Christmas Buzz

Santa Claus is coming to town, Santa Claus is coming to town ...

Ok, I know that it is still November, and that it hasn't passed Thanksgiving yet, but I am in the Christmas spirit. Sue me. Judge me. Ridicule me. Do whatever you want, but I'm not giving up that Christmas buzz. You know the one. The buzz that makes you tap your toes and hum along with Christmas music. The buzz that makes your eyes shine as you stare at lights strung on trees and houses. The buzz that makes you snuggle close with your loved ones while the wind whips outside your home and you watch Christmas movies. It's here. And, I've got it.

Now, I used to be one of those people who insisted that you shouldn't even start seeing anything Christmas-related until after Thanksgiving. My birthday is always right around Thanksgiving (sometimes on the actual day), and I think my distaste for pre-Thanksgiving holiday cheer stemmed from my birthday getting lost in the shuffle. However, as I've grown older, I've changed my tune.

Remember when you were a little kid counting down the days until Santa came? I used to open one tiny door on my advent calendar each morning and couldn't possibly imagine that the 25th would ever arrive. Now, being older and having children of my own, I feel like the entire month of December flies by in a blink of an eye. In fact, you can toss November in there, too, because it's over pretty much right after Halloween. Entire holiday seasons would be over before I really had enjoyed them. In light of this apparent fast-forwarding of time, I've decided that I'm going to get over my previously stringent rule on pre-Thanksgiving Christmas cheer. I will welcome that Christmas buzz when it floats my way, even if we are a week before Turkey day.

Tonight, a full five days before the 4th Thursday in November, we fully embraced the Christmas cheer. We bundled up the girls and went to see the Legends Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony. Now, different cities have different lighting ceremonies. You've got Rockefeller Tree Ceremony in New York with Al Roker hosting and Justin Bieber singing. Here in Kansas City, the big lighting ceremony is the Plaza Lighting Ceremony on Thanksgiving night, hosted this year by meteorologist Gary Lezak and the awesome Eric Stonestreet (a KC native aka Cam on Modern Family). The one time I remember going to the Plaza Lighting Ceremony was on my 16th birthday. It was cold, ridiculously crowded, and we didn't get anywhere close enough to see anything happening on stage. It's not worth braving the crowds to see that again, as amazing as I think Eric Stonestreet is. So, we went with the low-key, closer-to-home Legends, hosted by meteorologist Brett Anthony and Santa Claus.


On a side note: Seriously, what is with weather guys hosting lighting ceremonies? Is there some kind of correlation between TV weathermen and Christmas? An unwritten rule of which I was not aware? It's just baffling to me.


Anyway, Molly was super excited because the big draw of the evening, in addition to the lights, was that Santa flies in on a helicopter. It's a good thing the helicopter pilot was good, because with the high, crazy winds blowing tonight, it could've been a completely different kind of night. Can you imagine the scarring of your child if she witnessed Santa smashing to the ground in a helicopter crash? Yikes. But, no worries, the helicopter landed safely, and Santa was able to wave and thrill the children. At least, he thrilled Molly. Charlotte really couldn't have cared less.

We met a bunch of friends up there, and all the kids danced and sang along with the music. It was cold, I'm not going to lie. A cold front came in and dropped the temps a good 30 degrees in a few hours. But, it was still a blast. We listened to Christmas music, watched our kids dance and hug, and got to see Santa turn on the Christmas tree lights (even if we're pretty sure someone missed a cue on the actual lighting). And, you know what was awesome? We were able to walk right to our cars and be home, with the girls in bed, in less than 30 minutes. It's amazing the things that are selling points when you are a parent of young children.

Posing with the helicopter that brought Santa behind  us.

Molly and Avery dancing with the live band playing Christmas music. Check out those moves!

Friends huddling close for warmth.

Such cute posing girls: Molly, Avery and Melese.

Charlotte looks decidedly unimpressed. Unfortunately, I did not pack mittens for her because I hadn't realized it was going to be so cold, and I have no idea where Molly's old mittens are. Yes, I'm a bad mom, and yes, her hands were little ice cubes.

Terah with Sydney. Sydney also did not like the cold. Terah, however, is starting to come around to liking Christmas. Slowly.

Such cute friends!

The girls let Connor play, too.

Finally, a little life shown from Charlotte.

We're not sure where the girls learned this ...

But, they cheered "Go Christmastime!" when they broke it up. 

The whole crowd getting ready to see the lights come on.

Family shot with the tree behind us. Of course, the picture was taken  in an off-blink of the lights. I swear it was lit by this point.

So, we all had a blast, and I'm glad that we aren't sticking to my silly old rule. I'm all in! If you see me driving around the city, rockin' out and singing with my windows rolled tightly up, you can bet it's Christmas music blaring on the car cd player. You can judge if you want, but I don't care, I'm completely buzzed on Christmas.