What makes your days merry and bright?

So let's be honest. I had a pretty idyllic childhood. I'm talking chocolate chip cookies when I came home from school and my mom leaving notes in my lunch. My birthdays were fairytalesque.  Homemade crowns? Check. Barbie birthday cake? Double check. I know. 

Don't be jealous. 

I'm sure if you asked really nicely, my mom would make you a Barbie cake and a birthday crown. She's like Superwoman. 

The point of all of this is that Christmas has always been the best time at my house. Everything smells like cinnamon. There's usually some sort of Christmas music playing  and we spend all day on Christmas Eve baking cookies and making candy. Christmas Eve night we make gingerbread houses and watch Muppet Christmas Carol (the best version of a Christmas Carol ever created. Hands down. No contest. Period.)

I love that every year my dad has me stay up late to wrap my mom's Christmas presents.

I love that my mom and I drag one of the little TVs into the kitchen so we can watch Pride and Prejudice while we cook.

I love that all of my siblings and I sleep in the same room on Christmas Eve.

I love that my mom buys all of us girls matching pajama pants to open on Christmas Eve.

I love that even though I'm an adult, I still get excited when we all hide and watch Santa deliver our gifts on Christmas morning.

I love knowing that I bought my parents the perfect Christmas gifts.

I love that my mom makes crepes and homemade hot cocoa on Christmas morning before we all fall back asleep.

I love that Mckay tries, quite unsuccessfully every year, to get me to stay awake during whatever movie he got for Christmas by jumping on me while I'm asleep on the living room floor.

I love that we always go see a Christmas movie as a family at the movie theater.

I love that I can usually get Max or Cole to rub my feet while we watch the Bones marathon on USA.

Mostly, I just love that normally I have to act like an adult, but at Christmas, I get to feel like a little kid again.

What do YOU love about Christmas?

Overheard @ the Mecham Family Thanksgiving....

My family is hilarious. Don't believe me? Read on. 

Side note, as well as potentially useful information: we had a couple of kids who are from New York where my little brother served his LDS mission come to visit for the weekend, J.R. and Mike. They are prominently featured in this piece.

Mama Mecham: "I didn't make a Jello salad for dinner tomorrow. Do you think that's okay?"

Me: "Mom, just because we live in Utah does not mean you need to make a Jello."

Me: "Yeah, they called it Little Tijuana."

J.R.: "What is Tijuana?"

While watching the Texas/Texas A&M game on Thanksgiving.

Mama: "Stop. We only touch our own butts."

During a game of Phase 10 which got so intense that Mama Mecham came down from her cozy bed to moderate.

Mama Mecham: "It's okay, J.R. Some days you wake up in the morning and think, 'Today, I'm just not a winner.'"

Same intense game of Phase 10, but now Papa Mecham is playing...

J.R.: (Insert snarky comment to Mal here)

Papa Mecham lays down a skip card: I protect my young.

Cramin: It's okay, J.R. is a mentally abused shut in.

As we were making deviled eggs. Mama was clearing the eggs shells as we peeled them..

Squeegee: (Looking into her bowl, panicked) "Where did my egg shells go?!"

Mike: "Yeah, last week while he was waiting in line for a basketball game, he made me bring him a sweatshirt."

Cramin: "So basically you're not his roommate, you're his mom?"

J.R.: "I was freezing! And I met him half way!"

Mike: "Yeah, not really..."

While playing a game of electronic Life.

Karlie, reading from her Life card: "Choose another player to be in a band with you."

J.R.: "Ohhhh! Pick me!!"

Mike: "Why would you pick him! He doesn't even play an instrument!! I play the bag pipes!"

J.R.: "Yeah, like that's useful in a band!"

Was your Thanksgiving as entertaining as mine?

Speaking of happy...

...you know what makes me super happy? Christmas cards. And I've decided that even though my mom sends out a family Christmas card (well sometimes it ends up being more of a New Years' card...) I'm going to send out one on my own this year. Why not? I'm an adult, who has a fantastically interesting life and absolutely LOVES getting and sending mail. But, my dear friends, what's a card if you have no one to send it to? And now I get to my point. I want your address. Trust me, I'm not going to stalk you (unless you want me to). I just want to send you a little love and holiday joy in the form of a freaking awesome card from yours truly. If you don't want to leave your address in the comments, email  it to me. :) mal.mecham@gmail.com

Loves!

M