Merry Chrismoose

Our little family has some unique family traditions at Christmas time.

From time to time you'll hear me mention Chrismoose. Chrismoose is a made up holiday that comes right before Christmas that we invented last year. G is my step son and he is with us for part of the week every week and we alternate holidays with his mom. Christmas has been complicated because one house gets him for Christmas Eve and the other for Christmas day. So the schedule has always looked like:
 - At noon on Christmas Eve spend an hour in the car dropping off/picking up G
- Do Christmas Eve stuff
- Early, early Christmas morning spend an hour in the car dropping off/picking up G
- Drive another hour to see my family.

No one wins with this arrangement. Not us, not his mom, and not his little sisters.

SO, I like a party and I'm ready for some Christmas action any day, so we just have our own celebration two days before. My friend Gretel gave me a moose hat last year and the name Chrismoose was born. We have Chrismoose Eve and Chrismoose morning. On Chrismoose Eve we try to do some good deeds. Last year we paid for the car behind us in the Starbucks line. That doesn't seem like a big deal but I guess it was well timed because the woman was very moved. We also donated food to the food pantry. Chrismoose dinner is where the boys make some sort of manly, slow cooked, meat sort of thing. Last year it was chili. This year they are tackling ham. Last year we were totally lazy and made cookies and watched movies. It was bliss! Then on Christmas Eve G went off for Christmas Round 2 and we celebrated with my family.

Another weird thing we've been doing for years is the Stocking Stuffer Challenge. This was inspired by my mom but we've added another level to it. The day after Thanksgiving each of us sits down with scrap paper and writes down a challenge. This can be things like:
"Something 10lbs exactly."
"Pink, purple and shiny."
"The grossest flavor of soda."
"The cereal with the most sugar."
"Make a Christmoose decoration."
"Pompom in a sailor suit."
"A product with a typo."

You don't want to make it tooooo hard because we put them all in a hat and then each draw 10. That's what we get in our stockings. It is the funnest thing EVER. Now that we're too old for Santa over here it really gets the Christmas spirit going.

The last thing I do....that I've always done...that I don't understand....is Christmas pranks. I don't know how this started but I always seem to have at least one trick up my sleeve at Christmas. Once I gave a framed glamour shot of our old (loathed) boss to a co-worker. Once I wrapped one of G's gifts in a roll of duct tape. Once I filled a huge tub with shaving cream and told my nephew that his gift card was in the bottom. (It wasn't. HAHAHAHAHA.)

I'm all done with Christmas pranks, though. No pranks from me this year.