The Christmas Story

The other day while I was making lunch, the kids were playing in the family room located in the basement. At one point I became alarmed at the quiet (as all mothers do), and snuck down the stairs to spy. At first I was pleased to observe Thomas and Ruthie pleasantly sharing a push toy they normally fight over, until I decided the concept was too absurd to be believable so I asked a subtle, probing question: ‘What are you guys doing?’

‘We’re playing with balls!’ Ruthie announced cheerfully.

‘Okaaaay…’ I said, still not feeling comfortable about the peace and harmony.

And then Ruthie threw him under the bus. Out of the blue, as I turned to go back upstairs, she said, ‘Thomas did it.’

Bingo. Something was up.

At that point Thomas lifted up the seat of the push toy to reveal their stash of ‘balls,’ which were not actually toy balls at all, but the balls from the Christmas tree. Nearly every. single. one, in fact.

Christmas ball stash

So now our tree is ball-less (as far as the kids can reach, anyway) and I’m tired of fighting it. I am certainly no Martha Stewart, and it’s actually festive in a Griswold sort of way, so I think I’ll let it be.

Merry Christmas everyone!

a ball-less tree

5 thoughts on “The Christmas Story”

  1. Beautiful. Leave it to small children to find the items made of extremely fragile, dangerously breakable and shardy material play with. Little darlins.

    And the “Thomas did it.” Priceless.

    I think the tree is gorgeous just that way.

  2. that is funny, and cute…all our balls are in the front, clumped together…kids did that decorating as well…I’m not brave enough to put any of my ornaments up yet…destruction masters they are.

  3. Hey, they didn’t eat them. Tis the season to be thankful as well. It could have been a trip to the ER. Meanwhile, we are repeatedly riding into and out of the tree.

    “Hi, TWEEE. Bye, TWEEE.”

    Next year it will be a blue spruce. I’m thinking a little impaling would change that behavior.

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