the delightist

Jen's Christmas Round-up or It Looks As If An Elf Threw Up In Here (Possibly because he ate our gluten free Christmas cookies)

All Hail the Christmas Branch

 Pictured above is a closeup picture of our Christmas branch.  Which is kind of like an alterna-tree that we've been doing for, jeez, fifteen years? 

It's so hard to capture the majesty of the Christmas branch

  I think it all got started when we were feeling broke around the holidays but we had a small rag-tag pile of ornaments in need of hanging. We found a downed branch and hung it from the ceiling with picture wire and never looked back. (Actually we're on our fifth branch because we keep the branches up year round sans decorations)  It's just so dang magical to lay on the couch and gaze up at the twinkling lights, the twenty years of memories the ornaments represent, and the shit-ton of tinsel.  The tinsel really makes it. 

 As a bonus it's cat and toddler proof. Moving on:

Yes, that's a Ninkasi beer cap on the Christmas tree

 Cookies!  Decorating!  Disappointment and disillusionment.  Oh well, it was fun anyhow!
  My mom was a painter and so am I and grew up looking at Christmas cookies as yet another avenue for self expression.  We labored over each cookie and judged people who merely sprinkled their cookies with green and red sugar. (My apologies to the minimalists out there.)   In the last few years my dad has joined us in our traditional explosion of sugar and food dye.  This has also resulted in a more painterly aesthetic.  Or maybe it's the wine.  Or the horribly misshapen gluten free sugar cookies I tried this year.    Never again.  Sorry Rob.  We had to get creative with our interpretations of these mostly amorphous blobs.  So this happened:

The Dreaded Elf Puke Cookie

 Also not likely to be pinned.  Anyhow, if you're in need of one more utterly inspirational holiday idea, I present to you The Snow-P Mobile.  A thrilling combination of Legos, an old pope reference, and an LED lit ornament we found at a big box craft store last year.  Happy Holidays!

It's pronounced "snope"