiments, and some placemats. Another brought me some home fragrance oil and the parents group got me a very generous gift certificate for shopping. The gifts were highly unexpected and very thoughtful.

Now I'm barely able to sit up to type, let alone prepare dinner for myself. I am glad to have Monday morning off, because I doubt I will regain consciousness again until tomorrow afternoon!