I might be setting expectations a bit high, but I couldn’t resist this calendar on etsy. Here’s wishing us all the best year ever.

Christmas is over — you have time today. I know you do. Just a bit over five minutes. Watch this. Really. You will thank me. (And Claire, who yet again found an awe-inspiring stop-motion video.)

It’s been more than 30 years, but I can still picture Becky Head’s house at Christmas. Particularly the cookies. Becky’s mom was from Texas — a magical place from which emerged larger-than-life characters with hair that didn’t move and voices far more interesting than those touched with just a faint Phoenix twang. At Christmas, Mrs. […]

The other day I visited Sophie’s classroom. That’s not so unusual (though I’ve not been as good about it this year, I must admit). But I was halfway to the parking lot afterward when I realized that for the first time ever, my daughter didn’t sob when I left. It’s been a not-so-nice byproduct of […]

My dear friend Trish hates Christmas. At least she says so, and I’ll admit she does a pretty convincing job of it. But every year I drag her to the luminaria at the Desert Botanical Garden, along with her daughter Abbie, who is now 15-going-on-16. The two of them are actually on speaking terms, which is amazing […]

If you are ever lucky enough to get invited to Jana Bommersbach’s Christmas party, go. Every year, Jana — legendary in Phoenix journalism circles, and beyond — hosts a holiday shindig, complete with the best Santa in town. This year I was at Snow Queen with Annabelle, so Ray took Sophie. It was a good […]

Annabelle squeezed out a few tears at bedtime last night. I couldn’t blame her — I wanted to cry, too. Snow Queen was over. This was her third year appearing on a big stage in downtown Phoenix, in the city’s alternative to the Nutcracker. Her second (and almost certainly last) year as a rosebud, which she […]

The transition from Hanukkah to Christmas is a tough one. On the seventh night, Sophie opened her gift — an Olivia the Pig kaleidescope — shook her head and handed it back to me. “This is for Christmas,” she said. And then refused to play with it. True, she did ask Santa for an Olivia […]

I was out for a walk early this morning when an old man in an I Heart Jesus baseball cap tried to hand me some propaganda. From the Things-I’m-Not-Particularly-Proud-Of category, I’ll admit that I wasn’t very nice. “I am SO NOT INTERESTED,” I huffed (and puffed), rushing past him. “Stop bothering people!” I was in […]