December is always a breakneck speed race of countless activities and to dos. I felt like I was running a race I had no hope of winning–but we got to do a lot of fun things, ate so much good food, and survived it all.
1. Our Party. We love starting off the Christmas season by hosting an open house party at our home. Our friends, neighbors and co-workers come to enjoy lots of food and drink. And Santa always makes a special appearance.
2. Grayson’s Choir Concert. Grayson had his holiday choir concert. His group, The Thorzmen, sang several songs including You’re a Mean One Mr. Grinch–and Grayson had a small solo where he got to recite one of the lines. All of the groups did a great job.
3. Car Drama. Let it be known that neither Super Rockstar nor myself have any ability whatsoever to choose good used cars. We’ve had so much drama lately. We finally had to make the call to trade in both our truck and our SUV when the recommended repairs needed piled up to the tune of several thousand dollars. Not exactly a fun thing to deal with during the most expensive month of the year. I don’t ask for much, but just once I’d like to go in for an oil change and have them say: “Your car is in good shape, see you in a few months.” I know that will never happen. But there’s always a part of me that hopes. We did get to enjoy the best car purchasing experience we’ve ever had. We purchased both cars from Sterling Auto Sales in Franktown, CO. In both cases we chose the car we were interested in on their website and set up a time to come for a test drive. We were out the door–paperwork and all–in less than two hours each time. They have an exceptionally friendly staff and are so easy to work with.
4. Christmas Break. Morgan finished his first college class, Grayson finished the first semester of his Junior year, and Super Rockstar finished with work for the year. We mostly spent our time finishing up Christmas shopping and hanging out at home. But we also managed to get out for some enjoyments too.
Fox Run has some wonderful trails on the north side of Colorado Springs and is a favorite of ours. It was a place Barney and I frequented every week. They designate a tree each year that they allow photo ornaments of pets that have passed away to be placed on. So we added one of Barney on there.
We also went out as a family hike on the trail where we scattered his ashes. We all miss him so much.
A couple of days before Christmas we decided to get out of the house and go bowling. Harmony Bowl is a very fun family friendly bowling alley here in the Springs. And have the BEST cheese fries I’ve ever tasted.
5. Our Traditions. We have many Christmas traditions that we pack into a very short amount of time.
New Ornaments. We have done this since the boys were born. We let them pick out a new ornament to hang on our tree each year (it’s a tradition that I had growing up). This year Morgan chose a Star Wars scout trooper and Grayson chose Gollum from Lord of the Rings.
Making Christmas Cookies. Santa’s gotta have some cookies to eat, so we make sure to have plenty on hand.
Christmas Eve Service. For a long time now we have made it our tradition to attend Christmas Eve service at Calvary Fellowship Monument. They have asked Super Rockstar and I to lead their worship for several years now. We love this community and love this tradition.
Christmas Eve Dinner. In the past we have either stuck around for the church’s chili dinner or had tacos at home. This year, Super Rockstar’s boss gave him a gift card to Texas Roadhouse, so we decided to do that. It may become our newest tradition. So good!
The Santa Videos. Long ago, when the boys were still pretty young and still believed in Santa, Super Rockstar stumbled across a Santa video service called PNP Santa (portable north pole). It has templates of videos you can make for your kids that you personalize with information and even photos. At the end of the video, Santa lets them know if they made it on the nice list (you get to choose this part). It only costs about $10 per child. And then they email it to you–so it looks like you got an email from Santa. Our teenage boys still expect these videos and still get nervous about whether they’re on the nice or naughty list.
Christmas Jammies. When we get home from church on Christmas Eve, we all get to open one gift–our Christmas jammies. For the boys, I always give them a book too.
6. Christmas Day. I have heard from fellow parents of teens, that Christmas morning often isn’t nearly as exciting as it was when their kids were young. Most say their kids sleep til late morning or even mid day. Not so at the Glenn house. Our boys LOVE Christmas. We have to set a limit on how early we can begin. 6:00am. No earlier. When Super Rockstar and I got up at 5:45 (so we could be camera ready), we could hear them talking excitedly in Grayson’s room. At precisely 6, this is what we got:
For the next 5-7 minutes there was a lot of ripping, shredding, and shrieks of excitement.
 
Super Rockstar and I quietly opened our gifts and enjoyed every one of them. The boys had seen the Star Trek phaser when at the mall and insisted that we get it for him. Excellent choice.
 
And I was thrilled that he added to our Christmas village collection.
The boys had left a note for Santa (with his cookies) and he answered back.
As soon as the boys were settled in enjoying all their new stuff, Super Rockstar and I went back to bed. The rest of the day we enjoyed lazing around, eating a lot of junk food, and watching football.
7. Kansas Trip. We made the trip to my parents’ house the day after Christmas. My Mom’s birthday is on Christmas Eve. She and her twin sister turned 85 this year and got to spend it together.
We got to enjoy seeing my parents and my sister and brother-in-law, Todd–enjoying lots of great food, conversations, and just hanging out. One of my favorite things, is my that after we eat a feast of rib roast, gourmet potatoes and poppy seed salad, my dad always reads the Christmas story in the Bible before we exchange gifts. Their dog, Sophie loved her new stuffie from my sister.
 
8. New Year’s Eve. The boys stayed home and celebrated by eating lots of junk food, watching a movie and playing endless video games.
Meanwhile, Super Rockstar was asked to open and MC for Phil Long Music Hall’s New Years Eve celebration again. It’s a fancy dress up affair with dinner and drinks. The main band was Disco Review. I’ll admit that other than the Bee Gee’s–I don’t know many disco songs. But it was a fun night.
9. Movies and Shows to Watch–Episode 107. Just click the link to read about all the movies we watched this month–including our Christmas Collection.
10. Books I’m Reading. Super Rockstar gifted me the rest of the Sue Grafton alphabet books for Christmas. I’m now on L is for Lawless. Since the trip to Kansas is pretty long (7 1/2 hours each way). I’m already about halfway through it. I’m enjoying it every bit as much as I have the others.
11. My Favorite Memes.
I hope you and your family had very Merry Christmas and that the New Year brings many blessing for you. I look forward to hearing from you in 2026.