I came across this in Target during Christmas time. Now, I am not a fan of the concept of the Elf on the Shelf and I’ve heard quite a few anecdotes of kids becoming freaked out - like the girl who called 911 because it fell and she didn’t want to touch it because kids are told that if they touch it they won’t get any presents. But between companies looking for a cash grab and those Jewish families who want to celebrate not-Christmas (like the ones where I went to high school that had Hanukkah Bushes (Christmas Trees with blue lights) and Hanukkah outside decorations), I guess this was inevitable.

Get full-sizes here: 1, 2, 3, 4

It’s once again time for my latest Photojojo post (ok, I think this’ll probably be the last one in a row…I’ve been busy!) . For those of you who haven’t been following my blog for a long time, Photojojo is a digital time capsule service. Every two weeks they send me an email that has my most interesting photos posted to flickr from one year ago.

The National Christmas Tree (it’s too bad that because of my schedule I won’t get to see it this year) and a few other random shots from last year’s period just before Christmas.

It’s once again time for my latest Photojojo post (yeah, they’re back to back this time). For those of you who haven’t been following my blog for a long time, Photojojo is a digital time capsule service. Every two weeks they send me an email that has my most interesting photos posted to flickr from one year ago.

More Scarlett - this time getting the Christmas tree. It made me sad that we didn’t do the lights on her again this year. Then again, she might have wanted to do it all the time - so maybe that’s a good thing.

The best thing about getting this now is comparing how tiny this Christmas tree is versus the one I have this year.

Today’s entry in the Top 200 photos.

photo #181 is:

Christmas at my parents’ house where my little sister opens up one of her presents.

Here’s the desktop background for December.  I know it’s Western-centric - perhaps next year will be more neutral.  To use as your background just left-click on the appropriate image for your monitor size.  Then right-click on the image and your browser will probably have an option called “set as desktop background”.  If it doesn’t, you can save it to your computer and manually set it.

for square monitors:

[caption id=“attachment_3923” align=“aligncenter” width=“400” caption=“Dec 2010 Background for Square Monitors -1024x768”] [/caption]

Kids at Christmas are awesome! Nearly every present that Anthony, Alex, and Lizzie got received a loud, “This is the best present ever! This is all I ever wanted!”

My mom usually sets this up under the tree (although never this elaborately). By moving it to a table in the living room she was able to do a really amazing job. Also kudos to Denny who helped her with the landscaping.

This is over a decade old, but I just discovered it.

‘Twas the night before Christmas and Santa’s a wreck… How to live in a world that’s politically correct? His workers no longer would answer to “Elves”, “Vertically Challenged” they were calling themselves.

And labor conditions at the North Pole Were alleged by the union to stifle the soul. Four reindeer had vanished, without much propriety, Released to the wilds by the Humane Society.

I wanted to wish a Merry Christmas to my readers, however many (or few) of you there are.

I hope this is a time of happiness and family fun for you. And, if you’re Christian, I hope this can also be a time of reflection for you upon the sacrifices Jesus made for you so that you don’t have to go to hell.