Caganer of the Queen
I think I just might have to be offended! On second thought — nah!
A ceramic figurine called ‘caganer’ of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth, is seen on show at the Santa Llucia Fair on December 21, in Barcelona. Statuettes of well-known people defecating are a strong Christmas tradition in Catalonia, dating back to the 18th century. Catalonians hide caganers in Christmas Nativity scenes and invite friends to find them.
‘Twas the Night Before Christmas Homeschool Style
‘Twas the night before Christmas and all through the home,
Children were still studying for their test on Rome.
Mom was planning, she had just an hour,
To teach ‘one more lesson’ before their night shower.
A whole week of vacation, the children were thrilled,
But Mom saw the lesson plans, and the blocks were still filled.
“Can I stop for a day, much less a whole week?”
Just the thought of time off made me shudder and shriek!
Would they remember anything, would they fall behind?
“Lord, I need your help, just give me a sign!!!”
Then out on the sidewalk, I saw my four boys,
And I heard them say, “it’s not about toys.”
To the neighborhood kids, they explained Jesus’ birth,
And how through Jesus, not toys, we gain our worth.
At that point, math and spelling and learning to write,
Meant little to me as I had lost the sight
Of what teaching at home was truly about.
Then I sat at my desk and began to pout.
The pouts turned to sobs, “Lord what have I done?
It’s not about grades, but to follow your Son!”
“Please guide me and show me my job is to teach,
and turn them to you, and of Jesus I’ll preach.”
Now we’ll put away books and not open them ’til later,
We’ll focus on Jesus, our Lord and Creator.
It’s His day and so we will all celebrate,
I’ll never mention the words “behind” or “we’re late”.
So, Thank You, Lord, for blessing me,
With such a great husband and family.
Now homeschooling moms, TURN OUT THE SCHOOL LIGHT!
And, “Happy Christmas To All And To All A Good Night!”
(Author Unknown)
When the Family Comes Home to Play
Ahhh … the holidays, full of love, good cheer, and LOTS of family. You could just sit around the fire and chat, but if you have little ones — even teens — chances are someone will get bored. Not to mention losing out on a great opportunity for everyone from the youngest to the oldest to get in some fun time! So here are some family party games to play to spice things up a bit.
Hide the Pumpkin (or turkey, or Santa)
A fun twist on the old staple of “Hot and Cold” – assign a decorative pumpkin (or turkey/Santa) as “it”. Someone hides it in the house… then, as the group looks for it, the person who is “it” says “Whooooo” in a soft spooky voice if you’re far away, and a loud “Whooooo” if you’re nearby – getting louder and louder the closer someone get to it. Whoever finds it gets to hide the pumpkin next. For thanksgiving, “gobble” like a turkey, and for Christmas, “HOHOHO” like Santa!
Nuts in a Basket
Assorted nuts are a holiday tradition. In this game, everyone sits in a circle. They each choose a “nutty” name, such as “hazelnut”, “peanut” or “almond”… then someone stands in the middle of the circle and starts the game. Whoever is “it” calls out two nuts at the same time – the two nuts have to switch seats without letting the person in the middle steal their chair. If they have their chair stolen, they’re “it” – or if the person in the middle failed to steal a chair, then he/she is “it” again. To create mass mayhem, the person in the middle can yell out “Nuts in a Basket!” – which means EVERYONE must get up from their chair and find another chair to be in. Lots of fun! You can change this up for “Fruit in a Basket” or “Candies in a Bowl”… whatever you enjoy the most.
For Thanksgiving Dinner I had …
This is an oldie but goodie … and can be changed for Christmas. Quite a simple memory game, the family sits in a circle and someone starts out “For Thanksgiving dinner I had ________”, naming a food. The next person has to start out “For Thanksgiving dinner I had _____ and ______”, repeating the food they just heard, and naming a new one. As you can imagine, the bigger the group, the harder it gets… especially if you go around more than once! Sure to get lots of giggles, and the best part is, you got to get off your feet for a while!
Make a Family Capsule
Same thing as time capsules, only centered around your family! Have them write a Christmas card to themselves in the future. Take a family picture of everyone there – or include a Christmas portrait that you had made. Put in some things that have significance of that particular year… and then close it up, and write a chosen year on it to be opened in the future. You decide – are you going to open it in a year? Five years? Ten? Enjoy!
Gifts for Christ
Something a little more Christ centered is gifts for Christ. Make a little box out of cardboard and fancied it up with some colored glue and jeweled buttons. Every Christmas Day, open the box and read what “gifts” everyone gave to give Christ the past year, and then put in the box new gifts you want to give the Savior the following year. These gifts are things that you want to give the Savior – things like “Being kind to my sister” or “No yelling in the home” or “Read my scriptures everyday” – whatever it is that you want to better your life so that you can better the lives of others, thus “As I have loved you, love one another”.
Tis the Season … For Bows?
We have begun making preparations to begin our new year – not only with our studies, but with renewed purpose for living life.
The Christmas season always makes me nostalgic and weepy – although I am only certain that I know not why! Christmas cards are almost complete (yes, it’s December 22nd ~ and I’m behind the power curve) and presents will be wrapped in the wee hours of the morning.
For many years, I have fought off the the visual influences to have the perfect present wrapped neatly, tied with ribbon and bow affixed to the top of the gift. The bow, inevitably, would fall off in transit or stick to some unsuspecting piece of clothing. Bows are simply not me.
What possessed me to think differently, I may never know ~ perhaps it’s all that nastolgia working on me. This year, I decided to make tree bows and a topper. Shortly, after I bought the ribbon I discovered that I really didn’t have a clue as to what I was doing! So I found a neat little website that gave me just enough information to want to order a bow maker for my very own! I had high hopes for that bow maker – all the way up until the day it arrived …
I can’t seem to remember the exact location of where I left that beautiful silver ribbon I bought on Black Friday. It MUST be in a safe place.
So the tree will stand as is – sans the bows! As for the bow maker … it’s in a safe place until next year!
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