Still reveling in the holidays

I suppose I shouldn't have been surprised, but I was definitely baffled as I stood in the grocery aisle today looking for a carton of eggnog. "Could it be," I wondered, "that they are done selling eggnog for the year?"

I know that many have already (gads!) tossed their tree by now, but I'm the kind of person who drags it out as long as possible. Perhaps it's because I grew up my first few years in Mexico City, where kids enjoy receiving gifts on January 6, the Epiphany, known as Día de los Reyes (Day of Kings). Whatever the reason, I'm not done celebrating yet, as I told my husband who hopefully asked whether I was ready to throw out our tree during trash pickup in a few hours.

Nope. I'm going to continue perusing my favorite holiday magazines.



I even have plans to bake cookies and a cake with the kids. I blame those devious supermarkets putting their chocolate chips and cream cheese on sale this week.



And we'll definitely enjoy reading more from our collection of kids' Christmas books. A favorite book of mine this season has been a $5 library store find, "Babar and Father Christmas," one of the few original stories written by Babar creator Jean de Brunhoff. In the book, Babar searches for Father Christmas in the streets of Paris, among other places. It is a beautifully illustrated book, which my son has enjoyed browsing again and again.



On New Year's Eve, we're planning to stay close to our fireplace and play board games. Perhaps we'll review the photos and video footage of the festivities in our home on Christmas Eve, during which my daughter received another set of beloved Legos.



A trip to the mountains for some snow fun is in the works, but I have my fingers crossed we'll somehow be able to pay another visit to a historic missionary church near our home that has a spectacular light show and horse-drawn carriage rides.



Whatever we end up doing the next few days, you can bet I'll still be lighting our Christmas tree and tiny tabletop village. I hope your year-end activities are just as enjoyable.