I am Santa.

SPOILER ALERT: Don't show this to your kids if they still believe. 

Usually I'm too busy to contribute to Neil's Annual Blogger Christmahanukwanzaakah Online Holiday Concerts, and this year is no exception. But last night, at around 11 PM, I thought I'd throw some animation together with this Christmas lullaby I wrote for my kids when they were little.

Yeah, I was thinking maybe just a couple of drawings...but when I next looked up from my animation, it was 6 o'clock in the morning. Oopsies.

Guys, I did it again.

The song is called "I am Santa" and it riffs off the idea that these kids are supposed to be good in order to get treats. By the way, I subscribe to the philosophy that people should just be good, period. Parenting is hard. It's hard to teach little people how to be good. It's hard to watch them grow up and not need you anymore...

When I wrote this song, my daughters were eight and eleven years old, so they already had inklings about Santa, the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy. But my son was only five and even though he sang along with a big smile whenever I played it, he didn't actually figure out what it was about until he was ten.



Uh.... now I'm nervous. Because it's just a dinky little acoustic recording. But whatever, it's from the heart and the thirteen-year-old boy loved it. So this is for him.

For a splendid array of seasonal spirit, songs, poems and videos by real authentic actual people, go see Neil's Eight Annual Blogger Christmahanukwanzaakah Online Holiday Concert, CitizenoftheMonth. It's one of the best blogs out there, at any time of year, and I'm not just saying that.

Tweet

Island CASTAWAY.

WARNING: You may want to wear safety glasses while watching this video. I'm just saying.

@TrashCanRoxanne shot this video. She's my BFFF. I know, there's an extra "F" in there and some day I'll tell you all about it. But for now, here's a taste of what we got up to last week in the Bahamian islands...



There was practically no one on the beach while we were filming, except for this one older dude. As he passed (casting his annoying shadow into the frame) he said to Rox, "I teach middle school; I know what you're going through." I think he thought I was her crazed teenaged daughter. Aw shucks! Folks are always saying that about me and Rox.

On a scale of 1 to 11, what silliness factor do you give this vid?

Tweet

Catching The Easter FUNNY.

WARNING: Don't share this post with your kids as it contains a huge spoiler.

One day, when our children were a little smaller, the eldest daughter asked "Mama, how does the Easter Bunny get in our house?" Logical question. I mean, everyone knows how Santa gets in via the chimney, but the Easter Bunny...we didn't know.

We decided to set a little "trap" to find out. If you want to try this out, this is what you'll need:

The first thing was set out a couple of trays of Baby Powder; we decided to put one tray by the front door and one tray by the fireplace.

That way, when the Easter Bunny came in to our house, he'd step in the tray of powder and leave a tell tale trail of footprints.

After the kids went to bed, I cut out the Bunny feet shapes from a piece of cardboard and made a stencil. Then I sprinkled the Baby Powder through the stencil to make footprints. It was really fun to make them start at one tray, wander around the room (a clue as to where chocolate was hidden) and then suddenly stop at a wall: as if he'd just walked right through it!

If you have a Newfoundland dog, do not, I repeat, DO NOT use flour instead of Baby Powder. It's a very bad idea.

The next morning, our kids went BANANAS!! It was extremely fun to video them too - I mean, as far as they're concerned this is like finding a half-eaten carrot times a million. PROOF that the Easter Bunny exists. Plus, hello? CHOCOLATE RUSH!

Then I'd hoover up the baby powder.

We all know who the real Bunny is anyways.

Do you think your kids will enjoy this...?  Lemmeeno how it goes!

Share and Happy Easter!

Tweet