I was in college. I needed money. Because college. And so I would pretty much do anything for it. I made pizzas until 3 am. I filed applications in the admissions office. I sang concerts and solos and hymns and valentine-o-grams. And once, for a few weeks in November and December, I was a door-to-door […]
Category Archives: Christmas
2014 Christmas A Cappella Round-Up
Ladies and gentlemen, it’s Christmastime! That magical time of year when choral music and a cappella singing suddenly become beloved by all. That brief period in which the rest of the world remembers what you and I have known all along: that using your voices to make music is aca-awesome. And quite aca-beautiful. I don’t […]
Santa Didn’t Come!
Happy Advent everyone! Or, as my son likes to call it, Christmas. He was fairly certain that Thanksgiving was also Christmas, although I tried to explain to his resistant, four-year-old mind that they were actually two separate holidays. But he was on school vacation! And there was snow! How could it be anything other than […]
Thanks, But I Don’t Like That Anymore
Do you remember when I mentioned the many problems associated with doing your Christmas shopping early? I forgot a big one. A big one that has just come to light as of yesterday. You see, kids change their minds over the course of several months. Heck, they can change what they like in a matter […]
23 Christmas Carol/Pop Song Mash-Ups No One Will Ever Do
As the holiday season approaches and overwhelms us, it is important to make our way through the haze of it all and focus on what really matters. And music can be a beacon to guide us through, because it is everywhere, and because it summons memories of holidays past. But music can also be used […]
A Child’s Reaction to the First Snow of Winter
Okay, look, I know that we had a few late night flurries last week, and I know that it is not technically winter yet, but my children did not see that snow, and as far as they are concerned, if it’s snowing, it’s winter. So let us start with the baseline assumption that, according to […]
Do NOT Do Your Christmas Shopping Early
It sounds like a great idea. Do your Christmas shopping early, so the costs are spread out over time, and you are not rushing around on Christmas Eve looking for last minute gifts. It is like a beautiful package of common sense, wrapped up in a ribbon of duh. And yet in practice, it is […]
Thanks! It’s Just What You Wanted!
I have a problem with gift buying. Let me rephrase that. I love gift buying, but when I engage in that most blessed of activities, I sometimes run into problems caused, as usual, by my brain. My brain is good at a lot of things, but thinking is not one of them. It likes to […]
Santa’s Living Conditions
Yesterday my six year old and I were having a conversation about what time Santa would be getting home after doing all of his Christmas deliveries. Then this other conversation happened. Me: “Well, I’m sure Santa was very happy to get back to his house.” Ruby: “Daddy! Santa doesn’t live in a HOUSE!” Me: “He […]
Bear Does Christmas
When my wife and I woke up on Christmas morning, we were, umm, we were… huh. What is the word for when something is so incredibly cute that you just can’t stand it, and you are making the sad puppy dog face and saying “awwwww,” but in an extremely good way? Anyway, there were some […]