Seeking Opinions....

I have a friend - let's call her Kathy.... Well Kathy has a beautiful and very expensive Llardo Christmas Nativity scene on display... It's displayed on a table that is about 4 feet high... Kathy enjoys decorating her lovely home for Christmas.... She has many decorations on display... many of the items are very fragile... But she is very careful ...... her husband and children are very careful.. The decorations are admired but not touched.... From the moment her children could walk/crawl - they knew what was an "okay to touch" decoration and what was a "no-no touch" decoration..... Kathy made sure there were many things that her kids could touch and enjoy so they too could enjoy the Christmas decorations and celebrations....

This year Kathy is having Christmas Eve at her home.... The entire family - aunts, uncles, brothers, sisters, grandparents, and nieces will all be there... Kathy is dreading it this year... Why? Because her cousin has two monsters daughters who are wild and Kathy's cousin does not watch her own children.... Her cousin has had the gall to say - if you don't want it broken then put it up... Now you must understand - the decorations (the very expensive Llardo Nativity scene) is against a wall not in a traffic area.... It's actually in the formal living room where no one really goes....

The cousin's girls are old enough to know right from wrong - one is six (6) and the other is four (4)... I believe the girls should be watched by their parent... I also believe that if one of the girls went into an area that no one was in and started to play with the fragile decorations and broke it... the cousin should offer to replace it or pay for it.... I believe that is the right thing to do... Whether Kathy accepts it or not... the offer should be made...

I believe it is always the parent's responsibility to look out for their own children - regardless of where they are - parenting is a 24 hour a day job... a job that we signed up for cheerfully.. Too many times - parents become too lazy... overwhelmed to train their children... to set boundaries... but we must set boundaries... We need to prepare them for the real world... for school... for other people's homes... where boundaries exist...

What do you think? Should Kathy put up/remove her Christmas decorations or ask her cousin to please watch her kids? Poll at the top of the post...

Christmas holidays can become very ugly when family and friends fight... Please remember the reason for this Festive Season and love when and wherever you can....

Loving The Holidays...

My favorite time of the year is fast approaching... I love the Christmas season. I love the chilly air - yes 60 degrees in the evening is quite chilly - thank you very much... The Christmas music playing through the shops - yesterday I heard Silent Night in Cold Stone's.... The decorations..... the colorful lights... and the goodwill towards man kind of feeling.... Sometimes while walking down the street - I just feel like giving a stranger a hug... don't you?

One of the great things about my neighborhood during Christmas time are the homes.. Our neighbors really go all out... One house has a ski lift carrying its passengers around their 2nd story chimney... Another house has dancing santa bears and trains taking their riders around the yard in the North Pole Express... and the lights are spectacular - I bet you could see the lights from the moon - Our neighborhood has become a Christmas tradition for many families to come and enjoy - we have hundreds... thousands... of visitors each year - they come in by foot, bike, car, and tour buses...





We of course decorate our home every year as well - so while browsing around Michael's the other day I ran across some great new decorations and you know I just had to buy them.







I have also been known to decorate the kid and husband..... Have a Merry Christmas and fun decorating!!!