"do those kids want to be up there?" Boop asked me when they first appeared on the altar. Boop is terrified by the idea of performing in front of a crowd and blanched at the thought that those kids didn't volunteer.
"Yes," I assured her. "They all wanted to do this."
The choir consisted of about a dozen kids and right in front was a little girl of about 5, wearing a red dress with a tulle skirt covered in sequins. She clearly loved her dress to bits, as whenever she wasn't singing, she was busy twirling her skirt and fluffing it about to catch the light and sparkle. She seemed completely oblivious to the fact that a few thousand people were watching her. Until it was time to sing, when she turned into a tiny version of Ethel Merman and belted out those songs louder than the rest of the choir combined. And it's not because she hogged the mic: It was two feet taller than she was! She made the mass.
After the ceremony, we took the kids around behind the altar to see the giant nativity scene. For some reason, the organist chose to play horrifying, crashing, phantom-of-the-opera style music during this time. If his plan was to hustle kids away from the creche as fast as possible to escape the music, it worked.
By the time we hit the road for the giant Pivec party at Tom's, it was pouring rain. It's unusually warm for Christmas Eve in Minnesota; mid 50s. Josie's fiance, Nick, actually played golf in the morning! Technically, the course wasn't open but no one was around to prevent him and his buddy from playing ten holes. El Nino!
Don't pretend it's a 'climate crisis'; just one year ago, Tyler and Megan were stuck here for Christmas because the highways to South Dakota were all closed to blizzards. We are not powerful enough to effect the climate, no matter how much a teenaged, Swedish antisemite scolds the UN. Hint: when everything is evidence of a theory, nothing is evidence of that theory.
But the scientific method is not popular in the 21st century. We're more into superstition and gossip.
Back to Christmas!
The party at Tom's was delightful! There were over 40 of us in attendance, all of us brought food, beverages and Holiday cheer. Tom and Kelly's new place is only a half hour from their old place so not that far away and it's designed to entertain large crowds. The kids commandeered the lower level and the grownups filled the main floor. We played the dice game early and everyone ended up with a lovely gift. Kitten was the first to cry, as she really wanted the Ipad that was fought over during the game. That's right : some grinch took the computer away from the preschooler. All ended well and whoever ended up with the Ipad was happy to trade with Kitten so she did end up with her own brand new Ipad Mini. Happiness all around!
The only other time there were tears was when the giant tube of 100 gumballs popped open while being swung like a bat...gumball shower everywhere. The kid who owned the gumballs didn't cry when the flew all over the room, he choked up when his uncles laughed at him.
It ain't Christmas till someone's crying.
I love this year's trend of starting the party early. Jay and I were home and in our jammies by 8:30. We finished the movie we'd started the night before. George C. Scott's Scrooge learned his lesson, changed his life and Tiny Tim was saved. God Bless us, Everyone!
After Jay went to bed, I indulged my own Christmas tradition and watched one of my favorite Christmas specials ever: How the Ghosts Stole Christmas, an X-file episode from season 6 (1998).
It ain't Christmas till Mulder and Scully drag their gut shot selves across the floor while Bing Crosby sings "have yourself a merry little christmas"!
Jay just whipped up a lovely breakfast for the two of us. I have to go shower up and get ready for the party tonight.
Merry Christmas!!