Charcuterie, Penguins, and Wobbly Trees

Vava made our Elf on the shelf last year; Elfa. I didn't want one, but the kids are so excited about it. They love it.

Every night we move her while they're asleep, and then I try to make an after-school snack based on where she's hiding.

Sometimes it turns out well - yesterday they found her on the knife block, so after school they had a charcuterie board snack.

Today, she was hiding in the penguin carafe, so I tried to make penguin snacks.

I worked all day and only had a few minutes before pickup, so I quickly assembled the penguins.

When I saw them all together, I almost died laughing.

My kids' after school snack today: the face of despair.

A friend of mine recently set up her Christmas tree. It's so beautiful it took my breath away. A dazzling 7-foot prelit tree, decorated solely with ornaments that hold sentimental value. It's gorgeous. It's beautiful. But when she told me about it, she pointed out its wobbly base and the way it tips to one side.

I know for certain her kids won't notice the tips and wobbles. They'll feel the magic of twinkly lights, they'll see the ornaments they glued and painted in kindergarten placed so tenderly in the place of honour. They'll remember the love and the carefulness it took to make it look just so, and the way their home felt warm and glowy and hopeful.

If your tree wobbles or your penguin snacks look like horrified Minecraft villagers or something doesn't look the way you want it to, take heart. 

The way things look is really really really unimportant. Our culture tries to tell us otherwise but deep down we know.

We know it because each of us thinks our mother is the most beautiful mother in the world.

And our babies? Every other newborn baby is basically a squashed tomato,  but we think ours are exquisite. 

And usually I feel like a penguin-gone-wrong but here's the thing:

God loves me so much he sent His own son to be a squished tomato. And that - that is the beauty of Christmas. That's the golden, twinkly lights-in-the-dark feeling. That's the magic of hunting for an elf every morning like wise men sought Jesus. 

That Christmas feeling is love. It isn't perfection and it isn't prettiness or even beauty.

It's love.

xo.