December Daily 2018

I didn’t get to post my December Daily day by day this year. It just seemed much easier to work on it on my own pace and post it after I am done. So here we go. This includes some magic David added to the holiday after you get through all the photos.

The first page was this transparency I love and a wooden circle. 

i love the see through pages.

Then I put the calendar page with the events I knew we were going to have for sure.

And the back has my intentions.

The first page is always our family photo with “and so it begins”

i cut the photos up this year just to make it more fun.

and another photo in the back. 

The next day is the holiday party at work. Which always comes with photo booth photos much to my delight.

and more!

we basically go right to the photos when we go to the party and then we can eat and have fun 🙂

day three is about my grandmother passing away and the first day of Chanukah.

this is the ad in the paper when my grandmother passed away.

and me sitting eating turkish food that day. 

and then David took his SSAT test for high school applications. So I sat and waited for 3 hours while he sat the test.

nathaniel working on the tech challenge with his group.

the pm summit at work.

more transparent.

the next day i took off work and jake and I went to see Bohemian Rhapsody which was amazing.

and we took photo booth photos of course!

the next day we went rock climbing.

i love these photos.

the next day is more tech challenge photos and a playdate nathaniel had.

then we saw a star is born which made me both mad and sad.

i used the next day to journal some of my thoughts.

the next day I threw out my back after body pump class, so the universe told me i had to rest. 

and then there were some big announcements at work.

some of my favorite reads of 2018

love those pockets.

the back is some of my favorite ornaments.

next day is a quick little page about wrapping our presents.

and then david’s culmination at school. love this.

the next day is about gratitude for work and california mornings.

nathaniel loves making imaginary play no matter what he has around.

i bought some fun sparkly nail stickers. which i had to peel off when my mom wasn’t a fan.

the next day is about peace, books, and coffee.

and then puzzles and togetherness.

the next day is when my parents arrive, we go out to dinner with my cousin and then we leave the kids so jake and I can spend a night away together.

more photos from our time together which was magical.

more photos from our getaway in the city.

and the last page with the story.

for christmas eve (and day) i just collected a lot of photos of how we are now.

and then christmas eve presents which ended up being a hit. 

nathaniel left a note for santa and david really took it to the next level with his typed up amazing reply. (see below for all of the next, warning spoilers for kids who love santa.)

more of david’s response.

christmas morning. 

and christmas day, post presents.

and finally i always add a page to represent the next year with flowers. 

and my word for the next year. 

And there we go, another year, another delightful December Daily. I love this project. Here’s to a magical 2019.

 

Here’s David’s typed up response. Questions are from Nathaniel. WARNING AGAIN that you should not read this with your kids who love SANTA.  

Hello Nathaniel! Thanks for contacting me! I rarely see someone your age reach out to me anymore and it was a welcomed surprise to see this letter. Unfortunately, all of your questions were very complicated (and thoughtful!) and I did not have enough space to respond to each of them with the space provided, so I am attaching this piece of paper.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

How do reindeer fly?

You don’t seem to understand what I am. I am not a physical thing, and it is not I who delivers the presents as you may have seen. I am an idea that come in any shape or form, just consisting of a few common traits, with the primary ones being the want to give to others and be kind, and the want to celebrate during the winter season. More specifically, I push many humans via their subconsciousness to give gifts and celebrate. Reindeer do not actually fly, but the want to give presents is manifested in the form of a tale of a jolly man and flying reindeer. Humans love fantastical tales and will adopt them to give spirit and life to their holidays.

How old are you?

I have no real age, but I first popped up in medieval Scandinavia, ancient Rome, and ancient Norway in the forms of holidays like Yule and Saturnalia. “Christmas” began in ~300 CE, and it took many elements from these holidays and used this new holiday to spread Christianity, going as far as to change the date of Jesus’s birth for it. Christmas was a rowdy holiday about large carnivals, wine, and feasts back then, and it has a deep history as well. It was even banned by the Puritans for a while. But the holiday you are most familiar with is the 19th-century remake that made it focused on family. My ideas can even infect other holidays like Hannukah where individuals are still compelled to give gifts. However, none of these holidays are the “right”  ones, because they are all the same in their essence. People will adapt holidays, as everybody adapts a holiday in some way, just some more than others, but each one is based around the same idea, and that is what I am.

What is your favorite food?

I am an idea, so I do not ingest actual organic material, but you could say I feed off of emotion in a way (more emotions related to me, the more individuals I can interact with, and the bigger I become), and that would make my current favorite foods the feelings of happiness, joy, and belonging. Thank you for asking!

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It has been nice communicating with you, Nathaniel, and even if you don’t believe in Santa anymore (Santa is merely another manifestation of me) I hope you still enjoy Christmas. Also, I hope you understand after all of this that I am not actually writing this, just silently urging an individual to do this in the back of their mind (that is how most of these holidays come together). Nevertheless, have a happy Christmas, Saturnalia, Yule, or whatever you may choose to call it.

-Santa