Holiday Spirit

Madeleine continues to have holiday fever, and as we walked home from dropping Julia at school this morning, we had the following conversation:

MADELEINE: Mama?  Have you ever heard of something called Hannukah?
ME: Yes, I have.  Did you know that two of Julia's friends celebrate Hannukah?
MADELEINE: Well Mama, have you ever heard of something called Kwanzaa?
ME: Yes, I have heard of it. 

Madeleine has been learning about various December holidays at preschool, and I realized upon seeing her look a bit deflated that she had been eager to share her new knowledge with me.  So I tried to give her a chance to share something I didn't already know about.

ME: I don't really know very much about Kwanzaa though.  You'll have to teach me about it.
MADELEINE: Uh, well...we didn't really LEARN about Kwanzaa yet.
ME: Okay, well when you learn more about it, you'll have to teach me.
MADELEINE: OR, Mama, you could just write a NOTE to my teachers and tell them: "Madeleine needs to learn about Kwanzaa."

Yeah.  Or I could do that.  Get on it, teachers, seriously. I need my daughter to learn about Kwanzaa PRONTO!

Although Madeleine has an interest in Kwanzaa and Hannukah, she is most truly in the Christmas spirit.  (Like, ridiculously so.  For instance, she asked me for an apple with her lunch.  "And Mama?  Can you cut it into the shape of a Christmas tree in the middle?")  So, yes, she is completely overboard into the spirit of Christmas.  And she thinks EVERYBODY ELSE SHOULD BE TOO.

At the Y today, while I was out running, Madeleine played in the baby-sitting room with a play camera, "taking" Christmas pictures of all the kids and staff.  Turned out one kid was SERIOUSLY not in the Christmas spirit.

MADELEINE: Mama?  I wanted the girl with the BROWN hair and the PONYTAIL to say "Christmas decorations!" while I took her picture, but she WOULDN'T do it.

Well, Madeleine, some people like to stick with good old-fashioned "Cheese."

As we left the Y, Madeleine scoffed at the grocery store across the street for its lack of ENOUGH Christmas spirit.

MADELEINE: Mama, the grocery store is in the Christmas spirit only TWO BITS.  They only have TWO WREATHS and they don't even have a Christmas tree!  And they have a painting of a SCARECROW on a TRACTOR?  That's not even the Christmas spirit AT ALL!

Gotta step up your game, here Roche Brothers.  Madeleine does NOT approve of your lackadaisical efforts at Christmas decorating.

The one store that did pass muster?  The hardware store.  Because it has a bunch of sleds outside.  That makes sense, right??

MADELEINE: Woah, the HARDBOARD store is DEFINTLY in the Christmas spirit!

Way to go, hardboard store!  Your sleds have won Madeleine's test of Christmas spirit.  God bless us, every one!