OK, so we got a Christmas Tree this year. It's not extravagant, partly because it was given to us by some friends who probably thought we weren't going to buy one again. Anyway, the kids decorated it with their ornaments that they made, under Claire's direction. She loves cutting and taping, and making paper creations that are all over our house as decorations on the walls. One of them makes me think there's a spider on the wall every time I see it in my peripheral vision.

The best part was when our neighbor came by the house with a load of presents for all the kids. He was dressed like Santa and his 'helper' was his wife who took pictures. We did too. That was the best part of this Christmas by far. He made the perfect Santa. Claire was kind of wary of it all because there was no sign of reindeer and she asked about why our neighbor was here with him.