dream christmas (writer’s workshop)

If money were no object and all details were in your hands, what would Christmas look like in your home?

I think one of the very best things about Christmas is family, or you know spending time with them. But one of the worst things about Christmas? Traveling to get there. Whether you live far away or simply have several destinations to attend, driving on Christmas is lame, stressful and time consuming. Imagine if there were no time spent simply getting there? All that precious time could be spent with your loved ones instead of just en route to them. So my first requirement is no travel. Everyone, I mean seriously, everyone, is together. I mean they don’t all have to be in the same room together at once, that would be cramped and also probably prone to a lot of arguments. But no driving or flying is allowed day of. We’ve all got to meet at one place.

Since nobody I know has a house big enough to hold that many people, I’m thinking we should all head to a neutral location. And also, I like snow and all, but wouldn’t it be nice if we could all be warm and not dealing with potential storms and delays. So let’s go somewhere with warm, sandy beaches and beautiful blue water. And maybe Mickey Mouse. Because what could be more magical and fun than Christmas at Disney World?

Let other people shovel their walkways and turn up the heat. If money were no object, I’d take the whole family to Disney for Christmas. We’d probably arrive on the 23rd so I can spend my birthday there the next day. Then leave on the 27th so we have one non-Christmas day to just play around the parks and maybe do some solo time with just our immediate family before going home. Also, why leave before the whole weekend is up, really?

Of course the gift of Disney is pretty sweet, but this is Christmas so here are the special gifts I’d give each member of my (immediate) family for Christmas:

• For my husband, who is very, very hard to shop for I would get the gift of big, flat, widescreen entertainment. I might also want to get him one of these.
• For the three year old who has too many toys I would get the Mammut furniture series from IKEA – you know this bed, this dresser, these chairs and this table. I’d also probably get him a bunch of these to put his treasured toys in.
• For my sweet little princess who wants for very little right now, I’d love to go a little crazy at Hanna Andersson and buy her a wardrobe for the next year of her life. Some must haves would include: this outfit, this dress, and this one, a cute snowsuit and jacket, some swedish moccasins, a hat and mittens, and some classic pajamas.
• And for me? I want my gift the day we come home from Disney. It should look a little something like this. But with less tropical looking trees, because we live in Wisconsin.