I’m out numbered 2-1 males to female at my house. Yes, I must always be alert enough in the middle of the night to ensure the toilet seat is lowered. But would you believe me if I told you even our holiday celebrations could be scripted by a page in the Dangerous Book for Boys?
As a an alternative to a birthday cake on my December birthday, we purchased ready-to-bake gingerbread dough from Healdsburg’s Downtown Bakery. Did we make gingerbread men this year? No! Why bother with playing dress up with people cookies when you could instead make gingerbread train cars?
We also did a sugar splurge – a first in Bryles’ lifetime – at Powell’s Sweet Shop, where we gathered gum drops and licorice for candy decorations. Who knew a gingerbread man’s buttons (aka black jelly beans) could also serve as great locomotive wheels? Or that a gum drop could be cut in half and inverted as a train’s smoke stack? You could almost hear the “chugga-chugga” of a train in motion while my boys got creative with their cookies.
Now, sticking with me in developing this “Holidays His Way” theme, can you guess how my men wanted to meet Santa Claus? By waving him down from his Reach Helicopter, of course!
Yesterday Bryles and his Daddy layered up in hats and sweaters to make a trip out to Santa Rosa’s airport. There Santa Claus – or one of his many look-alike-”helpers” arrived in a red helicopter. Nevermind that the copter roared in with deafening, whirling blades that forced families to try to simulatenously hood their eyes and cover their ears. My guys happily stood in awe anticipating the landing.
This small, annual airshow hosted by the Pacific Coast Air Museum, gave my boys the opportunity to view a F-15 (in fact the first plane to respond to the World Trade Center attacks) and climb aboard a vast array of retired aircraft. My five-year-old boy is well versed in indentifying aircraft types – a hobby he loves to share with his dad. ”That one’s an Eagle, right dad?”
A few years ago we also met Santa Claus on the Skunk Train. Here my boy got to ride on a vintage train that rustled loudly over tracks to the center of Mendocino Redwoods. Santa then boarded the train to give out sugar cookies and hugs to all of the kids.
While I never imagined holidays roaring in with helicopters or trains, my boys and their excitement keep me smiling through the season.
What special gifts do your family members bring to the season? What suprise traditions have you adopted over the years?
