Blackout Night: Christmas Style

So, we left on the tree lights. Big deal. I don't see why we should waste an entire evening with a lovely Christmas tree in the dark. Who made up these completely arbitrary rules about Blackout Night anyway?
Oh?
It was me?
Well, then. I'll try to stop feeling guilty.
We ordered pizza for supper (not that I can eat it - I had a salad) and walked to pick it up. It's either incredibly fortuitous or a really horrible thing to have a pizza joint within three blocks of your house. I will not decide which one. I'm afraid of the consequences.
We turned out all the lights and cuddled up by the tree, eating our pizza (and salad) quietly. Or maybe not so quietly. Upon reflection, I must admit that my children have been pretty wound up. Maybe it's all the holiday excitement. But still, we were in the same room, focused on each other, everyone talking at the same time about the day that they'd had. And it was great.
We played several rounds of Alphabet Rummy with these scrumptious cards:

I think you can get them at Target too, but the link is to a cute online store. They're intended for younger kids, but I'm so smitten with the illustrations - there are tiny little fairies and bugs peeking out from all sorts of places. So, we used them anyway, even though we don't have younger kids anymore. Sigh. Somebody'd better get around to making me a niece or a nephew soon (one that lives close by I mean. No offense Daniel & Melanie, but couldn't you guys move a little closer?).
Anyway, once we had put the kids in their rooms for quiet time, we found out that Rudolph was going to be on TV, so we let them come back out with their pillows and we laid around and watched TV. On Blackout Night. Whatever.
But it's Rudolph, right? We left the house lights off anyway....
And I spent the next hour singing along with Burl Ives and seaming up this cute little Christmas gift for somebody small on my Christmas list. I didn't have a small person with me today to model it, so I used a balloon.

And oh, this yarn. Oh, I loved it. It's Knitpicks Imagination yarn, for those of you who care. I have never been one to use those multi-colored, self-striping yarns yet. Mostly because I'm not a sock knitter. Yet.
Isn't it gorgeous, though?

I hope I can show you more finished gifties by the end of this week. There won't be too many more that don't have to be secrets, though....
But I'm having fun in Christmas Gifty Land, making and making and making.

DAILY BLISS: unexpected coffee and soy eggnog